THE FASCIST PARTY IN INTERWAR NORTHERN IRELAND 5
“stormy” (‘Stormy Belfast meeting’: 8). However, one should be cautious before
denying the political element of the fasci. There has been a tendency among
historians to whitewash the Fascist Party of political connotations. Ugolini (2011: 55)
suggests that this subconscious concealment, by both academics and community
leaders, stems from a deep sense of shame amongst the Italian diaspora regarding
fascism’s association with the Holocaust, fuelled by the popular belief that “Fascism
equals Nazism equals Auschwitz” (Iacovetta and Ventresca cited in Ugolini 2011:
58).
Despite certain historians’ inclination to understate the political function of the fasci,
Baldoli (2003: 7-8) demonstrates that links between the Italian government and
diaspora fascism were extremely close. The Italian Foreign Ministry saw fascist clubs
as a vehicle for maintaining the loyalty of its citizens in other countries. This process
- dubbed “fascistisation” (Baldoli 2003: 2) - sought to transform emigrants into
committed fascists rather than simply proud Italians. The dispensation of propaganda
was therefore an integral function of the Fascist Party. In 1924 members of Belfast’s
fascio performed the Roman Salute and “enthusiastically honoured” Mussolini
(‘Northern Fascisti’: 8). Two years later the group unveiled a portrait of Mussolini at
its Trocadero Hall (Royal Ulster Constabulary 1926). As the party became more
established, displays honouring Italy’s leader grew increasingly fervent and public. In
1932, during another visit by the Italian Air Force, members of the Londonderry
branch paraded through the streets of the city chanting “Vive Il Duce [sic]” (‘Italian
seaplane’: 7).3 Whilst public displays of enthusiasm for Mussolini clearly indicated a
political flavour to Italian fascism, they do not prove the existence of influence from
the Italian government. Other reports, however, provide evidence of direct
involvement from Mussolini’s regime. In 1932 the Irish Times reported that
Mussolini himself had written to Forte, promising to fund the establishment of an
Italian-language school in Belfast (‘Mussolini and Belfast’: 4). Although Colpi (1991:
95) suggests that Italian schools were merely a means of “keeping the mother tongue”
alive, the direct input of the Italian government rendered political influence
“Viva Il Duce” - misspelt by the Cork Examiner as “Vive Il Duce” - translates from Italian as “Long
Live the Leader [Mussolini]”.
3