Paddy Roe McLaughlin | |
|---|---|
 Paddy Roe McLaughlin c. 1937 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Patrick McLaughlin (1902-12-17)17 December 1902 Lecamey,County Donegal, Ireland |
| Died | 29 September 1974(1974-09-29) (aged 71) Liverpool, England |
| Political party | Communist Party of Great Britain |
| Other political affiliations | Connolly Association |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
|
| Branch/service |
|
| Years of service | 1920s–1938; 1940s |
| Unit | |
| Battles/wars | Irish War of Independence Irish Civil War Spanish Civil War World War II |
Paddy Roe McLaughlin (17 December 1902 – 29 September 1974) was anIrish republican and left-wing political activist. He fought on therepublican side during theSpanish Civil War.
McLaughlin was born in Lecamey nearMoville on theInishowen peninsula,County Donegal on 17 December 1902. His parents, Thomas and Bridget McLaughlin, were small farmers. The family nickname was "Roe" to distinguish from the many other McLaughlin families in the region. He was educated at Falmore National School and was an altar boy at St John's Church, Ballinacrea. McLaughlin was a veteran of theWar of Independence and was on theAnti-Treaty side during theIrish Civil War. He emigrated to Canada and later moved to the USA where he worked in construction on the New York subway during the 1930s. He also served in the69th Infantry Regiment of theNew York National Guard.[1]
McLaughlin participated in protests in defence of the two Italian-born American anarchists,Nicolo Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti outside the prison in the state of Massachusetts when they were executed on August 23, 1927. Both were accused of the killing of a shoe factory paymaster and a security guard during a robbery on April 15, 1920.[1]
Following the outbreak of theSpanish Civil War in 1936 he travelled from New York to London on board theNormandie, where he met up with over 40 other volunteers, includingPeter Daly andFrank Edwards. From there they travelled to Spain to fight for theSecond Spanish Republic in theXV international brigade (also known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade) againstFranco'sfascist coup.[2] McLaughlin fought at theBattle of Jarama where he lost his comrade and friend, Liam Tumilson.[3][4]
McLaughlin returned to England in 1938 and married Tumilson's fiancée, Kathleen Walsh. They had two children, including British far-right activistMichael McLaughlin. Paddy Roe was a founding member of theConnolly Association in England and both he and Kathleen were members of theCommunist Party. On the outbreak ofWorld War II he joined theRoyal Air Force as a mechanic and was later employed at theDounreay nuclear power station in North Scotland. Following the1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, Kathleen left the Communist Party disillusioned, while Paddy remained a member. He died in Liverpool in 1974.[1] In 2013, McLaughlin was commemorated, along with other volunteers from Donegal, Derry and Tyrone, on a plaque erected on the facade of theUnite the Union building inDerry.[5][6][7]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)