The Blueshirts were founded by Eoin O'Duffy in 1932. The idea behind them was that they would protect members from attacks by the IRA and due to this they were paramilitary in nature. Now 1932 Ireland was deeply Catholic (lot to be said about a good mass!). Two things stood out for me about the Blueshirts, they would later form part of Fine Gael but the more contentious aspect was they fought for Franco in Spain. O'Duffy was also head honcho in the Gardai for a while. He took his religious fervour seriously and pushed this in the Gardai.

In direct contradiction of his beliefs, O Duffy was also homosexual, illegal at the time but in an open secret he was in a relationship with playwright Michael Mac Liammoir . Researcher Denis Staunton said My c Liammoir liked "bigger, rougher men” (I'm in that category, in modern terms we are called bears!). This was apparently the initial attraction to Eoin O Duffy.

The relationship was documented by those who were in the know but through veiled references or subtlety. Eoin O Duffy would collect Mac Liammoir in an armoured car from the Abbey.

Mac Liammoir went on to be in a relationship with Hilton Edwards and for a long time was a leading light in Irish acting and him and his partner were awarded the freedom of the city in 1973. Eoin O Duffy on the other hand died of alcoholism in 1944 having previously trying to cosy up to Nazi Spies.

by Complex_Hunter35

37 comments

  4. O’Duffy was treated as a joke by the actual fascists of Europe. Franco sent him home because his blueshirts were so shite.

    Even fascism thought he was a joke.

  5. Eoin O’ Puffy. Jokes aside the exact prick that would be at the front of the anti gay marriage movement if he was alive a few years ago.

  6. A stain on Ireland’s bear community. She’s not with us.

  7. Nice piece… the Blueshirts would also do straight-arm Nazi salutes and shout “Hoch, O’Duffaigh” to their beloved Führer.

  8. O’Duffy would turn his catholic pictures into the wall when he was riding lads so Jesus and Mary wouldn’t see his sin. He also loved bigging up the importance of the Irish language despite not speaking it and promoting healthy living despite being a drunk who never exercised. The man was a complete hypocrite.

    Although it’s a common misconception that the Blueshirts went to Spain. The Blueshirts dissolved in 1935 after a split and O’Duffy had been sidelined within Fine Gael to the extent he resigned in 1934.
    O’Duffy went to Spain in 1936 after he’d founded the full blown fascist National Corporate Party.

    Like the rest of the Irish Brigade in Spain, O’Duffy was such a drunken embarrassment in Spain that the Irish brigade were repatriated. Whereas the republican Connolly Column fought with distinction.

  10. Bears   are just ugly  fat man from what I have seen. 

  12. He wasn’t the founder of Irish fascism.

    He was likely more anti communist than fascists.

    He was a Nationalist but so was everyone.

    He was also Catholic and practicing.

    Him being Gay is a rumour and I don’t believe it to be confirmed. Given it was rumoured as a secret, it likely never could be confirmed. I also don’t understand why you’d focus on his sexuality. It’s one part of home, it doesn’t define him.

    Looking at people with today’s lens doesn’t give you an accurate view of what people were like.

  15. Stronger together. Why is fascism so gay, seriously? Such a common story. I think it has something to do with not wanting a family to put at risk of your political life. I dunno.

  20. Can someone explain to me the relationship between the Blueshirts and early Fine Gael?

    How did a Christian Democrat pro-treaty party manage to have a fascist pro-German paramilitary?

  23. Ernst Röhm one of the most important early Nazis and head of the brownshirts was also gay. There were a lot of such men in the early Nazi party who were all purged in the night of the long knives. Facists in early days collected the oddballs, the left behind, the disillusioned. They never intended to keep them around just use their anger at the world long enough until there weren’t useful any more or posed too much of a threath.

  24. He was my grandfathers uncle
    Our name is Duffy
    So he added the O’

    We don’t talk about him much

  25. No biggie. Leo continued that tradition leading FG

  28. > Two things stood out for me about the Blueshirts, they would later form part of Fine Gael but the more contentious aspect was they fought for Franco in Spain

    Nothing gets past your eyes OP.

  30. Funnily enough the leader of the brownshirts was an open gay nan, he was eventually killed over it, he ripped his shirt open and demanded Hitler kill him.himself if I remember correctly!

  33. Was it not tough to be a fascist when everyone was white, straight and no Jewish. Poor fascists had a tough time back then.

  34. Honestly, not all that surprised by O’Duffy but would have expected better from MacLiammór. Girl, have some self-respect.

  35. Don’t care that he was gay. The Fascism bit is the evil part.

  36. I studied him extensively (granted it was ages ago) and from memory there was no real proof that he was gay so I wouldn’t go assuming he was.

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