A new memorial at Richmond Barracks in Inchicore has honoured seven Dublin men who travelled to Spain to fight against Franco’s forces during the Spanish Civil War. The sculpture, unveiled on Saturday by Lord Mayor of Dublin Daryl Barron, recognises the neighbourhood’s connection to the International Brigades and the Irish volunteers who supported the Spanish Republic.
Memorial honours Inchicore volunteers
The memorial commemorates Michael May, Tony Fox, Joe Haines, Paddy McElroy, Liam McGregor, Joe Monks and Bill Scott. Their names appear beneath the three-pointed red star associated with the International Brigades.
Three of the seven Inchicore men died during the conflict. The memorial was funded with the help of Noel McEvoy, whose mother’s first cousin, Michael May, travelled to Spain in December 1936 with an early group of Irish volunteers.
May went alongside Frank Ryan and was killed in Córdoba less than two weeks after arriving. He and Tony Fox, both about 20 years old, later died during a rearguard action while attempting to protect fellow volunteers withdrawing from an engagement with fascist forces.
- The memorial is located at Richmond Barracks, Inchicore.
- It commemorates seven local men linked to the International Brigades.
- Three of the seven volunteers died in Spain.
- The sculpture was unveiled by Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Daryl Barron.
Why the memorial matters in Dublin
Inchicore’s industrial past shaped the political and social outlook of the area. The railway works once employed about 2,000 people, while trade unionism, socialism and working-class activism became important parts of local life.
That background helps explain why volunteers from the neighbourhood responded to the Spanish Civil War through an international anti-fascist movement. According to those involved in the memorial project, the men were influenced by republican traditions and the ideas of James Connolly, as well as socialist and communist politics.
McEvoy described the sculpture as a symbolic gravestone for Irish members of the International Brigades. Although it is rooted in Inchicore, he said its meaning extends to all Irishmen who travelled to Spain to oppose Franco’s fascist forces.
A changing public memory
The volunteers’ stories were not always openly discussed in Ireland. Families faced political, religious and social pressure, particularly in a conservative society where support for left-wing causes could attract condemnation.
McEvoy recalled that his family kept May’s story largely private while his mother was alive. A local priest reportedly told May’s grieving mother that her son would “burn in hell”, a remark McEvoy said caused lasting pain.
The new memorial reflects a wider change in how Ireland remembers the Spanish Civil War and the people who became involved. Richmond Barracks, itself associated with the detention of suspected rebels after the 1916 Rising, provides a setting closely connected to the country’s revolutionary and political history.
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Families and musicians attend unveiling
Relatives of the volunteers attended the ceremony, including Kristina McElroy, the great-niece of Paddy McElroy. She said the men had risked their lives while imagining a better Ireland and described the occasion as deeply emotional.
McElroy also highlighted the continuing sense of solidarity associated with Inchicore. Her family had links to trade union activism and opposition to fascism. Her father, named after Paddy, worked at the Inchicore railway works before serving in the Second World War.
Musician Christy Moore and actor Fionnuala Flanagan were also present. Moore wrote Viva La Quinta Brigada, a widely recognised song about the Irish volunteers who fought in Spain. Flanagan’s father was himself a member of the International Brigades.
The Irish connection to the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War began in 1936 after a military uprising against the elected Spanish Republican government. Franco’s forces were supported by fascist powers, while volunteers from many countries joined the International Brigades in support of the Republic.
Irish participation was politically divisive. Some Irish volunteers opposed fascism and travelled to Spain through left-wing and republican networks. Others from Ireland supported Franco’s Nationalists, reflecting the intense ideological and religious divisions surrounding the conflict.
The Inchicore memorial focuses on the men who joined the Republican cause. Their stories connect Irish labour history, anti-fascism, republicanism and the international politics of the 1930s.
What happens next for the memorial?
The sculpture now forms part of the historical landscape at Richmond Barracks. Its location gives visitors an opportunity to consider several chapters of Dublin’s past, including the 1916 Rising, working-class political organisation and Ireland’s involvement in an overseas conflict.
The unveiling also creates a permanent place for families to remember relatives whose experiences were often overlooked or kept private. As public knowledge of the International Brigades grows, the memorial may help preserve personal stories that survived mainly through family memory.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the new memorial?
The memorial is at Richmond Barracks in Inchicore, Dublin.
Who does the memorial commemorate?
It honours seven Inchicore men associated with the International Brigades: Michael May, Tony Fox, Joe Haines, Paddy McElroy, Liam McGregor, Joe Monks and Bill Scott.
Why did Irish volunteers travel to Spain?
The men commemorated by the sculpture travelled to Spain to fight for the Spanish Republic against Franco’s fascist forces during the Spanish Civil War.
Who unveiled the memorial?
Dublin Lord Mayor Daryl Barron unveiled the sculpture on Saturday.
Conclusion
This important piece of Dublin News gives a permanent home to a difficult and previously under-recognised part of Ireland’s political history. The Richmond Barracks memorial honours seven local men, but its message reaches beyond Inchicore: it remembers the Irish volunteers who crossed the sea to oppose fascism and the families who carried their stories for generations. For readers following Breaking News Ireland, the unveiling is also a reminder that Ireland’s history is shaped not only by events at home, but by the choices Irish people made in international struggles.
