The Republican Socialist Ex-Prisoners support group Teach na Fáilte unveiled a Mural on the International Wall in Northumberland Street dedicated to the memory of those volunteers from Belfast who died fighting Fascism as part of the XV International Brigade during the Spanish Civil War.
As this year marks the 77th anniversary of the Spanish Civil War Teach na Fáilte feels it is important these men be remembered as people who bonded together by ideology from across the carefully fostered sectarian divide in a common cause of democracy.
The Belfast men who volunteered for the XV International Brigade to fight in Spain against Fascism are part of our collective working class history. Events such as the unveiling of the Mural are small steps in reviving the common bond between the working class that knows no sectarian boundaries.
This Mural is only one of many projects Teach na Fáilte, who along with other groups, have been involved in around remembering the Volunteers of the XV International Brigade. Teach na Fáilte have erected marble plaques and held memorial lectures on the lives and ideals of the volunteers who travelled to Spain to fight Fascism. Teach na Fáilte has travelled to the battlefield at Jarama and held discussions with surviving Brigadistas from other countries. We plan, with others, to keep the memory of the XV International Brigade their ideals and legacy very much alive.
