Fenians

The Irish Republican (or sometimes Revolutionary) Brotherhood, the IRB, developed out of the Young Ireland movement. They were founded in Ireland in 1858 by James Stephens and in America by John O'Mahony with the name of the Fenian Brotherhood. The first major impact they had was the funeral of Thomas Bellew McManus. Their newspaper The Irish People ran very successfully from 1863 until its suppression in 1865. Many hundreds of Fenians were arrested around this period.

The Fenian uprising in 1867 was a sporadic and short lived affair. After that, its activities declined but it continued to influence Irish politics even up to the present day. Thomas Clarke revived the Irish branch in 1907 and the IRB became the driving force behind the Easter Rising.