From Killarney to Jarama: The political struggles that shaped Robert Hilliard

Local author Lin Clark introduces the subject of her new book Swift Blaze of Fire – the Life of Robert Hilliard: Olympian, Cleric, Brigadista her grandfather.

Robert Hilliard was born in 1904; his family were loyalist Killarney factory owners who hoped he’d find a niche in Ireland’s British-run establishment. Yet 32 years later, as a member of the International Brigades, he was overjoyed to see Barcelona under workers’ control. Fatally wounded at the Battle of Jarama, he died in February 1937.

During his lifetime he’d been an Olympic boxer, a journalist, a Church of Ireland priest and a political activist in London. Why was his life so full of paradoxical changes of direction? How did this absorbing character leave such heartbreak behind for those he loved?

Writing his biography, Clark came to understand that Hilliard’s personal conflicts only make sense seen through the lens of the political struggles that shaped him. This talk looks at some of them, in particular workers’ struggles in Cork during his schooldays, Belfast Outdoor Relief strikes and antifascist mobilisations in London.