5 Mar 1867: Fenian Rising
The Fenian Rising of 1867 was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland, organised by the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB).
The Fenians were a transatlantic association consisting of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, founded in Dublin and the Fenian Brotherhood, founded in the United States in 1858. Their aim was the establishment of an independent Irish Republic by force of arms.
In 1865, the Fenians began preparing for a rebellion. With the ending of the American Civil War, they hoped to recruit willing Irish veterans of that war for an insurrection in Ireland. They collected about 6,000 firearms and had as many as 50,000 men willing to fight. In September 1865, the British moved to close down the Fenians' newspaper The Irish People and arrested much of the leadership,
After the suppression of the Irish People newspaper, disaffection among Irish radical nationalists had continued to smoulder, and during the latter part of 1866, IRB leader James Stephens endeavoured to raise funds in the United States for a fresh rising planned for the following year.
However, the rising of 1867 proved to be poorly organised. There was a brief rising in County Kerry in February, followed by an attempt at nationwide insurrection, including an attempt to take Dublin in early March. Due to poor planning and British infiltration, the rebellion never got off the ground. Most of the leaders in Ireland were arrested, but although some of them were sentenced to death, none were executed.
There followed a series of attacks in England aimed at freeing Fenian prisoners, including a bomb in London and an attack on a prison van in Manchester, for which three Fenians, subsequently known as the Manchester martyrs, were executed. A series of raids into Canada by US-based supporters also accomplished little.
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1862 - 1919 (~ 57 years) 