Fórsa members who find themselves in Waterford over the next two weeks may want to stop by The Index Gallery of the Waterford Central Library where ‘The War in Spain - travels in the steps of the Waterford International Brigadistas, 1936 - 1938’ photo exhibition will be taking place. 

Sponsored by Fórsa’s Waterford Health and Local Government branch, the exhibition marks 90 years since a military coup deposed the democratically elected government of Spain, launching the country into two years of bloody civil war. It opens today, Friday 24th April and runs until Wednesday 6th May. 

Through a series of black and white photos you will walk in the footsteps of the eleven brave men who left Waterford to stand up for democracy. Follow their journey as they leave the safety of Ireland to join the 15th International Brigade and take to the frontlines in the fight against fascism. 

The photos tell a story of hope, heartbreak, heroism, and the price paid for standing against a brutal regime.  

The exhibition consists of a series of landscape photographs accompanied by descriptions telling the stories of the eleven men. 

The photographs were taken by former Fórsa deputy general secretary, Eoin Ronayne, as he followed the path of the 15th International Brigade. He said: “Each location has its own story where the men came face to face with hope and loss, elation and despair”   

Eoin hopes the photographs will create a bridge between then and now. He invites you to consider what took place at each location. Almost a century later the signs of war may have faded, but in each place these men fought to defend democracy, and visitors are asked to think about how that struggle relates to the reemergence of the far-right as a global force in recent years. 

In an earlier existence as a reporter for RTE, Eoin was fortunate enough to talk to Peter O’Connor, one of the eleven. That conversation with Peter stuck with him through the years, later becoming the inspiration for the exhibition.

Eoin said: "He set me thinking about the link between those men’s foresight of what was happening to the world in the 1930s and the world of Regan and Thatcher in the 1980s, but now it seems to me their story is even more relevant today”.  

A little over three decades later Eoin began the five years of research that would go into this project. He said: “The Spanish civil war might be the most well documented war in history. The two books I had when I started have now grown to four shelves, and that’s barely a fraction of what’s out there.” 

This wealth of research has allowed Eoin to tell the story of the Waterford members of the 15th International Brigade, and to bring their fight against fascism back to prominence at a time of increasing relevance.  

The exhibition runs from Friday 24th April to Wednesday 6th May 2026 in The Index Gallery, Waterford Central Library. 

The opening will take place at 2.30pm today, Friday 24th April, with contributions from Mayor of Waterford City & County, Cllr Seamus Ryan and Dr. Emmet O’Connor, University of Ulster. 

The photo exhibition is supported by the Waterford Health and Local Government Branch of Fórsa and is a sister event to ‘Adelante – The Waterford men who fought Franco 1936 -1938,’ The Mall, Friday 1st May, 5pm - 8pm.                                                                                                   

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