Frank Ryan Connolly Column Badge

Frank Ryan (Irish: Proinsias Ó Riain; 11 September 1902 – 10 June 1944) was an Irish politician, journalist, intelligence agent and paramilitary activist. He first came to prominence as an Irish republican activist at University College Dublin and fought for the Irish Republican Army during the Irish Civil War. Ryan fell under the influence of Peadar O'Donnell; an advocate of Marxist-Leninism within Irish republicanism; which saw him break with the IRA and become involved with founding of a new political organisation known as the Republican Congress.

Along with others, Ryan participated in the Spanish Civil War on the Popular Front side, fighting for the Comintern-organised International Brigades (retroactively known as the Connolly Column).