Overview
While the original Fenians were a secretive Republican organization founded by John O'Mahony in America and James Stevens in Dublin in 1858, this volume seeks to reclaim the term used by oppressors and occupiers as a term of abuse to demean those who believed in a free Ireland. It is also an attempt to give readers a taste of the literary talent of Ireland's finest patriotic writers. From speeches in the dock, to extracts from memoirs and novels, Irish patriots produced some of the finest Irish writing. At once a record and a cultural history, The Fenian Anthology features excerpts from the speeches of many of Ireland's political heroes, including Pearse and Emmet, and extracts from such classic texts as Knocknagow by Charles Kickham and The Felon's Track by Michael Doheny.
Synopsis
While the original Fenians were a secretive Republican organization founded by John O'Mahony in America and James Stevens in Dublin in 1858, this volume seeks to reclaim the term used by oppressors and occupiers as a term of abuse to demean those who believed in a free Ireland. It is also an attempt to give readers a taste of the literary talent of Ireland's finest patriotic writers. From speeches in the dock, to extracts from memoirs and novels, Irish patriots produced some of the finest Irish writing. At once a record and a cultural history, The Fenian Anthology features excerpts from the speeches of many of Ireland's political heroes, including Pearse and Emmet, and extracts from such classic texts as Knocknagow by Charles Kickham and The Felon's Track by Michael Doheny.