Fenian Rising

The Fenian Rising of 1867 (Éirí Amach na bhFiann, 1867) was a rebellion against British rule in Ireland, organised by the Fenian Brotherhood.

After the suppression of the Irish People newspaper, disaffection among Irish radical nationalists had continued to smoulder, and during the latter part of 1866 Irish Republican Brotherhood leader James Stephens endeavoured to raise funds in America for a fresh rising planned for the following year. However the rising of 1867 proved to be poorly organised. Some outbreaks in the south and west of Ireland brought the rebellion to a close. Most of the leaders in Ireland were arrested, but although some of them were sentenced to death, none were executed. A series of raids into Canada by U.S.-based supporters also accomplished little.

Chester raid

The revolt's organisers had hoped to benefit from considerable support among Irish nationals living in England. In concert with the Irish rebellion, a bold move on the part of the Fenian circles in Lancashire had been concerted in co-operation with the movement in Ireland. An attack was to be made on Chester, the arms stored in the castle were to be seized, the telegraph wires cut, the rolling stock on the railway to be appropriated for transport to Holyhead, where shipping was to be seized and a descent made on Dublin before the authorities should have time to interfere. This scheme was frustrated by information given to the government by the informer John Joseph Corydon, one of Stephens' most trusted agents.

Manchester Martyrs

On September 11, 1867, Colonel Thomas J. Kelly, "Deputy Central Organizer of the Irish Republic," was arrested in Manchester, where he had gone from Dublin to attend a council of the English "centres" (organisers), together with a companion, Captain Timothy Deasy. A plot to rescue these prisoners was hatched by Edward O'Meaher Condon with other Manchester Fenians; on September 18, while Kelly and Deasy were being conveyed through the city from the courthouse, the prison van was attacked by Fenians armed with revolvers, and in the scuffle police-sergeant Brett, who was seated inside the van, was shot dead. The three Fenians, who were later executed, were remembered as the "Manchester Martyrs."

Clerkenwell explosion

In the same month, November 1867, Richard Burke, who had been employed by the Fenians to purchase arms in Birmingham, was arrested and imprisoned in Clerkenwell Prison in London. While he was awaiting trial a wall of the prison was blown down by gunpowder in order to effect his escape. The explosion caused the death of twelve people, and injured one hundred and twenty others. This act, for which Fenian Michael Barrett would suffer the death penalty, powerfully influenced William Ewart Gladstone in deciding that the Anglican Church of Ireland should be disestablished as a concession to Irish disaffection.