119 The Fenians (Part Three)

Now, on today's show, we're going to return to the Fenians.

We've already done two episodes on this already.

And John, maybe you might just recap where we are now in the story as we reach part three.

Yes.

So we covered the inception of the Fenians as a development of young Ireland up to their attempted rebellion in 1867.

And we covered the subsequent period, which is quite a splintered period in Fenian history.

So there's various groups trying to do political violence in Ireland and in England.

There is also what we might call mass agitation in the land war on the land question and in support for the Home Rule Movement.

But then we have a shrinking of Fenianism, certainly in Ireland and not as much probably in America, the other great wing of Fenianism.

And the re-emergence kind of of the IRB or the Fenians as an entry group, especially in cultural nationalist organisations, the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Gaelic League and other organisations.

And their cultural role kept alive by things like commemorations and opposition to the Boer War and things like that.

But by the early 1900s, Cahill, I think it's fair to say the Fenians are no longer a mass revolutionary organization, nor are they really an armed underground as elements of them were in the 1880s.

Yes, it's interesting looking at even the commemorations for 1898, like the 100th anniversary of the 1798 rebellion.

that a lot of IRB members are disappointed because they think this period of commemorations will draw a lot of people into republicanism and the IRB itself, but it doesn't quite get the interest among the general public that they think it will, or at least lead a lot of members of the public into the IRB.

Yeah, I mean, I think from a kind of propaganda point of view or a discourse point of view, to use modern terms, you know, it did keep the idea of Irish republicanism more to the forefront in Irish discourse because the Home Rule Party is evolving into something that's kind of different from its earlier stage where it is very Fenian, infiltrated.

And whereas the reformed Irish Parliamentary Party after the Parnell split under John Redmond tends to be more pro-British more conciliatory, less Fenian in outlook, although there's still a good few former Fenian MPs in it.

So I think 1898 and the celebration of the United Irishmen and their ideology does probably help to keep Irish republicanism alive in a way.

But no, there's no big influx of recruits.

They don't also seem to have a great direction.

I mean, the fact that a lot of their energy goes into commemorations and attempting to erect a statue of Wolfe Tone and so on shows you that they don't really have a great political plan at that time.