No Pasarán! They Shall not Pass! In Memory of Micheál Ó Ríordáin

This article is a further elaboration of the public lecture given at the Castell De Sant Ferran (Figueres, Catalunya) on Easter Sunday, 16 April 2006, by Manus O’Riordan of the International Brigade Memorial Trust on the occasion of the International Brigades 70th Anniversay Commemorative Crossing of the Pirenees. Manus O’Riordan re-wrote his speech and added a brief report on the Anniversary celebrations as well as a dedication to his father, “veteran of the Connolly Column, Fifteenth International Brigade, fought and wounded on the Gandesa front, battle of the Ebro, Spanish Anti-Fascist War. Veteran member and former General Secretary of the Communist Party of Ireland, honorary citizen of Spain, life-long Republican and internationalist.”