International Brigade Memorial Trust
The IBMT's 2026 Annual General Meeting will be held in Glasgow on Saturday 10 October as part of a weekend of commemorative and social activities from 9-11 October.
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME
Friday 9 October
4pm: Unveiling of a sculpture of Nelson Mandela in Nelson Mandela Place, G2 1QY.
8pm: Meet-and-greet at the Clutha & Victoria Bar, corner of Bridgegate and Stockwell Street, G1 5HZ. A number of tables have been reserved for the IBMT.
Saturday 10 October
11am-11.40am: Ceremony at La Pasionaria Memorial, 286 Clyde Street, G1 4AL. Speakers will include Alison Campbell Glass, great-granddaughter of International Brigader George Drever, Dave Moxham, Deputy General Secretary of the Scottish TUC, IBMT Secretary Megan Dobney, IBMT Scotland Secretary Mike Arnott, and IBMT Trustee Dolores Long, who will read the farewell speech to the International Brigades given by Dolores Ibárruri (La Pasionaria) on 28 October 1938.
11.45am-12pm: Ceremony at Blockade Runners’ Memorial, corner of Glasgow Bridge and Broomielaw, where IBMT Chair Jim Jump will speak.
2pm-3.30pm: IBMT Annual General Meeting at the Unison Office, 1st Floor, 16 Albion Street, G1 1LH.
3.30pm-4.30pm: There will be two half-hour presentations in the main meeting room:
– Liam Turbett will talk about Chrissie Wallace, a Glasgow-born nurse. Chrissie joined her doctor husband in Spain to serve in the International Brigade hospital in Vic, where she died in a typhoid epidemic. She was the only Scottish woman to die in Spain.
– Rob Macdonald will talk about the Solidarity Park Festival in Malgrat de Mar in Catalonia and the upcoming One Million Words against Fascism project. Next year will be the 90th anniversary of the sinking of the Ciudad de Barcelona – the event that inspired the creation of the Solidarity Park project. An international arts exhibition curated by Rob MacDonald will tour eight countries starting in December 2026, including Dundee, concluding at the Solidarity Park Festival on 29 May 2027.
7pm-8pm: Buffet hosted by RMT at Gracie’s Irish Centre, 16 Candleriggs, G1 1LD. Booking required.
8pm-10pm: Social at Gracie’s Irish Centre, with entertainment to include a full set by The Wakes and contributions from local poets.
Sunday 11 October
10am-11.30am: Working-class walking history tour of Glasgow. Meet at Glasgow City Chambers main entrance. Booking required.
REGISTRATION
Registration via Evenbrite is required for the Saturday evening buffet and social and the Sunday morning history tour. Email IBMT Scotland Secretary Mike Arnott for more information: scotland@international-brigades.org.uk
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Agenda
1. Chair’s opening remarks
2. Election of two scrutineers
3. Approval of the minutes of the 2025 AGM
4. Matters arising from the minutes not otherwise on the agenda
5. Executive Committee’s annual report
6. Finance report
a) 2025-26 accounts
b) Proposals on membership & finance
c) Proposals on fundraising
7. Motions
8. Election of four Executive Committee members for three years.
[the submission of ballot papers to be preceded by a one-minute
contribution from those candidates who wish to make one]*
9. Any other business (previously notified)
10. Date and place of 2027 AGM
11. Scrutineers’ report of election results
12. Chair’s closing remarks
* As of 30 September, written nominations have been received and accepted for Paul Coles, Alex Gordon and Noelia Sánchez.
Proposals for agenda items under ‘Any other business’ must be received in writing by the Secretary (see email below) by 3 October. A final agenda will be published on the IBMT website soon afterwards.
Nominations
Nominations to fill four vacancies on the Executive Committee must be received in writing by the IBMT Secretary by 26 September. Send nominations to: secretary@international-brigades.org.uk
If necessary, a ballot will be held among members attending the AGM to elect the EC members. The four vacancies arise because David Chanter, Paul Coles, Alex Gordon and Jonathan Havard will have completed their terms of office by the AGM and they will therefore step down and an election, in which they are permitted to stand along with other IBMT members, will be held. All IBMT members may nominate fellow members to serve on the EC. The names of the candidates will be published on the IBMT website in advance of the AGM.
Hotels (numbered in blue on the map):
1) [Withdrawn]
2) Mercure Glasgow City Hotel, 201 Ingram Street, Glasgow G1 1DQ.
3) Millenium Hotel, George Square, Glasgow G2 1DS.
4) Premier Inn Glasgow City Centre, 187 George Street, Glasgow G1 1YU.
5) The Z Hotel, 36 North Frederick Street, Glasgow G1 2BS.
6) Premier Inn Glasgow City Centre (St Enoch), 24 Howard Street, Glasgow G1 4AG.
7) Clayton Hotel, 298 Clyde Street, Glasgow G1 4NP.
Likely venues (yellow numbers):
1 & 7: Glasgow City Chambers
2: Pasionaria memorial
3: Blockade Runners memorial
4 & 5: Unison office
6: Gracie’s Irish Centre
Words spoken by joint Ireland Secretary Luke O'Riordan at Belfast City Hall on 3 October 2025 during the IBMT AGM weekend…
It is a great honour to be asked to say a few words among friends and comrades this evening as we gather to remember the bravery of the International Brigades.
Many of you will have known my grandad Michael, or Mick, and many more of you will have known my dad, Manus.
Michael O'Riordan in 1936.
As well as being incredibly proud of the conviction and courage shown by my grandfather Mick as a mere 20-year-old young man to fight for what is right, I am likewise incredibly proud of our dad, Manus, for the role he played in carrying that flame for many decades until his passing four years ago.
Manus O'Riordan proudly holding the Connolly Column banner.
We are indebted to the work of people such as my father and so many of you here in preserving, researching and bringing to life the stories of all those brave volunteers from Ireland, Britain and further afield, who fought for what they knew was right.
I think back to the AGM of the IBMT here in Belfast in 2007. It was the first such meeting I had attended since the passing of our grandad a year and a half previously.
As a 19-year-old who was very close and immensely fond of him, there was an extra layer of nostalgia to the occasion.
Another layer was added later that evening at the social event in the Europa Hotel, where Tommy Sands was among the performers.
For it was his song Your Daughters And Your Sons, which for me encapsulates why the work of the International Brigades Memorial Trust is so important.
I’ll quote a verse of that song:
They tortured you in Belfast and they taunted you in Spain
and in that Warsaw ghetto they tied you up in chains.
In Vietnam and Chile they came with tanks and guns,
It's there you sowed the seed of Peace in your daughters and your sons.
It is a song that draws upon the many global injustices of the 20th century, passed on to the next generation, that highlights the value in sowing the seeds of freedom, justice, equality and peace to the next generation.
And that is exactly what the International Brigades Memorial Trust does.
In keeping alive the memory of the International Brigades, it sows those seeds for future generations.
Unlike my grandfather, I am not a great public speaker and unlike my father, I am neither a historian nor a researcher.
Luke O'Riordan (left) with siblings Jess and Neil next to the stained-glass window dedicated to the International Brigades in Belfast City Hall.
So, instead, I will take a moment to remember how growing up as the grandson of someone like Michael O’Riordan, and how both he and my parents, Manus and Annette, sowed those seeds for me, Jess and Neil.
For anyone who knew our grandfather, you will know he had a bit of a presence about him.
Holding court in Connolly Books, he might size you up as to whether he wanted to engage with you or not. But if he did, he was very generous with his time and his insights.
And as a grandfather, he was loving and kind, and always had great time for all of his grandchildren, and for other children and young people as well, as his lifetime of activism and want for a better world never faltered.
Memories of grandad speaking about his time in the International Brigade, and his views on politics and the world more generally, are seared into the memory of my childhood.
I will forever be grateful to my parents for bringing me to Spain in 1996, the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Spanish Civil War and the biggest-ever reunion of Brigadistas in Spain.
The experience of walking through the streets of places such as Barcelona, Madrid and Guernica, and visiting battle sites such as Jarama alongside our grandad and his comrades from all over Europe are memories I cherish and will never forget.
Even though I was only 8 years of age, it imparted on me the great sacrifice so many of these men made.
Equally impactful on that trip were the throngs of Spaniards and Catalonians who rushed to greet and embrace the Brigadistas on the streets.
They had been silenced for decades under the brutality of Fascism, their stories left untold. But those who survived still remembered, and their sheer emotion showed that they were still forever grateful.
Not long after that trip to Spain in 1996, my grandad addressed my primary school, kids aged 5 up to the age of 12, and spoke for a couple of hours about his experiences, his audience enthralled.
American Brigader Louis 'Lou' H Gordon. Photo: ALBA
Not long after, our grandad’s comrade, Lou Gordon, a Lincoln Brigade veteran from New York, came to stay with us in our family home.
He also came to my school, and told those same children that if the world had realised what was happening in Spain in the 1930s, then he might not have had to be one of the people who had to liberate Dachau concentration camp seven or eight years later.
These might seem like trivial anecdotes, but for me they are not.
Remembering and commemorating the International Brigades in one function of occasions like that one we are having this weekend.
But an even more important function is educating, engaging and inspiring future generations.
Because the world is, once again, in a dark place.
The myth of Western values has, once again, been shattered.
Never again is now. This week alone, as world leaders bury their heads in the sand or turn the other way, it took normal, everyday men and women to take a stand by setting sail on a flotilla to attempt to break the siege of Gaza and bring aid to a starving population.
So when we gather at events like these to commemorate the International Brigades…
In the words of Christy Moore: Let us all remember them tonight.
But as well as that, in the words of Tommy Sands: Sow the seeds of freedom in your daughters and your sons.
The IBMT's 2025 Annual General Meeting will be held in Belfast on Saturday 4 October as part of a weekend of commemorative and social activities from 3-5 October.
PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME
Friday 3 October
5.30pm: Arrive early at Belfast City Hall, Donegal Square North, Belfast BT1 5GS to see the famous stained-glass window dedicated to the International Brigades.
5.45pm: Drinks reception provided by the Belfast City Council.
6.30pm: Opening of AGM weekend, hosted by Deputy Lord Mayor Paul Doherty, with contributions from International Brigade family members and international and trade union speakers and music from Cairde Community Choir and Brenda O’Riordan.
8.45pm: Buffet upstairs in the Fountain Lane Bar, 16 Fountain Street, Belfast BT1 5ED (4-minute walk from City Hall). 8.50 per buffet.
Saturday 4 October
10.30am: Meet at City Hall for a bus tour taking in Shankill Road Library to see the International Brigade plaque and posters, Milltown Cemetery to see the gravestone of Jim Straney and the Falls Road to see the murals.
1.15pm: Lunch provided by Unite the Union, 26-34 Antrim Road, Belfast BT15 2AA. The bus tour group will take people there. Otherwise a15-minute bus ride – any bus number 1a/e/f/g/j/etc, but not 1d or 1k – from outside M&S in Donegall Place. Check with driver that it goes via Carlisle Circus. Get off at the first stop after Carlisle Circus at the bottom of the Antrim Road.
2.30pm-4pm: IBMT Annual General Meeting at the Unite office (address above). All welcome, but only IBMT members may speak and vote.
5pm-7pm: Optional visit to Seatons of Sailortown bar, Dock Street, Belfast BT15 1LF. Close to the Dockers Club and 22 minutes away on foot or by bus – any number 1 bus to M&S, Donegall Place and from there a bus number 2j, getting off at Pilot Street.
7pm until late: Dockers Club, Pilot Street, Belfast BT1 3AH for a concert and social.
Sunday 5 October
11am: Gathering at the International Brigade memorial at Writer’s Square, Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 1DL.
11.30am: Irish Congress of Trade Unions, 45-47 Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 2FN for the launch of a booklet on the International Brigade Commemoration Committee, ‘20 Years of Action’, and a light buffet lunch.
1pm: Retire to The John Hewitt pub, 51 Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 2FH, where there is a memorial to the International Brigades.
REGISTRATION AND PAYMENT
Registration and payment are essential because the City Hall, caterers and bus tour need to know numbers. The following charges per person will apply:
Friday buffet: £8.50
Saturday bus tour: £10 deposit (refundable if not enough people apply)
Saturday lunch: registration needed for numbers
Saturday concert: £4 (unwaged) £8 (waged)
Sunday lunch: registration needed for numbers
If you plan to attend all events, you can pay online via Eventbrite: https://ibmt_agm_2025.eventbrite.co.uk/. The total ticket price is £23.10 (unwaged) and £27.10 (waged), which includes the Eventbrite processing fee.
Please note that if you book an earlier waged/unwaged ticket, you will be contacted.
If you plan to attend only certain events, send your payment direct to the hosts, the Belfast-based International Brigade Commemoration Committee: Ulster Bank Account no. 18745513 / Sort code 98 00 60. You must also email the IBCC to indicate which events from the above list you will be attending.
AGM BUSINESS
Agenda
Proposals for agenda items under ‘Any Other Business’ must be received in writing by the Secretary (see email below) by 8am on 27 September. A final agenda will be published on the IBMT website soon afterwards.
Provisional agenda
1. Chair’s opening remarks
2. Approval of the minutes of the 2024 AGM
3. Matters arising from the minutes not otherwise on the agenda
4. Executive Committee’s annual report
5. Finance report, including 2024-2025 accounts
6. Election of two scrutineers
7. Election of five Executive Committee members (see below)
8. Date and place of 2026 AGM
9. Any Other Business (previously notified)
10. Scrutineers’ report of election results
11. Chair’s closing remarks
Notice of nominations
Nominations are invited for candidates to fill five vacancies on the Executive Committee. If necessary, a ballot will be held among members attending the AGM to elect the EC members. Four vacancies arise because Mike Arnott, Megan Dobney, Jim Jump and David McKnight will have completed their terms of office by the AGM and they will therefore step down and an election, in which they are permitted to stand, along with other IBMT members, will take place. A fifth vacancy has been carried over from last year. All IBMT members may nominate fellow members to serve on the EC. Nominations must be made in writing and received by the Secretary by 8am on 20 September. The names of the candidates will be published on the IBMT website in advance of the AGM.
Send nominations and proposed agenda items by email (these will be acknowledged) to: secretary@international-brigades.org.uk or by post to: IBMT Secretary, 37a Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0DU.
Nominations accepted
The following members have been nominated in accordance with the above procedure and have accepted nomination to serve on the Executive Committee. Their names will now go forward to the AGM.
Mike Arnott
Megan Dobney
Jim Jump
Denis Lenihan
David McKnight
Above: Stained-glass window in Belfast City Hall. Top: International Brigade memorial in Writers Square.
The IBMT’s 2023 Annual General Meeting will take place on Saturday 7 October, as part of a weekend of commemorative, educational and social activities in Stockton-on-Tees.
Friday 6 October
6:30pm: Drinks reception at Middlesbrough Town Hall, Albert Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2QJ to view International Brigade memorial. Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald to speak. With a flamenco ensemble or Spanish guitarist.
7:30pm: Social at Unite, Fry Street, Middlesbrough TS1 1HA with buffet and drinks. Welcome from Chris Cooke, Middlesbrough Mayor. Poetry from Tabitha McGowan and music from Ella-Joy Hunton. Event expected to finish at 9:30pm.
Saturday 7 October
Transport from Middlesbrough (outside Unite office) can be provided if required.
11am: Pete Widlinski and Sheila Gray in the Georgian Theatre, Green Dragon Yard, Stockton-on-Tees TS18 1AT on Stockton’s volunteers, with Q&A.
12 noon: Commemoration and wreath-laying at the International Brigade memorial, Wasp Nest Yard, Stockton TS18 1TB. Family members and IBMT Chair Jim Jump to speak.
12:30pm: Time to explore Stockton, including the nearby The Golden Smog (1 Hambletonian Yard, Stockton TS18 1DS), pub with an International Brigade flag mural.
2:30pm: AGM (see agenda below) in the Georgian Theatre (see above). Tea or coffee on arrival. Mayor of Stockton-on-Tees Jim Beall to open.
4:30pm: Steel Sisters to perform.
5pm: Chris McDonald (Stockton North Labour prospective parliamentary candidate) to speak.
5:20pm: Juan Díaz family member to speak.
6pm: Joe Solo in the main hall.
7pm: Social in the bar until late, with Dan Donnelly of The Levellers.
Sunday 8 September
10:30am: Anti-fascist walk in Stockton with Teesside’s own Time Traveller, Martin Peagham. Meeting place TBC.
Attendees are asked to confirm by 25 September whether they will be attending the Middlesbrough Town Hall and Unite reception on Friday evening by writing to IBMT Secretary Megan Dobney at secretary@international-brigades.org.uk.
Memorial in Wasp's Nest Yard.
AGM agenda
* Nominations have been received and accepted by John Haywood/David Chanter (jobshare), Paul Coles, Alex Gordon and Jonathan Havard.
** Proposals for agenda item ‘Any Other Business’ must be received in writing by the Secretary (see below) by 8am on 30 September.
Agenda item 9: Notice of nominations
Nominations are invited for candidates to fill five vacancies on the Executive Committee (EC). If necessary, a ballot will be held among members attending the AGM. Four vacancies arise because John Haywood / David Chanter (jobshare), Paul Coles, Alex Gordon and Jonathan Havard will have completed their terms of office by the AGM and they will therefore step down and an election, in which they are permitted to stand, along with other IBMT members, will take place. In addition, James Bentley has resigned from the EC.
All IBMT members may nominate fellow members to serve on the EC. Nominations must be made in writing and received by the Secretary by 8am on 23 September. The names of the candidates will be published on the IBMT website in advance of the AGM.
Send nominations and proposed agenda items by email (these will be acknowledged) to: secretary@international-brigades.org.uk or by post to: IBMT Secretary, 37a Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0DU.
Agenda item 5: Executive Committee’s proposed amendments to the IBMT Constitution
Delete all items highlighted in italics:
G: EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
(3) Members of the Executive Committee, excepting the President, shall be elected to serve a three-year term of office (excepting those covered by the provisions of sub paragraph G(4)) and shall retire at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting at the end of their three-year term of office but will be entitled to stand for reelection.
(4) At the 2019 Annual General Meeting the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer plus two members of the Executive Committee shall retire and there will be an election for four Executive Committee members. At the Annual General Meeting in 2020, four additional members of the Executive Committee (excluding those elected in 2019) shall retire and there will be an election for four Executive Committee members. Executive Committee members other than the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer shall retire in 2019 and 2020 in order of the number of votes received in the election at the 2018 Annual General Meeting, with those with the fewest votes retiring first; where two or more Executive Committee members received the same number of votes, their order of retiring shall be determined by lot.
[Renumber subsequent sub-clauses G(5), G(6), G(7) and G(8) accordingly.]
H: DETERMINATION OF MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
(iii) is absent without the permission of the Executive Committee from all their meetings held within a period of six [replace by ‘eight’] months and the Executive Committee resolve that his or her office be vacated; or
Hotels
Stockton: Hampton by Hilton is a five-minute walk away from the Georgian Theatre, where we will be meeting on Saturday. The Parkwood Hotel is a five-minute drive away from Stockton town centre. Middlesbrough: The Leonardo Hotel and Premier Inn Town Centre are less than a two-minute to the Unite office, where we will be a reception on Friday evening.
Originally posted on 29 August 2023; updated on 7, 27 and 28 September 2023 and 3 October 2023.
