Bob Doyle (activist)
Encyclopedia
Robert Andrew "Bob" Doyle (12 February 1916 – 22 January 2009) was an activist, World War II
veteran and an Irish member of the International Brigades
during the Spanish Civil War
.
in Dublin, Ireland
and became interested in politics during the 1930s. In 1933, he was part of an anti - communist mob that attacked Connolly House. He joined the Irish Republican Army
(IRA) after losing his left eye in a brawl with Blueshirts. He quickly became more interested in social rather than Irish nationalist issues and in 1937 decided to volunteer for the International Brigades
, motivated in part by the fact that his friend and IRA veteran Kit Conway had been killed in action in the Battle of Jarama
on Doyle’s 21st birthday.
by stowing away
aboard a boat bound for Valencia, where he was detained and expelled. He eventually returned by crossing the Pyrenees
from France
. After he returned to Spain, he reported to a battalion
at Figueras. He was initially required to train new recruits because of his IRA experience, but disobeyed orders to get to the front.
, he was captured at Gandesa
by the Italian fascist
Corpo Truppe Volontarie
in 1938, along with Irish International Brigade leader Frank Ryan
.
He was imprisoned for 11 months in a concentration camp near Burgos
. There he was once brought out to be shot and he was regularly torture
d by Spanish fascist guards and interrogated by the Gestapo
before being released in a prisoner exchange
before settling in London with his Spanish wife, Lola. He became active in the Fleet Street
print trade union
s.
A regular visitor to Spain and Ireland for International Brigade commemorations, he published an account of his experiences in Spain in Brigadista: An Irishman’s Fight Against Fascism.
In an interview with The Irish Times
, he said: “I thought there was a danger that Ireland would go fascist and that was one of the motivating factors in making up my mind to go to Spain.”
, the Communist Party of Ireland
and Sinn Féin
, were in attendance.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
veteran and an Irish member of the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
during the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
.
Early life
Doyle was born in a North King Street tenementTenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
in Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and became interested in politics during the 1930s. In 1933, he was part of an anti - communist mob that attacked Connolly House. He joined the Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
(IRA) after losing his left eye in a brawl with Blueshirts. He quickly became more interested in social rather than Irish nationalist issues and in 1937 decided to volunteer for the International Brigades
International Brigades
The International Brigades were military units made up of volunteers from different countries, who traveled to Spain to defend the Second Spanish Republic in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939....
, motivated in part by the fact that his friend and IRA veteran Kit Conway had been killed in action in the Battle of Jarama
Battle of Jarama
The Battle of Jarama was an attempt by General Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War...
on Doyle’s 21st birthday.
Service in Spain
He initially attempted to travel to SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
by stowing away
Stowaway
A stowaway is a person who secretly boards a vehicle, such as an aircraft, bus, ship, cargo truck or train, to travel without paying and without being detected....
aboard a boat bound for Valencia, where he was detained and expelled. He eventually returned by crossing the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. After he returned to Spain, he reported to a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
at Figueras. He was initially required to train new recruits because of his IRA experience, but disobeyed orders to get to the front.
Capture and release
After fighting at BelchiteBelchite
Belchite is a village in the province of Zaragoza, Spain, about 40 km southeast of Zaragoza. It is the capital of Campo de Belchite comarca and is located in a plain surrounded by low hills, the highest of which is Lobo...
, he was captured at Gandesa
Gandesa
Gandesa is the capital of the comarca of Terra Alta, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain.-History:In the place known as Coll del Moro there is an ancient Iberian archaeological site belonging to the Ilercavones tribe that lived in this area before Roman times.Gandesa has a church with...
by the Italian fascist
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
Corpo Truppe Volontarie
Corpo Truppe Volontarie
The Corps of Volunteer Troops was an Italian expeditionary force which was sent to Spain to support General Francisco Franco and the Spanish Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War...
in 1938, along with Irish International Brigade leader Frank Ryan
Frank Ryan (Irish republican)
Frank Ryan was a prominent member of the Irish Republican Army, editor of An Phoblacht, leftist activist and leader of Irish volunteers on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War....
.
He was imprisoned for 11 months in a concentration camp near Burgos
Burgos
Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...
. There he was once brought out to be shot and he was regularly torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d by Spanish fascist guards and interrogated by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
before being released in a prisoner exchange
World War II service
Doyle enlisted in the British merchant navy during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
before settling in London with his Spanish wife, Lola. He became active in the Fleet Street
Fleet Street
Fleet Street is a street in central London, United Kingdom, named after the River Fleet, a stream that now flows underground. It was the home of the British press until the 1980s...
print trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s.
A regular visitor to Spain and Ireland for International Brigade commemorations, he published an account of his experiences in Spain in Brigadista: An Irishman’s Fight Against Fascism.
In an interview with The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
, he said: “I thought there was a danger that Ireland would go fascist and that was one of the motivating factors in making up my mind to go to Spain.”
Death
Bob Doyle died at the age of 92 on the 22nd January 2009. His ashes were carried at the head of a funeral procession through the streets of Dublin. Large numbers of people, including members of the Irish Labour PartyLabour Party (Ireland)
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...
, the Communist Party of Ireland
Communist Party of Ireland
The Communist Party of Ireland is a small all-Ireland Marxist party, founded in 1933. An earlier party, the Socialist Party of Ireland, was renamed the Communist Party of Ireland in 1921 on its affiliation to the Communist International but was dissolved in 1924. The present-day CPI was founded in...
and Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
, were in attendance.