Item 10 - Photocopy of handwritten memoirs of Matthew Beckett

9 pp. (5 sheets)

Photocopy of handwritten memoirs of Matthew Beckett, former Legionnaire in ‘C’ Company of Irish Brigade, entitled The Irish Brigade and beginning with the line ‘Since the upheaval in Eastern Europe and the friendship that has arisen between the two Germanies and between the U.S. and Russia’. Records his view on fascism, noting ‘there has been a new thinking about Communism and Socialism and in time this may also show that Fascism (as it was conceived, but perhaps not practiced) may not have been such an evil thing at all, while Communism has been revealed in all its brutalities in Romania, East Germany, Hungary etc’, adding ‘Perhaps also it will show that the Irish Brigade with O’Duffy in Spain was fighting for an ideal far nobler and more important to mankind than the International Brigade’. Refers to recent deaths of other volunteers of Irish Brigade, namely Joe Cunningham, former Lieutenant Quartermaster in ‘D’ Company and Dan Walsh, former Legionnaire in ‘C’ Company. Also notes some of the names of other volunteers and their political persuasions, stating ‘contrary to the usual opinion that all who followed O’Duffy to Spain were Blueshirts, there were many who were identified with other parties like Capt Quinn ‘C’ Cy who was a Fine Gael man, Ward & Meaney, who were Northern Nationalists, Eamon Horan (Kerry), Dermot O’Sullivan (Dublin), [Mich] O’Brien (Dublin) were all prominent in Fianna Fail’. Also records memories of the journey to Spain via Portugal, on board the Ardeola, first night in Spain in place called Badajoz, stating ‘In Badajoz we had the first glimpse of the kind of war we were going into. The town had been captured by the Nationalists and recaptured by the Reds and had again been recaptured by the Nationalists a short time before we arrived. It bore the marks of war on many buildings – blood-stained walls, scribbled mottoes on buildings… The Church had been used a stable for the mules during the Red occupation and it was badly marked & statues burnt and defaced. A number of nuns from the adjoining convent had been tortured and shot’. Also refers to journey to training headquarters in Cáceres, arrival of new volunteers, members of the ‘C’ Company, and an incident involving one of the volunteers and a live grenade. Notes also order to go to the Front, and train journey there, stating ‘The train started off at a break-neck speed… the train was signalled to stop… As it came to a halt the driver & his mate jumped off and ran, but were quickly captured and we were informed that they were Red Army members’, followed by an account of journey to Ciempozuelos and attack by friendly troops from Canary Islands who mistook them for ‘Reds’, casualties, and some of Beckett’s responsibilities stating ‘I was in charge of supplies (as Headquarters Cpl.) and this meant supervision of stores and food preparation when we were in reserve. In the lines, it meant that we brought the food by mule cart & distributed it’, also notes move to [La Marañosa], and his role as Company Clerk which involved drafting routine orders, noting ‘It meant that I drafted coy. Orders, named the orderly officer in charge each day, orderly segt. And the men to go on “Police Duties”. The Routine Orders were then signed by the o/c and posted up.’ Also refers to end of six-month period and talk of going home, ‘At home, though we were not aware of this, the Government (urged on by the League of Nations) demanded the return of the Brigade, under the threat of taking away our right of citizenship’, and also notes the Irishmen that stayed behind to fight with a Spanish Bandera and concludes ‘The end of a dream perhaps, but we saw it as a gesture of Ireland’s gratitude to Spain for what Spain had done for Ireland in past. The cynic might well say – “Both efforts were failures”. We did not feel that way’. Paginated and recorded on loose sheets of a diary.

• English