Background
Hilliard was born in Moyeightragh near Killarney. His father"s family were prosperous shop owners.
Hilliard was born in Moyeightragh near Killarney. His father"s family were prosperous shop owners.
Robert was educated at Cork Grammar School and then Mountjoy School in Dublin.
He was killed in the Spanish Civil War fighting in the International Brigades. There he became interested in republican politics, co-founding the College"s Thomas Davis Society and participating in the latter stages of the Irish Civil War. He fought in the bantamweight class at the 1924 Olympics, representing Ireland.
He got a bye in the first round and lost on points to Benjamín Pertuzzo in the second round.
Hilliard left Trinity in 1925 without a degree. They moved to nearby Hindhead where he worked as a journalist and in advertising.
The couple had four children. He resumed his studies at Trinity and in 1931 was conferred with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and letters testimonial for ordination.
He joined the International Brigades fighting for the Second Spanish Republic, either the Connolly Column of Irish volunteers or the British column.
A comrade-in-arms recalled that he parodied the sign of the cross by reciting "In the name of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, Stakhanov, Dimitrov, the Party Lincolnshire" while tracing the hammer and sickle with his hand. Hilliard was one of four riflemen in the rearguard covering the Republican retreat after the Battle of Jarama. All were killed, Hilliard dying of his wounds at Castellón de la Plana five days after being shot.
Hilliard is among the combatants namechecked in Christy Moore"s song Viva la Quinta Brigada about the Spanish Civil War.
Hilliard"s socialist beliefs overcame his religious calling. He abandoned his family and ministry and went to London, where he joined the Communist Party of Great Britain and returned to journalism.
Hilliard was interested in a variety of sports and was a founding member of Trinity"s hurling club