Fianna Fáil and the Spanish civil war 1936-39: the rhetoric of hegemony and equilibrium

The Fianna Fáil Government's management of the crisis that broke out in Irish politics in 1930s Ireland over the Spanish Civil War and its policy of Non-intervention has usually been viewed in one of two ways. On the one hand, it has been claimed that the Party adopted a robust neutral position and faced down the widespread discontent that existed among a significant pro-Franco Catholic lobby. On the other, it has been argued that its reaction was much more pro-Franco than the above interpretation suggests, doing all in its power to conduct and present its policy as conducive to the Spanish Nationalists. This article challenges both these interpretations by focusing on the Party's ideological and rhetorical strategy and deploying the Gramscian categories of hegemony and equilibrium in order to reveal the complex and integral strategy that Fianna Fáil embarked on to transcend this crisis and maintain its supremacy in Irish politics.