memories of a rebellion without pause.

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday December 13, 2002 20:30 by -

Irish veteran of the Spanish Civil War Bob Doyle has published his memoires.

Bob Doyle 87, has published in Madrid his memoires of the Spanish Civil War.

Bob Doyle is alive today living in London, thankful to be alive and aware that Franco omitted to sign his death warrant.
So he lives almost by error.
Doyle like 35,000 internationalist brigadeers went to Spain in 1936 to "struggle aginst fascism", he fought on the Madrid front and spent 11 months in the notorious Burgos detention centre. Where he was tortured. Doyle who describes himslef as being a communist "from the age of fourteen to this very day", left Ireland at the age of 22 "tired of living as a slave". He mused on wedneseday at his book launch to an Irish indymedia reporter that the recent disclosures of the Franco regimes executions and opening of the Franco archives is a sign that "Spain is waking again". When asked about Fraga (currently president of the Gallician autonomy and an ex-Franco minster) he declined coherent comment and turned his eyes heavenwards.

Doyle remembers with particularly bitter hatred the priests which he carried from his homeland to Spain he commented
"we were made listen to the mass".

Doyle celebrated like many the death of Franco but he says his true joy was when in 1995 all 35,000 internationalists were awarded citizenship of Spain.

His book is published by Manuel Rivas of Madrid and shall be translated to English in the next year.

Doyle faoght alongside english and french communists and socialists and anarchists to preserve the democratically elected Republican government of Spain.

The nationalist led by fascist general F. Franco won the war with assistance from fascist Italy and Germany.
it all happend a long time ago, and they are all old men now just like Mr Doyle.
they pass their torches.