Nick Maxwell By the mid-1860s the Fenian movement had experienced both extraordinary growth and frustrating schism. Within a few years of its founding in 1858 it had cells throughout Ireland and the Irish diaspora, with Lancashire a notable stronghold in Britain. But its founder, James Stephens, while a consummate and energetic organiser, was also a congenital conspirator … Read more
The struggle between the Catholic Church and the Fenians, as this evolved in the mid-nineteenth century, had its origins in the wider context of the church’s horror of revolution and revolutionary movements. The locus classicus for this antipathy was the experience of the French Revolution and its aftermath. Equally, the spectre of revolution haunted Europe … Read more
Women provided an important part of the material support for the Fenian movement. Fenian women not only assisted in tactical efforts but also in fund-raising and prisoner support. Their most visible work was the Ladies’ Committee, established in 1865 soon after the suppression of the IRB newspaper The Irish People and the arrests of many … Read more
James Stephens and John O’Mahony, the formal founders of the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1858, had been out in ’48 but questioned the leadership of William Smith O’Brien. Unwilling to sanction even the commandeering of private property, O’Brien’s rising ended in the inglorious failure to dislodge less than 50 police from Widow McCormack’s house near … Read more
In the Celtic world, as elsewhere, canines were admired for their senses of sight, smell and hearing. Dogs were used on hunting expeditions and to guard homes, as domestic pets and as a source of food. They abound in surviving mythology and folk tradition and are well represented in religion, where they are often associated … Read more