Viva la Quinta Brigada

Common card · No. 421097

"Viva la Quinta Brigada" is a song by Christy Moore about the Irishmen who fought in the Spanish Civil War against Franco. It was released in 1984 on the album Ride On. The title was changed to "Viva la Quince Brigada" in some later recordings. The song is about the Irish socialist volunteers, who were a small contingent within the 15th International Brigade, and who in later years became known as the Connolly Column. This song is unrelated to the song titled "Viva la Quince Brigada" that was recorded by Pete Seeger and the Almanac Singers in the early 1940s. That song is a variation of a Spanish song about the Spanish Civil War, "¡Ay Carmela!." The title of Moore's song was inspired by the phrase "Viva la Quince Brigada" in "¡Ay Carmela!" Moore's song was inspired by Spanish Civil War veteran Michael O'Riordan's 1979 book Connolly Column. Moore said: "Without Michael O'Riordan I'd never have been able to write Viva la Quince Brigada. I must have performed the song over a thousand times...

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