Gaelvictory ⌘

The Greenshirts: Fascism in the Irish Free State, 1935-45 by Martin White General O'Duffy's National Corporate Party/Greenshirt movement was Ireland's largest fascist movement. This thesis explores the origins of Irish fascism, arguing it was not simply an imitation of continental models, but that it had its roots in the Irish historical and political tradition. The Greenshirts were a small movement and constituted a concentration of fascist tendencies developed by an element in its much larger forerunner, the Blueshirts. The NCP blended a number of key ideas borrowed from continental fascism, including corporatism and the leadership principle, with a combination of fascist and indigenous pseudo-military style and organization. This was embedded in a political and cultural mould that was a development of romantic ideas that had been widely promoted during the struggle for Irish independence, with a particular focus on nationalism, violence and anti-rationalism.