Supplement given with the Weekly Freeman of October 1883
The
Fenians, both the
Fenian Brotherhood and
Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent
Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by
John O'Mahony to the members of the
Irish republican group which he founded in
America in 1858. O'Mahony, who was a
Celtic scholar, named the American wing of the movement after the
Fianna. In
Gaelic Ireland these were warrior bands of young men who lived apart from society and could be called upon in times of war.
The term Fenian is still used today, especially in
Northern Ireland, the
Republic of Ireland and
Scotland, where its original meaning has expanded to include all supporters of
Irish nationalism, as well as being a pejorative term for Irish
Catholics. Irish nationalists, while honouring the 19th century Fenians, more often describe themselves as "nationalist" or "republican".
Fenianism
Fenianism, according to O'Mahony, is symbolized by two principles: firstly, that
Ireland has a natural right to independence, and secondly, that that right could be won only by an armed
revolution.
The term Fenianism was sometimes used by the
British political establishment in the 1860s for any form of mobilization among the
lower classes or those who expressed any Irish nationalist sentiments. They warned people about this threat to turn decent civilized society on its head such as that posed by
trade unionism to the existing
social order in England.
Ireland
James Stephens, one of the "Men of 1848," (a participant in the
1848 revolt) had established himself in Paris, and was in correspondence with John O'Mahony in the United States and other advanced nationalists at home and abroad. This would include the
Phoenix National and Literary Society, with Jeremiah Donovan (afterwards known as
O'Donovan Rossa) among its more prominent members, had recently been formed at
Skibbereen.
Along with
Thomas Clarke Luby,
John O'Leary and
Charles Kickham he founded the Irish Republican Brotherhood on 17 March 1858 in Lombard Street,
Dublin.
United States
The Fenian Brotherhood, the Irish Republican Brotherhood's US branch, was founded by John O'Mahony and
Michael Doheny, both of whom had been "out" (participating in the Young Irelander's rising) in 1848. In the face of
nativist suspicion, it quickly established an independent existence, although it still worked to gain
Irish American support for armed rebellion in Ireland. Initially, O'Mahony ran operations in the US, sending funds to Stephens and the IRB in Ireland, disagreement over O'Mahony's leadership led to the formation of two Fenian Brotherhoods in 1865. The US chapter of the movement was also sometimes referred to as the IRB. After the
failed invasion of
Canada, it was replaced by
Clan na Gael.
Canada
In Canada,
Fenian is used to designate a group of Irish radicals, a.k.a. the American branch of the Fenian Brotherhood in the 1860s. They made several attempts (1866, 1870, etc.) to invade some parts of
Canada West (
Southern Ontario) which was a British
dominion at the time. The ultimate goal of the Fenian raids was to hold Canada hostage and therefore be in a position to blackmail the United Kingdom to give Ireland its independence. Because of the invasion attempts, support and/or collaboration for the Fenians in Canada became very rare even amongst the
Irish.
A suspected Fenian,
Patrick J. Whelan, was hanged in
Ottawa for the
assassination of
Irish Canadian politician,
D'Arcy McGee in 1868, who had been a member of the
Irish Confederation in the 1840s.
The Fenians were a major cause of
Canadian Confederation, although there were several other reasons, there is a lot of evidence that Fenian raids on the territory of Canada West was an important element into forcing the confederates hands to form a more adequate centralized defense.
Contemporary usage
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland,
Fenian is used as a derogatory word for Catholics generally.
In 1984, the
Unionist politician and
Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) member
George Seawright caused outrage at a meeting of the
Belfast Education and Library Board by saying that Catholics who objected to the flying of the
Union Flag were "just Fenian scum who have been indoctrinated by the Catholic church".
Scotland
The term
Fenian is used similarly in Scotland. During Scottish
football matches it is often aimed at supporters of
Celtic F.C.. Celtic has its roots in
Glasgow's immigrant Catholic
Irish population and the club has thus been associated with Irish nationalism.
Australia
In Australia
Fenian is used as a pejorative term for those members of the
Australian Labor Party (ALP) who have
Australian Nationalist views similar to those of the Irish Catholic supporters of Irish independence.
Michael Atkinson,
Attorney-General of
South Australia, spoke of those members of the ALP who wished to remove the title
Queen's Counsel and other references to the crown as 'Fenians and
Bolsheviks' in a speech given at the ALP Convention in Adelaide on 15 October 2006. Irish Catholics have been traditional supporters of the ALP and have influenced the party's platform regarding the
monarchy. Atkinson made a further subsequent mention of Fenianism when the title of Queen's Counsel was finally abolished.
See also
Footnotes
