Frank Ryan (Irish republican)

Francis Ryan
Frank Ryan c. 1936, while in Spain
Nickname(s)	Frank Ryan
Born	(1902-09-11)11 September 1902 Bottomstown, County Limerick, Ireland
Died	10 June 1944(1944-06-10) (aged 41) Loschwitz, Dresden, Saxony, Nazi Germany
Allegiance	Irish Republic Second Spanish Republic
Service/branch	Anti-Treaty IRA International Brigades
Battles/wars	Irish Civil War Spanish Civil War World War II

Frank Ryan (Irish: Proinsias Ó Riain; 11 September 1902 – 10 June 1944) was an Irish politician, journalist, intelligence agent and paramilitary activist. He first came to prominence as an Irish republican activist at University College Dublin and fought for the Irish Republican Army during the Irish Civil War. Ryan fell under the influence of Peadar O'Donnell, an advocate of socialism within Irish republicanism, which resulted in him breaking with the IRA and becoming involved with founding a new political organisation, the Republican Congress, and editing its associated newspaper, An Phoblacht.

Ryan participated in the Spanish Civil War on the Popular Front side, fighting for the Comintern-organised International Brigades (retroactively known as the Connolly Column). After being captured by pro-Nationalist Italians, he was sentenced to death. Ryan was released from prison in 1940 with the help of German authorities. He then collaborated with Nazi Germany, believing a German invasion of Britain would be advantageous to the Irish nationalist cause.^[1]