Ernest Blythe
Videos
Ernest William Blythe was an Irish journalist, politician and managing director of the Abbey Theatre. He served as Minister for Local Government from 1922 to 1923, Minister for Finance from 1923 to 19
Blythe in 1922
All dressed in Blueshirt attire, Ned Cronin (left) and Eoin O'Duffy (centre) flank Blythe on the right, in this photograph from c. early 1934
Blueshirts
Videos
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
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