Documentaries, History, Latest, Programmes

Fleeing the war: Basques refugees in Ireland

Feature documentary, broadcasting on Good Friday, April 10th at 12 noon

Gallastegi is not a particularly Irish sounding surname but on the 8th November 1962, Joseph Barron, Clann na Poblachta TD for Dublin South Central, put a question to the Taoiseach Seán Lemass in relation to an Irish citizen by that surname who found himself under threat from the Franco regime.

This documentary  tells the story of the journey of the Gallastegi family, their Basque roots and their Irish upbringing. This documentary will look back in history to find out under what circumstances the Gallastegis arrived to the Meath Gaeltacht, who they were, what brought them to Ireland, how they integrated and finally why did they come to the attention of the Spanish authorities in a way that ended with a diplomatic incident between the Irish government and the Spanish fascist regime.

Programme produced by Ignacio Irigoien and Steward Reddin with the participation of historians Brian Hanley and Kyle McCreanor, as well as several members of the Gallastegi family. Thank you also to Maureen Shiels for her contributions to this project.

Narration by historian Fin Dwyer with historical representation by Jack Byrne and Alan Braddish

Made with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland with the television licence fee.

Latest on Listen Again

Donie Tarrant and regular contributor, Alan Tuffery, discuss words and language that they find irritating. Are they just ‘wrong’ or just lazy and dull ? [...]

Aoife Kelly-Desmond newly appointed CEO of Community law and Mediation Services joins Donie Tarrant live in studio to discuss and update the listeners on CLM’s services and remind them that [...]

Eris: For the Darkwave, Post Punk, Goth and Dark Electro communities of Dublin, Ireland and beyond. Presented by George Mulcahy. Playlist: 11th July 2025 Antipole & Ja’kob ft. Pedro Code [...]

Yes, there’s more! And it’s getting almost too hot to handle now! To continue the adventure, all you have to do is sit back, relax, and prepare your ears for [...]

Plague and Pestilence embarks on more of a whistlestop than a leisurely pilgrimage throughout the centuries, starting with I think, one of the most “well setup” of all Chaucer’s characters [...]

Young men, think twice before whipping out your spray paints after dark, hoping to have some fun at the expense of the defenseless dead in that old local cemetery near [...]

This week on Love Unfiltered, Maria McHale talks about something every one of us will face in this life: grief. Grief is the natural emotional response to a significant loss, [...]

  Paula Wiseman chats with artist, Magda Karol. She has worked on the community climate mural with children and adults in Ballymun. She is taking part in the ‘Ballymun Is [...]