49 Commemorating the Royal Irish Constabulary

On this episode of the Irish History Show we discuss the recent controversy over the planned commemoration of the Royal Irish Constabulary as part of the Decade of Centenaries. The RIC was the police force for the whole of Ireland, outside Dublin city, until they were disbanded following the establishment of the Irish Free State. …

48 The Irish Brigade & The Spanish Civil War

After the outbreak of civil war in Spain in 1936 there was widespread support in Ireland for the Francoist insurgents rebelling against the Spanish government. The war was largely presented as a fight to preserve the Catholic religion in Spain from the ‘Reds’ or communists. The Irish clergy and groups such as the Irish Christian Front …