Aileen O'Brien

Aileen von Vittinghof gennant Schell zu Schellenburg (née O'Brien; January 4, 1913 – October 30, 2000), was an American writer, journalist, and political activist. She was a devout Catholic and anti-communist. 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. Life and activism Aileen O’Brien was born on 4 January 1913 in San Francisco to William and Margaret O’Brien. Shortly after her family relocated to Bolivia. She spent much of her childhood in Bolivia and Chile. In 1927 she was sent to Switzerland to continue her education. She graduated from the University of Freiburg. While in Switzerland, she helped to launch the quarterly journal The Colosseum. She also became secretary of Pro Deo, “a shadowy Christian, anti-communist organisation based in Geneva”. In 1934 O’Brien moved to Ireland with her family. She continued her involvement with Pro Deo, as the organizing secretary in Ireland and England. In 1936 she became a founding member of the Irish Christian Front (ICF). The organisation was founded with the intention of showing support and raising funds for the Nationalist faction of the Spanish Civil War. However, it quickly became a political organisation opposed to the Irish government of the day. She was the organizing secretary of the ICF and later its representative in Spain. O'Brien said of the communist threat to Ireland that "communism stood for the abolition of nationality, aiming at making Ireland, not an independent country, but merely a section of the Communist International, with headquarters in Moscow. It was a well-known Communist trick to find out what the people of a country wanted and to promise them that." In Spain, O’Brien was the intermediary between the ICF and Cardinal Goma over the distribution of funds raised. She helped to organise medical and other relief units for the rebels. She was involved in the Auxilio Social, which acted as a social assistance organization for widows, orphans and the destitute by providing them with food and clothing. 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.