The Sunday Times, February 22, 2009

Apt time to remember Your front-page photo

Apt time to remember Your front-page photo last week of the commemoration to mark the recent death of Bob Doyle, the last surviving Irish veteran of the International Brigade, was a poignant reminder of the contribution made by Irish combatants to the defeated republican cause in the Spanish Civil War. Honouring the indomitable idealism and heroism shown by such men in the face of fascist insurgents in Spain and uncomprehending hostility at home as Europe slid towards one of its darkest hours, seems particularly apposite as the unscrupulousness and avarice of a myopic cadre threatens the economic foundations of our state.

Brendan Daly

Ennis, Co Clare