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Tribute to La Pasionaria

by Lynda Walker


On Sunday 9 November 2008 the programme of events surrounding the unveiling of the memorial to the International Brigaders in Belfast included a “Tribute to La Pasionaria” and the showing of two films, one made by Gerry Gleason, his work about the anti-fascist war, and the other by Royce Harper, an excellent work that included interviews with Bob Doyle and Michael O’Riordan, and film of various events.
     The tribute was made by Lynda Walker, national chairperson of the CPI, who gave some details about La Pasionaria’s life. The Brigadista Bob Doyle was present for part of the proceedings.

Dolores Ibárruri was the eighth of eleven children born into a family of miners on 9 December 1895 in a village in the Basque Country. In 1916 she married a miner, and they had six children, but only two survived to adulthood. She later wrote that they had died because of her inability to provide adequate medical care and nourishment for them. Her book No Pasarán (“They shall not pass”), published in 1966, gives a vivid account of the terrible conditions that the workers lived under. Her only son, Ruben Ibárruri, fought for the Red Army during the Second World War and was killed at Stalingrad on 3 December 1942. Her daughter Amaya, who married a Russian general, and granddaughter Lola came to Belfast last year for the first unveiling of the International Brigade memorial.
     Dolores wrote articles for the miners’ newspaper, using the pseudonym Pasionaria (passion-flower), a name that was to stay with her eternally. During her life she held many positions of responsibility, both within the Basque and the Spanish Communist Parties. She was also elected to parliament. During the Anti-Fascist War in Spain she was the chief propagandist for the Republicans. On 18 July 1936 she ended a radio speech with the words “The fascists shall not pass! No pasarán!” This phrase eventually became the battle-cry of the republican army. The speech also contained the cry “The Spanish people would rather die on its feet than live on its knees.” In fact La Pasionaria was renown for her speaking capabilities, and she made many such speeches. On 1 November 1938 in Barcelona she made a passionate speech of farewell to 13,000 International Brigaders, and as she noted that many of the International Brigaders were going into exile she must have known that she too would have to do so. When Franco took over, Ibárruri fled to the Soviet Union. When Franco died, in 1977, she caught the first available plane back to Spain.
     Dolores Ibárruri died in on 12 November 1989. Michael O’Riordan and Bob Doyle were among the 200,000 who attended her funeral in Madrid. In a card to his daughter, Brenda, he wrote: “Madrid, November 17. An unbelievable funeral here yesterday with over 200,000 participating. You will be glad to hear that your donation was well and truly liquidated yesterday and today. Love, Da.” Brenda says: “I recall him saying that so huge was the crowd that at one stage the crowd surged forward and the official bearers of the coffin lost their control of the coffin. Dad said, ‘The people of Spain carried her coffin through Madrid’.”
     Lynda read with passion and conviction the speech that La Pasionaria made in 1938 in farewell to the International Brigaders. An earlier speech, to the Communist Party of Spain, can be found here.

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