THE IRISHMEN who joined with the Spanish people to face down fascist dictator Franco were remembered at a commemoration in the city of Córdoba in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia.

Speaking at the event to remember members of the International Brigades who fought in Spain during the country's civil war of 1936 to 1939, Sinn Féin Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Seán Crowe TD, told the crowd:

“The men and women who joined the International Brigades were motivated by the highest of ideals. It wasn't for wealth, profit or personal gain.

“Many of the Irish who fought and spilled their blood on the soil of Spain, came from an Ireland that had witnessed and experienced the brutality of imperialism in all its many forms.”

He said many of the approximately 200 Irish volunteers came from the worst slums of Europe, in Dublin, where organised labour was brutally suppressed.

“They were Irish republicans, all were Internationalists,” he said.

“They had joined with others from all across the world in a fight to support democracy, and against the fascist tide that was sweeping across Europe”, he said.

He called on those present to tackle the recent disturbing rise of racism and xenophobia across the continent:

“The construction of fortress Europe, the economics of austerity, the denial of asylum for people fleeing war and hunger, and the rise of racism of and xenophobia are all symptoms of the failure of the worst excesses of unbridled capitalism,” he said.

“Let us all here today join together to make a commitment to work and make the world the International Brigadiers fought for a reality.”