Cumann na nGaedheal
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Cumann na nGaedheal was a political party in the Irish Free State, which formed the government from 1923 to 1932. It was named after the original Cumann na nGaedheal organisation which merged with the
Cumann na nGaedheal Government, 1922/1923
During the 1932 election Cumann na nGaedheal propaganda linked Fianna Fáil to the IRA, and the IRA to Communism.
Blueshirts
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The Army Comrades Association, later the National Guard, Young Ireland and finally League of Youth, known by the nickname the Blueshirts, was a far-right paramilitary organisation in the Irish Free St
Cumann na nGaedheal
…increasingly labelled the party of the middle class. The party subsequently entered discussions with the National Centre Party and the ultranationalist National Guard (Blueshirts) on the possibility of a merger. That came about in September 1933, with the formation of Fine Gael from the three parties, though, in…
O'Duffy with Blueshirts (female members were termed "Blue Blouses").
Eoin O'Duffy speaking at a rally in 1934
Ned Cronin had been with the Blueshirts from the start, before O'Duffy joined. Following O'Duffy's failed attempt to control Fine Gael, the Blueshirts split into pro-O'Duffy and pro-Cronin factions. Cronin's faction remained in Fine Gael while O'Duffy's departed
All dressed in Blueshirt attire, Ned Cronin (left) and Eoin O'Duffy (centre) flank Ernest Blythe on the right, in this photograph from c. early 1934.