"Viva la Quinta Brigada" is a

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

song about the Irishmen who fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

against

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ref ...

. 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 The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existe ...

, and who in later years became known as the

Connolly Column The Connolly Column (, ) was the name given to a group of Irish republican socialist volunteers who fought for the Second Spanish Republic in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. They were named after James Connolly, the ex ...

. This song is unrelated to the song titled "Viva la Quince Brigada" that was recorded by

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

and the

Almanac Singers The Almanac Singers was an American New York City-based folk music group, active between 1940 and 1943, founded by Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie. The group specialized in topical songs, mostly songs advocating an an ...

in the early 1940s. That song is a variation of a Spanish song about the Spanish Civil War, "

¡Ay Carmela! ''¡Ay Carmela! '' is a 1990 Spanish comedy-drama film directed by Carlos Saura and based on the eponymous play by José Sanchís Sinisterra. The film stars Carmen Maura, Andrés Pajares, and Gabino Diego as a trio of travelling players perfor ...

." 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 Michael O'Riordan ( ga, Mícheál Ó Ríordáin; 12 November 1917 – 18 May 2006) was the founder of the Communist Party of Ireland (3rd) and also fought with the Connolly Column in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. Ea ...

'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 and every single time I sing it I think of Mick and wonder how can I ever thank him enough. In Spain in 1983 I was reading his book, Connolly Column – the story of the Irishmen who fought for the Spanish Republic, and I began this song as I read on. The song was lifted entirely from his book.

Moore's original song title - which translates as "Long live the Fifth Brigade" - was a slip due to the similarity in Spanish between "quinta" (fifth) and "quince" (fifteen). The bulk of Irish volunteers served with the XV (Fifteen) International Brigade; the "Fifth Brigade" was not one of the International Brigades. The song later appeared listed as Viva la Quince Brigada as Moore corrected the mistake in subsequent recordings. Both titles are correct however, originally there were ten brigades in the Spanish army, the five international brigades were then added to the list making the 5th International Brigade the 15th Brigade of the Spanish republic.

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Lyrics and tabs at the author's site
{{Authority control Protest songs Songs based on actual events Songs about Spain Songs about Ireland Spanish Civil War in popular culture Songs written by Christy Moore Year of song missing

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