The Blueshirt Membership

The_Banker

Hi, hope someone may be able to help. Does there exist anywhere a database of the names of people who joined The Blueshirts in the 1930s?

Any info appreciated.

PatsytheNazi

The_Banker wrote: »

Hi, hope someone may be able to help. Does there exist anywhere a database of the names of people who joined The Blueshirts in the 1930s?

Any info appreciated.

Interesting. Doubt if you will find too many people who like to talk about maybe a grandfather or uncle in the Blueshirts but best of luck with it anyway.

who the fug

PatsytheNazi wrote: »

Interesting. Doubt if you will find too many people who like to talk about maybe a grandfather or uncle in the Blueshirts but best of luck with it anyway.

Why Not

Any that I met, joined to defend against the IRA/FF attacks, and reading between the lines to settle some scores.

PatsytheNazi

who the fug wrote: »

Why Not

Any that I met, joined to defend against the IRA/FF attacks, and reading between the lines to settle some scores.

Well fair enough, I never met one myself, though I knew a guy from Tipperary and he used to sort of chuckle about it when he described his father putting on his blue shirt and heading off to a rally in Tipperary.

Snickers Man

The Blueshirts were described somewhere (can't remember where hence no reference) as "Pudgy farmers in uniform bellowing about cattle prices".

So what's new?

R.Dub.Fusilier

The_Banker wrote: »

Hi, hope someone may be able to help. Does there exist anywhere a database of the names of people who joined The Blueshirts in the 1930s?

Any info appreciated.

this site has a list of members of the Irish Brigade who went to fight in the Spanish Civil War that might help you.

http://irelandscw.com/top-Contents-OD.htm

delta_bravo

Possibly the Garda Museum might help.

Not sure about this but my uncle was telling me that in the Garda Museum there is a letter sent to the Gardai/Blueshirts from Franco thanking them for their valiant efforts in the Civil War

The_Banker

PatsytheNazi wrote: »

Interesting. Doubt if you will find too many people who like to talk about maybe a grandfather or uncle in the Blueshirts but best of luck with it anyway.

True. I suspect my grandfather was a member but my elderly uncles won't talk about it.
I know there was a street fight in Cork in the 1930s between Blueshirts and IRA men where 1 or 2 people were killed and again I suspect he was involved but I am meeting a wall of silence in the family.

Denerick

It would be incorrect to assume that most blueshirt members were fascists. In reality they were part of a tribe having a day out. I like to think that the Irish have a good sense of the ridiculous and the camp goosestepping fad of the 1930s largely passed us by.

PatsytheNazi

Denerick wrote: »

It would be incorrect to assume that most blueshirt members were fascists. In reality they were part of a tribe having a day out. I like to think that the Irish have a good sense of the ridiculous and the camp goosestepping fad of the 1930s largely passed us by.

Don't know about that. It could be said that Mussolini's Brown shirts may have started off non threatening enough in 1919 as a sort of ex soldiers society, but soon developed into a very serious bunch of street thugs beating up workers on strike, left wing opponents etc

who the fug

The_Banker wrote: »

True. I suspect my grandfather was a member but my elderly uncles won't talk about it.
I know there was a street fight in Cork in the 1930s between Blueshirts and IRA men where 1 or 2 people were killed and again I suspect he was involved but I am meeting a wall of silence in the family.

Have you got a link for the deaths, though the big disturbance was in Dunmanway and that was more cracked heads than fatalities.

uch

My Grandfather was one and fought in the Spanish civil war, he also served time as a political prisoner in mountjoy where he spent two years in solitary for running arms, he was on Hunger strike in mountjoy for a while as well, you can find details on the Oireachtas historical website. He was also evacuated at Dunkirk (rowdy Fecker he was), Unfortunately I never met his as he had died before I was born and I can only give second hand accounts.

Clio_

Hi, I wrote my final year thesis on the role of the Blueshirts in the Spanish Civil War. I found the Stradling Collection in ~Special Collections at the University of Limerick very helpful. A list of what is available in this collection id on the UL SPecial Collections website.

PatsytheNazi

Interesting picture of Female Blueshirts

Duckworth_Luas

The_Banker wrote: »

I know there was a street fight in Cork in the 1930s between Blueshirts and IRA men where 1 or 2 people were killed and again I suspect he was involved but I am meeting a wall of silence in the family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kn05D4xKlc

The_Banker

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kn05D4xKlc

Excellent link Duckworth_Luas. I knew I heard somewhere from within the family that my grandfather was involved in a fight that resulted in a death.

InchicoreDude

Interesting that so many posters think people would deny membership of the blueshirts.

RTE had an excellent documentary on a few years back about the blueshirts. Before watching that, I also had the fascist viewpoint. But that documentary was eye-opening for me, explaining the tensions that existed in 1930's between FF/IRA & the pro-treaty sides.

CDfm

I never know what to make of the Blueshirts.

Were they fascists or not.

Their allignment with Fine Gael was probably more to do with the IRA interference with Cummann na Gaedhaels meetings than anything else.

I did read somewhere that the Young Ireland Association morphed into Fine Gaels youth wing and there was also a womens force.

My grandfather was a Peace Commisioner and he used to have to go to the Garda Station in the 1930's when they used to get arrested etc. Mostly young guys.

I always understood that a lot of them went to Spain for the Civil War and that their religious beliefs were important to them.

R.Dub.Fusilier

CDfm wrote: »

I never know what to make of the Blueshirts.

Were they fascists or not.

Their allignment with Fine Gael was probably more to do with the IRA interference with Cummann na Gaedhaels meetings than anything else.

I did read somewhere that the Young Ireland Association morphed into Fine Gaels youth wing and there was also a womens force.

My grandfather was a Peace Commisioner and he used to have to go to the Garda Station in the 1930's when they used to get arrested etc. Mostly young guys.

I always understood that a lot of them went to Spain for the Civil War and that their religious beliefs were important to them.

i wouldn't call them fascists myself although i'm sure members and leaders had that political view. to me it always seemed a civil war thing and former pro-treaty people banding together against their old enemies FF/ Dev/ IRA.

a lot of those who went to fight in Spain did go to fight for their faith , pure and simple with no thoughts for politics. a good book on the subject is "The Irish And The Spanish civil War" by Robert A Stradling which gives both sides motives for going and has some good info