Spanish soldier
County View Tommy Patten from Dooega, Achill, was the first Irishman to die in defence of the Spanish Republic.
County View
John Healy
Dooega’s Spanish soldier
TO the strains of Christy Moore’s moving lament ‘Viva La Quince Brigada,’ sung by Ronnie Drew, a recent Sunday Miscellany piece on RTE recalled Charlie Donnelly, one of the Irishmen who died on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. But 70 years on, it should never be forgotten that the only memorial on Irish soil to one of the International Brigade stands at Dooega on Achill Island.
The memorial stone, with its inscription in Spanish, Irish and English, marks the birth place of Tommy Patten, the first volunteer to die in defence of the Spanish Republic.
At the age of 26, Patten perished at the gates of Madrid in 1936. In all, 61 Irishmen met their fate fighting on the Republican side in that awful conflict. Five of them were from Connaught, David Walsh of Ballina, Michael Kelly of Ballinasloe, James Meehan of Galway, Joe Kelly of Roscommon, and Tommy Patten.
Although Tommy lies in an unmarked grave in Spanish soil, he is the one around whom most of the legend and lore of that civil strife is centred. One of a family of 14, it is said that his experience of poverty in Achill in the 20s and 30s gave him a natural sympathy later in life with the Spanish people. In 1932, like so many others, he emigrated to the UK to work, first on the building sites of Blackpool and later at the building of the Guinness Brewery in Park Royal, London.
Three years later came the call for volunteers to travel to Spain to join the International Brigade in the fight against Franco. Standing on the platform at Euston Station, Tommy and his brother Owen swapped watches, keepsakes of each other.
When Owen warned his brother to “watch those fascist bullets,” Tommy replied, “The bullet that will get me won’t get a Spanish worker”. They were the last words Owen was to hear his brother speak.
During Christmas 1936 word from Madrid came that Tommy Patten had become the first Irish volunteer to die. He had been gunned down at the city gates. The task of breaking the sad news to Patten’s parents fell to Peadar O’Donnell, author, activist, civil right campaigner, and a great friend of Achill. Years later, O’Donnell would dedicate his book on Spain, ‘Salud’, to Tommy.
For decades, the story of Tommy Patten remained neglected and forgotten until, largely through the efforts in America of Kilkelly-born George Harrison, sufficient funds were raised for a fitting monument to be erected at Dooega on the Atlantic coast. In October 1984, hundreds of people gathered at the spot for the unveiling of the monument by the National Graves Association.
The unveiling was presided over by Michael Geraghty of Swinford, and the main oration was delivered by Achill man Gabriel McNulty. Father Joe Summerville blessed the monument, and a wreath on behalf of the International Brigade was laid by Michael O’Riordan. Also present were the young hero’s sisters and brothers, including Owen, who had waved goodbye to his brother on that day on the London station platform.
Two years later, Achill Island played host to an international gathering of Spanish Civil War fighters to mark the 50th anniversary of the war. Once again, the main focal point of the ceremonies was the monument at Dooega Head, and among those attending were the chairman of the Labour party, then Senator Michael D Higgins, and Mayo Trade Union members John Meehan of Ballinrobe and Michael Kilcoyne of Castlebar.