Frank Ryan (Irish republican)
| Francis Ryan | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Frank Ryan |
| Born | 1902 Bottomstown, County Limerick, Ireland |
| Died | 10 June 1944 Loschwitz, Dresden, Germany |
| Allegiance |
 Irish Republic Second Spanish Republic
|
| Service/branch |
Anti-Treaty IRA International Brigades
|
| Battles/wars |
Irish Civil War Spanish Civil War World War II |
Frank Ryan (Irish: Proinsias Ó Riain; 1902 – 10 June 1944) was an Irish politician, journalist, intelligence agent and paramilitary activist. He first came to prominence as an Irish republican activist at University College Dublin and fought for the Irish Republican Army during the Irish Civil War. Ryan fell under the influence of Peadar O'Donnell; an advocate of Marxist-Leninism within Irish republicanism; which saw him break with the IRA and become involved with founding of a new political organisation known as the Republican Congress and editing the newspaper associated with it; An Phoblacht.
Along with others, Ryan participated in the Spanish Civil War on the Popular Front side, fighting for the Comintern-organised International Brigades (retroactively known as the Connolly Column). After being captured by pro-Nationalist Italians, he was sentenced to death but later granted an 'escape' by Franco personally. He was released into the hands of the Abwehr (military intelligence of Germany) and transported to Berlin. Ryan spent the rest of World War II until his 1944 death working as an IRA-Abwehr go-between on operations such as Dove, Whale and Sea Eagle.
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