Date of birth:

September 27th, 1908 (Morley's Bridge/County Kerry, Ireland)

Date of death:

March 11th, 1943 (Atlantic Ocean)

Nationality:

Irish

Michael Lehane was born on 27 September 1908 in Morley's Bridge, County Kerry, Ireland. When he was 19, he left Morley's Bridge and went to study at the Agricultural College in Clonakilty. Due to financial difficulties, he dropped out of his studies and went to Dublin to work as a labourer.

Shocked by the uprising of right-wing generals in Spain, Lehane joined the International Brigades in December 1936 to fight against fascism in the Spanish Civil War. He gained his first war experience on Christmas at the front in Cordoba. He survived the bloodshed at Cordoba near that city and a month later fought in the Battle of Los Rozas de Madrid.

Soon after, he went back to Ireland. He went back to work on building sites in Dublin. In April 1937, a construction strike was called and this gave Lehane the opportunity to re-enlist in the International Brigade.

He returned to Spain via the Pyrenees and was wounded during the Battle of Brunette in July 1937. He recovered from his injuries and went back to Dublin for a short time in spring 1938.

In July 1938, he was back in Spain to fight Franco's fascists. On 25 July, the International Brigade crossed the Ebro River to advance towards the town of Gandesa, but a hill, known as Hill 481, was controlled by Franco's troops. The International Brigade suffered heavy losses against the superiority of Franco's forces and Lehane was one of many wounded there. In mid-December 1938, Lehane and his comrades left Spain for the last time as the war ended and Franco declared victory. He returned to Dublin on 21 December 1938 and left in the new year to live with his brother in Birmingham, England.

At the start of World War II, Lehane decided to volunteer to fight Nazism. However, he did not want to join the British army or wear the uniform of what he considered an imperialist army. He then enlisted in the Norwegian merchant navy. He became a stoker aboard the Norwegian steamship ‘Brant County’ in October 1941. In March 1943, he drowned when the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine in the mid-Atlantic and sank. Along with Lehane,24 crew members lost their lives.

In 1997, he was honoured by the Norwegian government when he was posthumously awarded a Norwegian War Medal.

Do you have more information about this person? Inform us!

• - https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/michael-lehane-fascism-fighter - https://www.counterpunch.org/2015/03/27/the-irish-brigadista/ - https://www.dib.ie/biography/lehane-michael-a4777

Helaas geen map gevonden.