Aileen O'Brien

Aileen von Vittinghof gennant Schell zu Schellenburg (née O'Brien; January 4, 1913[1] – October 30, 2000[1]), was an American[2] writer,[3] journalist,[3] and political activist.

[2] She is known for her 1938 lecture tour of the United States, where she advocated on behalf of the Nationalist faction of the Spanish Civil War.

[6][7] The organisation was founded with the intention of showing support and raising funds for the Nationalist faction of the Spanish Civil War.

She was also closely attached to the Irish Brigade, a group of about 700 Irishmen led by Eoin O'Duffy who fought for the Nationalists.

[5] In early 1938, after 17 months in Spain, O’Brien travelled to the United States to give a lecture tour on behalf of the Spanish nationalists.

[14] She stressed the Nationalists’ achievements in areas such as workers’ rights,[18] gender equality,[18] education[18] and housing.

[14][19] Nationalist memoirist Luis Bolín recounted that while in the United States, O’Brien spoke on the telephone to every Catholic bishop in the country and begged them to request that their parish priests ask all members of their congregations to telegraph in protest to President Roosevelt.

[4] As a result, Bolín claimed, more than a million telegrams were received by the White House and a shipment of arms to the Republicans was stopped.