Dublin Opinion

Posted in obituary, Zaragoza, Working Class, Irish History, Irish Labour History, Spain | 12 Comments

12 Responses to “BOB DOYLE, 1916-2009”

1. on 24 Jan 2009 at 4:20 pm1Sean Baite

   Sorry to hear about his passing, Conor.
   Must have been the last of the Irish International Brigade volunteers left.
   Will you get time to put up a longer post on him in the week to come ?

2. on 25 Jan 2009 at 2:40 am2Conor McCabe

   Hopefully I’ll get around to it next month, Sean. I have his book here with me, and of course he fought at Belchite, which is not that far from Zaragoza.

3. on 25 Jan 2009 at 10:30 am3Seán Báite

   He manages to get a mention from the Irish Times (piece by Barry Roche / Luke Cassidy) :
   http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0124/1232474679491.html
   and even BBC Norn Iron - even though their write-up is half a very broadly sketched sum-up of the Spanish Civil War :
   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7847826.stm

   I remember Belchite alright - and going out there with youse on a Sunday… and you mentioning Bob Doyle having fought there.

4. on 27 Jan 2009 at 10:17 pm4anarchaeologist

   Harry Owens has asked the following be posted:

   Bob’s family expect to hold the funeral in London at 11.30am on Tuesday 10th next.
   Following that, family members plan to come to Dublin where on Sat 14th February we will celebrate the lives of Bob and his comrades of the International Brigades, starting at 12 noon from the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, proceeding down O’Connell Street, and turning left along the Liffey to Liberty Hall where a wreath will be laid at the plaque with the names of 60 Irish Brigaders who died in Spain.
   We’ll book a trade union premises in the centre of Dublin for a reception, with speeches, songs and music, hopefully a film or two, and the gathering of all the many friends and relatives of Bob and his comrades. Speakers from Madrid are expected, and we ask
   all coming to bring your banners, and we will send you full details (venue etc.) shortly.
   Please pass on this message to all interested,
   La Lucha Continua!

   Harry Owens

5. on 28 Jan 2009 at 2:24 am5Conor McCabe

   Thanks for that, Harry. I’ll make sure to publish the details as it gets closer to the date.

6. on 30 Jan 2009 at 1:27 am6Moka

   ““¿Sacrificaron en vano sus vidas mis camaradas?” La respuesta dependerá de Uds. Tomen la lucha y únanse en la larga batalla por la más noble de las causas: la liberación de la humanidad. Entonces, el sacrificio de mis camaradas no habrá sido en vano; habrá sido una fuente de aliento. LA LUCHA CONTINÚA.”

7. on 30 Jan 2009 at 1:36 am7Conor McCabe

   Es verdad. I saw Bob Doyle speak back in 2006. He was talking about how young people come up to him and say “well, if I was alive back in 1936 I would have fought in Spain. That was the real fight”, and Bob Doyle’s answer was “there’s a fight going on today!” It was quite wonderful to hear this man in his 90s saying, “well yes, Spain, all of that, but really, I want to talk about the struggle today.” The type of fight has changed, but it carries on.

8. on 11 Feb 2009 at 9:36 am8Seán Báite

   There’s a poster put up over here at the Cedar Lounge http://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2009/02/07/bob-doyle-1916-2009-xv-international-brigade-celebrate-bobs-life-saturday-14th-february via anarchaeologist about Saturday’s commemoration of Bob Doyle.
   It gives more details about when and where.
   DO take no liability for placement of accents on external sites…

9. on 11 Feb 2009 at 5:45 pm9anarchaeologist

   DO will find that that little error has been corrected! All are welcome on Saturday bty. There’s a bit of music to be provided by Christy Moore among others and all the other things you’d associate with a good wake (tea, sandwiches and yes, booze).

10. on 18 Feb 2009 at 6:36 pm10Seán Báite

    Buíochas le Ciarán ó Crá Croí Cois Cuain :
    First account I’ve come across (along with about an hour of video footage visible on YouTube) of events around last Saturday’s return of Bob Doyle’s ashes to Dublin *:
    http://cracroi.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/adios-companero/
    I looked over Manus O’Riordan’s few words - knowing him more as a singer than a union man. In so doing, I find that the spirit of William Martin Murphy is alive and well :
    http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/the-devil-might-indeed-have-the-best-tunes-but-it-is-the-lefties-who-have-easily-the-best-myths-1630079.html
    Equip yourselves with pukebags before reading - shite - too late. I would have thought ‘decorum’ was the sort of word a little twerp like Myers liked using - but he clearly lacks the slightest trace of any. I suppose it was the same paper that served as a recruiter for O’Duffy back in the days.

    * looking at the footage of the march on O’Connell St., I can see that the Greens in power has at least secured a ’suicide lane’ for cyclists on Europe’s most magnificent fast food boulevard

11. on 18 Feb 2009 at 6:45 pm11Donagh

    anarchaeologist, who has commented above also has a very good feature article on Indymedia: http://www.indymedia.ie/article/91124

    Here’s the O’Connell Street procession…

12. on 18 Feb 2009 at 6:55 pm12Conor

    first-hand account on the way, as soon as I finish up with my job, again!

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