Frank
Ryan
was
born in County Limerick, Ireland in 1902.
He joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA)
during the War of Independence.
A founder member of the
Republican Congress he was also
editor of its newspaper, Republican Congress.
Ryan, a committed socialist, was a leading opponent in Ireland of
Eoin O'Duffy and
the Blue Shirts.
On the outbreak of the
Spanish Civil War the Irish socialist,
Peadar O'Donnell, urged the formation
of volunteer regiments to support the Popular
Front government. O'Donnell and Ryan established the Connolly
Column
(named after James
Connolly)
and in December 1936, Ryan
and
eighty volunteers left Dublin for Spain.
The majority came from the Free State but there were also a group
of socialists from Belfast. Those who went included Charlie Donnelly,
Eddie O'Flaherty, Paul Burns, Jackie Hunt, Bill Henry, Eamon
McGrotty, Bill Beattie, Paddy McLaughlin, Bill Henry, Peter O'Connor,
Peter Power, Johnny Power, Liam Tumilson, Jim Straney, Willie O'Hanlon,
Ben Murray and Fred McMahon.
Ryan was badly wounded
at Jarama in February 1937 and returned
to Ireland to recuperate. While in Dublin
Ryan unsuccessfully contested a seat in the 1937 General Election.
Ryan returned to Spain
and was appointed adjutant to General José
Miaja. Ryan was
captured during the Aragón offensive
on 1st April, 1938 and was held at the Miranda del Ebro detention
camp. He was sentenced to death but after representations from Eamon
de Valera his sentence was commuted to thirty years.
In August 1940 Ryan was
transferred to Nazi Germany. Frank
Ryan died
in Dresden in 1944.
(1)
Fred Copeman, Reason in Revolt (1948)
A conference was called by the Chief Political
Commissar - Andre Marty, a Frenchman who had been the leader of the
Mutiny of the French Black Sea Fleet after the 1914-18 war. He took
a liking to me, I assume because I also, to his mind, had led a Naval
mutiny.
The conference had one
unfortunate incident. The amount of interpretation was necessarily
tiring, and towards the end Frank Ryan started complaining in regard
to the political treatment of the Irish section. Andre Marty called
him to order. Frank at all times was hard of hearing, and in spite
of the shouting and bawling he went solidly on with his speech. Marty
lost his temper and literally screamed for him to sit down. This produced
no result at all. Frank continued in better spirit than before, with
the lusty help of some of the Irish, American, Canadian and British
delegations. Then four guards entered the hall and proceeded to arrest
him. This caused an uproar, and that night "deputations,"
armed to the teeth, appeared demanding his release.
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