In June 1880 the Freeman’s Journal published a letter by John Devoy defending his support for the Irish National Land League. Devoy railed against nationalists who might claim that he had betrayed his principles by supporting a partnership with parliamentarians and advocacy of a cause that deviated from the cherished aim of Fenianism, the overthrow … Read more
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
On St Patrick’s Day 1858, in Peter Lanigan’s timber yard, Lombard Street, Dublin, James Stephens formally established the Irish Republican Brotherhood. It was originally named the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood, but soon came to be known as the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). The IRB was a small, secret, revolutionary body whose sole object was to ‘establish … Read more