Bob Doyle (activist)
| Robert Andrew Doyle | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Bob Doyle |
| Born | 12 February 1916 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 22 January 2009 |
| Allegiance |
 Irish Republic Second Spanish Republic United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
Anti-Treaty IRA International Brigades Merchant Navy
|
| Years of service | 1937-1938 (International Brigades) |
| Battles/wars |
Spanish Civil War World War II |
Robert Andrew "Bob" Doyle (12 February 1916 – 22 January 2009) was a communist activist and soldier from Ireland. He was active in two armed conflicts; the Spanish Civil War as a member of the International Brigades and the Second World War as a member of the British Empire's Merchant Navy.
Doyle was born in a North King Streettenement in Dublin, Ireland and became interested in politics during the 1930s. In 1933, he was part of an anti - communist mob that attacked Connolly House. He joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA) after losing his left eye in a brawl with Blueshirts. He quickly became more interested in social rather than Irish nationalist issues and in 1937 decided to volunteer for the International Brigades, motivated in part by the fact that his friend and IRA veteran Kit Conway had been killed in action in the Battle of Jarama on Doyle’s 21st birthday.
He initially attempted to travel to Spain by stowing away aboard a boat bound for Valencia, where he was detained and expelled. He eventually returned by crossing the Pyrenees from France. After he returned to Spain, he reported to a battalion at Figueras. He was initially required to train new recruits because of his IRA experience, but disobeyed orders to get to the front.
After fighting at Belchite, he was captured at Gandesa by the Italian fascist Corpo Truppe Volontarie in 1938, along with Irish International Brigade leader Frank Ryan.
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Wikipedia