Should shinners apologise for backing Hitler

realies wrote: »

My apologies he was just a supporter & admirer of benito mussolini & general franco ,

Well, actually Eoin O'Duffy was much, much more than an admirer of Franco. O'Duffy, the founder and first leader (elected) of Fine Gael, led the Irish Brigade (La bandera Irlandesa) of 700 people to Spain where they fought for Franco's fascists, the Roman Catholic Church and the Spanish nobility and aristocracy. These 700 were chosen from 7000 Irish people who had volunteered at the instigation of Cardinal McRory. And the uniforms of O'Duffy's brigade? Why, German ones dyed green - and as if to highlight Fine Gael's O'Duffy's German connection in the 1930s, the second batch of 500 men who left Galway (infamously blessed by the Roman Catholic bishops) in 1537 were brought to fight for the fascists in a German ship, the Urundi, mind you.

In ironies of ironies, the Irish opposition to fascism, ultramontane Roman Catholicism, the British Navy and Fine Gael in Spain - and in support of the democratically-elected government of Spain - was led by the noble and heroic volunteers of the Irish Republican Army (and included Protestants such as the Church of Ireland Belfast minister Rev. Bob Hilliard who was killed in Barcelona in 1937). Sweet.

Last words on the matter to Christy in Viva La Quinta Brigada (1983):



So, in keeping with the wonderfully benighted and idiotic post in the OP, can we please have apologies from the Fine Gael party and the British state for their support of Franco and fascism in the Spanish Civil War?

LondonIrish90 wrote: »

You seem to have misplaced the most important details about the British Free Corps, by mistake I'm sure, and not to suit your own Anti-British agenda.

- They were prisoners of war, captured by the Germans.
- At no time did the corps even reach the size of an average German platoon.
- Those who did serve were tracked down and imprisoned by MI5 following the conclusion of the war.

1. In fact, the British Free Corps was created by John Amery, the son of the British Conservative cabinet minister Leo Amery and brother of Conservative cabinet minister Julian Amery, who was sympathetic to Nazi Germany. Why have you left that out? Furthermore, because they were prisoners of war does not mean they were forced to join the British unit of the Waffen-SS. They all volunteered. Volunteered. Why are you making apologies for them? None of them were forced to join the Waffen-SS.

Talk about "misplacing important details"....


2. Nobody said it reached the size of a German platoon. That strawman came straight from your imagination. The key point in this thread, however, is that substantially more British people volunteered for the British unit of the Waffen-SS than IRA men who collaborated with the Nazis. In fact, we can name all three IRA men: the (Protestant) Australian writer Francis Stuart, Seán Russell and Frank Ryan. Thread fail - major thread fail.

3. After WWII very many British people had a vested interest in denying the widespread pre-war sympathy for Nazism and fascism in Britain. Wiping that from the British historical record has been the great revisionism. Alas, it seems that some British people are still in denial and making excuses for those who collaborated.

LondonIrish90 wrote: »

Quite different from active support being shown for the Nazi War machine by influencial political figures during the course of the war, as was the case in Ireland.

Speaking of people talking absolute nonsense about history, perhaps you could explain this with actual historical facts?