Frank Ryan

The book describes the life and times of the well-known Irish Republican Francis „Frank“ Ryan. Ryan who fought for an all-Irish Republic and followed the political ideas of James Connolly and Charles Stewart, decided to fight fascism on the European continent and entered the Spanish Civil War on the side of the republican forces. While being in combat having the rank of a major in the International Brigades, he was captured in 1938 and became Franco’s most important prisoner. He had to endure two years in Burgos Prison before, due to the intervention of the German Abwehr, he had the chance to leave Spain with an option to return home. Instead of going back to Ireland, he ended up in Nazi-Germany at the beginning of the Second World War. Considering this background the book also examines the diplomatic relations between Ireland and Germany in the first half of the 20th century.