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Title
Date(s)
- 26 May 1988 (Creation)
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1 item
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Name of creator
Biographical history
Robert Arthur Stradling is professor emeritus of history at Cardiff University, Wales, and a leading authority on the Spanish Civil War. He has published extensively on the topic and made a number of documentaries for Spanish television and BBC Wales.
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Copy of a sound recording of an interview conducted for an edition of Looking West by Jim Fahy on Radio Éireann, with Phil McBride of Newbliss, county Monaghan, who served as volunteer in ‘B’ Company of Irish Brigade in Spain. Notes trip to Galway, being on board the tender in Galway Bay, and arrival in Spain. Also records arriving in Salamanca, training in Cáceres, and the deaths of Tom Hyde, Dan Chute and Gabriel Lee. On the subject of what motivated him to go to Spain, McBride states ‘The communists were a real threat and were it not for the Germans they probably would have dominated Europe. You had to take a stand somewhere.’ McBride refers to links between Ireland and Spain, the influence of the church on events in Ireland prior to the formation of the Irish Brigade, and the persecution of priests and nuns in Spain. In addition, notes reception received on return to Ireland, stating ‘We got a great reception, everywhere we got it… the Lord Mayor Alfie Byrne, we all got shaking hands with Alfie’. This item is too fragile to be safely handled. For digital access to contents, please check with a member of staff.
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This item comprises magnetic tape and is too fragile to be safely handled.
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Language of material
- English