Foreign involvement in the Spanish Civil War Contingent. While not supported officially, many American volunteers such as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade fought for the Republicans. 'Spain' became the cause célèbre for the left-leaning intelligentsia across the Western world, and many prominent artists and writers entered the Republic's service. As well, it attracted a large number of foreign left-wing working class men, for whom the war offered not only idealistic adventure but also an escape from post-Depression unemployment. Among the more famous foreigners participating on the Republic's side was George Orwell, who went on to write about his experiences in "Homage to Catalonia". Orwell's novel "Animal Farm" was
Irish involvement in the Spanish Civil War International Brigades have gradually come to be regarded as heroes, while the Irish Brigade's crusaders have been forgotten or are reviled as supporters of fascism. Such are the vagaries of history. Irish involvement in the Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War lasted from July 17, 1936 to April 1, 1939. While both sides in the Spanish Civil War attracted participants from Ireland, the majority sided with the Nationalist faction. Feeling in Ireland in the 1930s ran overwhelmingly against the Second Spanish Republic due to the opposition by the Catholic Church. Following the July coup by the generals in Spain