This December, RTÉ presents two, new and complementary History documentaries, from two sides of the modern political divide. Eoin O’Duffy and Frank Aiken both hail from the border counties and formed their political personalities against the backdrop of the War of Independence before going on to play significant roles in the founding of the new state.
Eoin O’Duffy – An Irish Fascist is a new and revealing portrait of a man who, over sixty years after his death, continues to be remembered as one of the most controversial figures in twentieth century Irish history.
Eoin O’Duffy’s reputation as one of the villains of Irish history is rooted in his role as leader of the Blueshirts, Ireland’s fascist movement during the 1930s, when he modelled himself on Benito Mussolini and declared his admiration for Adolf Hitler.
But as this new documentary reveals, O’Duffy was much more than an Irish fascist.
As a ruthless IRA leader during the War of Independence, a close ally of Michael Collins, the Garda commissioner who helped shape the force today and the first President of Fine Gael, O’Duffy was a complex and contradictory character – and one who played a central role in the creation of modern Ireland.
With access to previously unseen documents, including O’Duffy’s unpublished memoirs, Eoin O’Duffy – An Irish Fascist provides a riveting and revealing insight into one of Irish history’s most intriguing characters.
The documentary explores the personal motives that drove O’Duffy throughout his life: from his impoverished childhood in Monaghan to his revolutionary republicanism; and from his leadership of Fine Gael and the Blueshirts during the 1930’s to his final days as a Nazi sympathiser during World War Two.
The film reveals how O’Duffy was a man blinded by ambition and haunted by personal demons. It also shows how he failed to live up to his own ideals, not least as a preacher of teetotalism who was, in private, a chronic alcoholic. The documentary also assesses recent claims that O’Duffy was a closet homosexual.
Eoin O’Duffy – An Irish Fascist features contributions from a range of leading Irish historians, including Dr. Fearghal McGarry of Queen’s University, Belfast, author of a recent biography on O’Duffy, and Diarmaid Ferriter of Dublin City University.
QUOTES FROM ‘EOIN O’DUFFY – AN IRISH FASCIST’:
“One nation alone, and one who at present is again subject to the slanderous press-campaigns of the British-Jewish propagandists, has never concealed its sympathy with the Irish people and their just cause – the German nation. Hitler has done more for Germany than any other leader in the world.”
– Eoin O’Duffy
“O’Duffy had met and been enthralled with Mussolini and then became a great admirer of what the Nazis were trying to do in Germany.”
– Richard English, Queen’s University, Belfast
“Eoin O’Duffy has to a large extent been airbrushed out of Irish history and certainly he’s been airbrushed out of the history of Fine Gael.”
– Fearghal McGarry, Queen’s University, Belfast
“I think Eoin O’Duffy was a mirror to Ireland in the 1920s and 1930s. He represented a lot of the contradictions and inconsistencies, or perhaps the double standards and hypocrisies of Ireland in that period.”
– Diarmaid Ferriter, Dublin City University
“This was a man who had been the driving force behind the IRA in the War of Independence in Monaghan, who had been Chief of Staff of the national army, who had largely set-up the Garda Siochana and run it for its first decade. He was a key figure in the building of the Irish Free State.”
– Fearghal McGarry, Queen’s University, Belfast
‘EOIN O’DUFFY – AN IRISH FASCIST’ WAS PRODUCED BY DOUBLEBAND FILMS FOR RTÉ TELEVISION.
Next week, Hidden History: Founding Fathers traces the extraordinary trajectory of Frank Aiken, from IRA gunman, responsible for brutal sectarian campaigns, to confidante of De Valera and respected figure at the UN. This documentary by Mint Productions draws on newly released, official records and private papers, and features contributions from Frank Aiken’s sons.
FRANK AIKEN: GUNMAN AND STATESMAN airs Tuesday, December 12th at 22.15 on RTÉ One.