releasing many of the political prisoners arrested by Cumann na nGaedhael in the preceding years. As a result, many members of the IRA were freed. The IRA and many released prisoners, who held Cumann na nGaedhael in contempt, began a "campaign of unrelenting hostility" against those associated with the former Cumann na nGaedheal government. Frank Ryan, one of the most prominent socialists in 1930s Ireland, active in the IRA and Republican Congress, declared "as long as we have fists and boots, there will be no free speech for traitors". As a consequence, many Cumann na nGaedhael public meeting began to be disrupted by IRA members. In response, former members of the National Army and supporters of the Cumann na nGaedhael party formed the Army Comrades Association (ACA), better known as the Blueshirts. The organisation began acting as stewards at Cumann na nGaedhael meetings and began engaging in street fighting with IRA members. In August 1932, O'Higgins was invited to become the leader of the ACA, which he accepted. O'Higgins was joined in the organisation by fellow Cumann na nGaedhael TDs Ernest Blythe, Patrick McGilligan and Desmond Fitzgerald. It was under O'Higgins direction that the ACA went from an association of ex-National Army members into a crusading right-wing movement hitched to Cumann na nGaedhael. O'Higgins asked ACA members to defend the right to free speech and assembly against "Republican thuggery", and to defend Christian values against "Communist influences" he suggested were entering Ireland via the IRA. In 1933, Fianna Fáil called a surprise election which saw them consolidate their power in the Dáil. That spring, O'Higgins handed over leadership of the ACA to Eoin O'Duffy, the former Garda Commissioner who had just been sacked by Éamon de Valera. O'Duffy took the ACA into a more radically hardline direction, renaming it the "National Guard" and adopting many elements of European Fascism such as the Roman straight-arm salute, uniforms and huge public rallies. In August 1933, Fianna Fáil banned the National Guard following an aborted march on Dublin. As a result, in September the National Guard, the National Centre Party and Cumann na nGaedhael merged into one new party, Fine Gael. O'Duffy was named leader, with WT Cosgrave of CnaG replaced to avoid the idea that the new party was merely a continuation of CnaG. The National Guard, now known as the Young Ireland Association, was to act as a youth wing for