Sir, - A recent RTE programme and newspaper articles on the Blueshirts seemed to softpedal the grave threat they posed to our infant State.
The Blueshirts paralleled Fascist movements in Europe at the time. In the Irish context, its members were all drawn from one political party, the present Fine Gael, and the bulk of the army in 1932/33 was also drawn from the same source.
When the Government changed after the 1932 Election, the Blueshirts, or National Guard, planned a march on Dublin, emulating Mussolini's famous march on Rome. This raised justifiable fears of a coup d'etat, especially as the Blueshirt leader, Eoin O'Duffy, publicly stated a few days before the planned march that party politics had served their period of usefulness and the sooner a change was effected the better.
The Taoiseach, Eamon de Valera, banned the march, and ordered the Army on full alert. He referred to the considerable quantities of firearms' held by the Blueshirts and that anarchy could result if the march proceeded. The Blueshirts backed off; the Army obeyed the order and the danger passed.
In 1957 Mr de Valera spoke to a group of us of his concern and the risk he ran in ordering the Defence Forces on full alert. He recognised that many officers previously had allegiances to the Free State, and that unless they obeyed the order, he would have had no option but to hand over the reins of government to the Army. However, the Defence Forces honoured their oath of loyalty and the democratic institutions of the fledgling State survived.
Thanks to the Army's professionalism and the integrity of some Fine Gael leaders, the Irish experience did not parallel what happened in Germany, Italy, Austria and elsewhere. This is not being critical of the many good people who supported the movement for differing reasons. The fact that Fine Gael is now airbrushing Eoin O'Duffy out of its family tree is sufficient comment on the danger this movement posed at that stage in our history. - Yours, etc.,
Senator Des Hanafin, Seanad Eireann, Baile Atha Cliath. Dublin 2.