History of the Irish Republican Brotherhood

Background

Founding of the IRB

The Irish Republican Brotherhood was founded by James Stephens on St Patrick's Day 1858, in Peter Lanigan's timber yard, Lombard Street, Dublin city. It's aim was to establish an independent democratic Irish Republic (for all 32 counties of Ireland). Following the failed 1848 rebellion and the arrest of many of its leaders James Stephens and John O'Mahony fled to Paris to avoid arrest. While supporting themselves there with teaching and translation work they planned to continue "the fight to overthrow British rule in Ireland”. Stephens in Paris, set himself three tasks, during his seven years of exile. They were, 1) to keep alive 2) pursue knowledge 3) master the technique of conspiracy. At this time Paris particularly, was interwoven with a network of secret political societies.

They became members of one of the most powerful of these societies and acquired the secrets of some of the ablest and "most profound masters of revolutionary science" which the 19th century had produced, as to the means of inviting and combining people for the purposes of successful revolution. Secrecy was necessary as those fighting for democracy and national freedom faced the death sentence or 10 years or more of penal servitude if caught, and the governments had spies and informers everywhere.

In 1853, John O'Mahony went to America and founded the Emmet Monument Association. This served as a fund raising body for Irish Republicans and military operations for the next 50 years. In early 1856, Stephens began making his way back to Ireland, stopping first in London. On arriving in Dublin, Stephens began what he described as his three thousand mile walk through Ireland, meeting some of those who had taken part in the 1848/49 revolutionary movements, including Philip Gray, Thomas Clarke Luby and Peter Langan. In the autumn of 1857, a messenger, Owen Considine arrived from New York with a message for Stephens from members of the Emmet Monument Association, calling on him to set up an organisation in Ireland.

On 23 December Stephens dispatched Joseph Denieffe to America with his reply which was disguised as a business letter, and dated and addressed from Paris. In his reply Stephens outlined his conditions and his requirements from the organisation in America. Stephens demanded uncontrolled power and £100 a month for the first three months.

Denieffe returned on 17 March 1858 with the acceptance of Stephens terms and £80. Denieffe also reported that there was no actual organised body of sympathisers in New York but merely a loose knot of associates. This disturbed Stephens but he went ahead regardless and that evening, St. Patrick's Day, the Irish Republican Brotherhood commenced. The IRB's principles were that the Irish people had the incontrovertible right to self-determination and national independence. These men nurtured and promoted the idea of equality and democracy for all - ideas which were considered radical at the time.

The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) was founded by James Stephens in Dublin city, Ireland on 17th March, St. Patricks Day, in 1858. It was in the house of Peter Langan, a lathe-maker and timber merchant, at 16 Lombard street, Dublin that the Irish Republican Brotherhood was founded. Present at that fateful meeting were James Stephens, Thomas Clarke Luby, Joseph Denieffe, Garret O’Shaughnessy and Peter Langan.

The original IRB oath, with its clauses of secrecy was drawn up by Luby under Stephens' direction in Stephens' room in Donnelly's which was situated behind Lombard Street. Luby then swore Stephens in and he did likewise. Those present in Lanigan's, lathe-maker and timber merchant, 16 Lombard Street, Dublin city for the founding and first meeting of the IRB apart from Stephens and Luby were Peter Langan, Charles Kickham, Joseph Denieffe and Garrett O'Shaughnessy. They were the founders of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the IRB.

Joseph Denieffe

Charles Kickham

Thomas Clarke Luby

The Irish Republican Brotherhood operated as a secret society, with an oath of allegiance, circles of members and ranks such as centres, a Council, a president, and secret codes and passwords. They had to keep it secret as it was a criminal offence to support Irish independence and freedom at the time, and these offences often carried the death sentence or long prison sentences of 10 years or more of penal servitude. And the British had spies and informers in many areas of Ireland and in Britain and the USA. The IRB and Fenians operated similar to a secret military unit, and on the basis of "uisce faoi talamh", an Irish term referring to clandestine activity.

The following published historical paper details the founding of the IRB in 1858 and its early years.
IRB - the early years

The founding of the IRB and its early years from the 1850's to 1895 is also discussed in John O' Learys book 'Recollections of Fenians and Fenianism' published in 1896, which can be bought here at
michael@irishrepublicanbrotherhood.org
And the book 'James Stephens, Chief Organizer of the Irish Republic' by George Carleton, published in 1866 is an excellent book with first hand accounts from James Stephens himself and his comrades, friends and associates. It is the semi-biographical sketch of James Stephens, with the story of his arrest and imprisonment; and also his escape from the British authorities. His trips abroad to other countries and his work with organisations there. Explains the origins of the Fenian movement of the late 19th century. It can be bought here at michael@irishrepublicanbrotherhood.org

Another excellent book about the IRB history from 1858 to 1908 titled 'Soldiers of Liberty' uses extensive research of old records, files, minutes of meetings, journals and archives and testimonies from those who lived at the time and can be bought on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3EYg68t

16 Lombard street in Dublin today, the site of the founding of the IRB in 1858

a plaque on the wall commemorating this event

The IRB Oath

The original IRB Oath, as quoted by Thomas Clarke Luby and John O'Leary, and which is among several versions in James Stephens's own papers, ran:

I, AB., do solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will do my utmost, at every risk, while life lasts, to make [other versions, according to Luby, 'establish in'] Ireland an independent Democratic Republic; that I will yield implicit obedience, in all things not contrary to the law of God ['laws of morality'] to the commands of my superior officers; and that I shall preserve inviolable secrecy regarding all the transactions [ 'affairs'] of this secret society that may be confided in me. So help me God! Amen.

This oath was significantly revised by Stephens in Paris in the summer of 1859. He asked Luby to draw up a new text, omitting the secrecy clause. The omitting of the secrecy clause was outlined in a letter from Stephens to John O'Mahony on 6 April 1859 and the reasons for it. 'Henceforth,’ wrote Luby to O’Leary "we denied that we were technically a secret body. We called ourselves a military organization; with, so to speak, a legionary oath like all soldiers."

The revised oath ran:

I, A.B, in the presence of Almighty God, do solemnly swear allegiance to the Irish Republic, now virtually established; and that I will do my very utmost, at every risk, while life lasts, to defend its independence and integrity; and, finally, that I will yield implicit obedience in all things, not contrary to the laws of God [or 'the laws of morality'], to the commands of my superior officers. So help me God. Amen'.

Organisational structure

The IRB was organised into circles, a "circle" was analogous to a regiment, that the "centre" or A, who might be considered equivalent to a colonel, who chose nine B's, or captains, who in their turn chose nine C's, or sergeants, who in their turn chose nine D's, who constituted the rank and file. In theory an A should only be known to the B's; a B, to his C's: and a C, to his D's; but this rule was often violated

United States Organisation

Late in 1858 Stephens travelled to the United States to secure support and financial backing. He was unsuccessful, however, in winning the support of former Young Irelanders such as John Mitchel. Eventually, he joined with John O'Mahony and Michael Doheny to form the Fenian Brotherhood, intended as the American twin organisation of the IRB, with O'Mahony as its president. Both John O' Mahony and Michael Doheny were close friends of James Stephens (the founder of the IRB) and they all had served in the Young Ireland rising in 1848. The name "Fenian" came from the word "Fianna" who were the warriors of ancient Ireland, over 2,000 years ago. There was a constant exchange of personnel between these twin organisations in Ireland and the USA, as many people emigrated to the USA and some returned home to Ireland for missions or meetings or military actions. The Fenians were IRB men ; the terms were interchangeable. The Fenians in the USA were organised along similar lines to the IRB in Ireland.

John O'Mahony, Founder of the Fenian Brotherhood in USA and Colonel in the 69th Regiment of Irish Brigade, Union Army in Civil War

Many Fenian / IRB men served as officers and nco's and soldiers in the Union army during the American Civil war. Entire circles of Fenian / IRB men joined American army battalions and regiments. The Irish joined up in their thousands, many served in new Irish regiments and in the Irish Brigade and other Union regiments. On the battlefield 150,000 Irish men fought for the Union army and Lincoln in the Civil War.

General Michael Corcoran of the fighting 69th Regiment was a Fenian. This regiment fought in many batles in the civil war and distinguished itself. The General Corcoran set up the Corcoran legion which consisted of many new regiments, mostly consisting of Irish and Irish-Americans. He was given command of the 1st Division, VII Corps which won a few battles . In late 1863 he was placed in command of a division in the XXII Corps and returned to serve in the Washington defenses. The 69th regiment was part of the Irish Brigade in the Union army, which had a few regiments mostly Irish. The Brigade was founded and led by Fenians and IRB men. The fighting 69th Regiment and Irish Brigade and Corcoran Legion in the Union army distinguished themselves in the battles of Bull Run, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In fact the Irish Brigade suffered the worst losses of any brigade in the Civil War. Thousands of Irish men died in the American civil war.

The Irish were awarded 146 Medals of Honor during the Civil War, and President Lincoln himself kissed the Irish flag and said, “God Bless the Irish" after the battle of Malvern Hill. The Pennsylvania Irish 69th played an incredible role at Gettysburg where they stood alone for a time against Pickett's charge. The defeat of Pickett's Charge decided the battle of Gettysburg. Irish-American General Philip Sheridan played a key role in the Union army's final battles in 1865 which led to victory for the Union. The Irish Brigade suffered the worst losses of any brigade in the American Civil War and had to be re-formed and re-inforced several times. Thousands of Irish men died in the American civil war. Many monuments in the USA attest to this fact. Some of these Irish military units, including the 69th fought for the USA in the world wars, and still exist in the present US army.

Fighting 69th, Union Army, US Civil War

President John F Kennedy praised the Irish Brigade, the 69th Regiment and all the Irish who fought in the Union army in his address to the Irish Parliament in 1963.

A song was made about the 69th Regiment and Irish Brigade and it's role in the American Civil War. The 69th was formed by IRB men and Fenians in the USA to defend the Union and American democracy and freedom in the 1860's and after.
 

This famous American Civil war song below was written by Patrick Gilmore,
an Irish-American and Fenian

Fenians and IRB involvement in the American Civil war in 1860's - Two videos

 

After the American civil war the Fenians who were officers and soldiers in the Union army organised into new militia units to train Irish-Americans and Irish exiles in the USA for combat in Ireland. Some of these returned to Ireland for the 1867 Rising in Ireland and others for the campaign in England in the 1870's and 1880's. While others participated in the Fenian raids from the USA into Canada in the late 1860's and 1870's.

Clan na Gael was also formed in New York in the USA in 1867 and also became a twin organisation of the IRB in Ireland, and maintained close links with the IRB. The Fenian Brotherhood dissolved and disbanded in 1880 in the USA and most of their members joined Clan na nGael. Clan na Gael grew strongly in the 1800's and early 1900's as millions of Irish emigrants were forced out of Ireland by oppression, corruption, injustices, poverty and starvation and settled in the USA. Clan na nGael raised considerable sums of money for "the cause" in the USA and sent money, weapons, materials and personnel over to Ireland to assist in the work of the IRB and the Fenians in Ireland.

In the late 1870s the Fenian Brotherhood was superseded as the main American support organisation by Clan na Gael, of which John Devoy was a leading member. The IRB and Clan na Gael reached a "compact of agreement" in 1875, and in 1877 the two organisations established a joint "revolutionary directory". This effectively gave Devoy control over the Supreme Council in Ireland, which was reliant on Clan na Gael for funds.

'Furious Democracts' and The Objectives of IRB

Dublin Castle was the seat of British government administration in Ireland and was appointed by the British cabinet and was accountable only to the cabinet, not to the House of Commons and not to the Irish people or their political representatives. Irish MPs could speak at Westminster in protest about the actions of the administration, but its privileges were unchallengeable as Irish representation in the House of Commons was only one sixth of the total and far too small.

Fenianism therefore, according to O'Mahony was symbolised by two principles: Firstly, that Ireland had a natural right to independence, and secondly, that that right could be won only by an armed revolution. Because of their belief in republicanism, that is, the “common people are the rightful rulers of their own destiny,” the founding members saw themselves as “furious democrats in theory” and declared their movement to be “wholly and unequivocally democratic.”Being a democrat and egalitarian in the mid 19th century was tantamount to being a revolutionary, and was something to be feared by political establishments.

It was Stephens “firm resolution to establish a democratic republic in Ireland; that is, a republic for the weal of the toiler,” and that this would require a complete social revolution before the people could possibly become republicans. In propagating republican principles, they felt, the organisation would create this virtual democracy within the country, which would form the basis of an independence movement.

The Fenians soon established themselves in Australia, South America, Canada and, above all, in the United States, as well as in the large cities of England, such as London, Manchester, Liverpool, and Glasgow, in Scotland.

Supreme Council

The IRB was re-organised at a convention in Manchester in July 1867. An 11-man Supreme Council was elected to govern the movement. They would eventually be representatives from the seven districts in which the organisation was organised: the Irish provinces of Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht, as well as Scotland, North England, and South England. The remaining four members were co-opted. The Supreme Council elected three of its members to the executive, which consisted of a president, secretary, and a treasurer. The Council met twice a year, usually in the spring and the summer. In Manchester August 1867 Thomas Kelly was declared Chief Organiser of the Irish Republic (COIR), in succession to Stephens. The arrest and subsequent rescue of Kelly with Timothy Deasy in September 1867 resulted in the execution of the Manchester Martyrs. Kelly escaped to USA and remained associated with the IRB.

Establishment Reaction and the Empires and Colonialism which were Anti Human and Anti Life

Then the Devil took Jesus to a high mountain and showed him all the empires of the world and their glory, "I will give you all this power and all this wealth" the devil told him, "It has been handed over to me and I can give it to anyone I choose. All this will be yours then if you worship me".Jesus answered "The scripture says 'woship the Lord your God and serve only him.' ".
Luke, Chapter 4, lines 4-8, The Bible

Many empire builders and empire supporters must have worshipped this devil. The Tories in Britain were the strongest supporters of the British empire, and many wished to keep expanding that empire in the 19th century and early 20th century. From 1870 to 1914, the Tory party blocked home rule for the 32 counties of Ireland in the British Parliament. They blocked, delayed and undermined several Home Rule bills and they frustrated and ultimately destroyed Charles Parnell the great political leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party. Even when the 1912 Home Rule law was passed in Parliament they delayed it for another 2 years until 1914. Tories continued to block and prevent 32 county Home Rule for Ireland well into 1914. Then world war 1 broke out in 1914, and the Home Rule law was postphoned until the end of the war. The Tories wanted to continue the British occupation of Ireland into the future, and they resisted and undermined all attempts to deliver Irish independence by peaceful and democratic means. By blocking these peaceful and democratic means for achieving Irish independence, the Tories radicalised and embittered the Irish people. And over time, this led to frustration in Ireland and to many people seeking a revolutionary means of achieving an independent Ireland. The Tories' blocking of democratic and peaceful means for achieving an independent Ireland would have severe consequences for both countries in the future.

Also, in the late 1800's, the Tories paranoid and disturbed by the increase in republican propaganda, particularly in America, launched a propaganda campaign in the Irish press and British press to discredit the Fenians and the IRB. The IRB movement and Fenians were continuously denounced by the British establishment, and the press and media, and their allies in the churches and the Irish political elite, as had all Irish nationalist movements and Irish risings since the 1300's. They presented them as enemies of the people and enemies of religion and as "dangerous" and as "terrorists" in the press and media. Importantly, the Tories gained the support of the hierarchy in the catholic, protestant and christian churches, and this support was used to deliver the Tory message in sermons in churches during the 19th century. Fiery sermons in churches were used to beat down the people and deliver the Tory message in catholic and protestant churches in Ireland and Britain. This brainwashed most people in Ireland and Britain. Though the Tories and the Press and Religions forgot to mention the British terrorism, crimes and oppression against the Irish people in Ireland for over 600 years at that time. This moral cowardice on the part of religious leaders and the press led to them tacity supporting this oppression of the Irish people.

There is a deeper worldwide perspective to this. This was a global problem. Most religious leaders, churches and religions have historically supported empires, colonialism and their governments against the ordinary people for many centuries and milennia. This included support for invasions, mass murders, theft of lands, looting, genocide, torture, famines, burnings, etc. And religions have also supported the wars and conflicts of governments against other governments, inclusing regional wars, religious wars, imperial wars and world wars, even when such wars were unjustified and unnecessary. This led to mass murder and there was no condemnation of this and no opposition from religious leaders and churches. Also, religions refused to condemn and actively oppose corruption in the legal system, the police, politics and government and banking and the many injustices and crimes committed against the ordinary people. Empires were anti life and this should have been of great concern to religions and religious leaders. Religion's support for government wars, murders, genocides, occupation, mass theft of lands and natural resources, oppression, corruption, and all the other evils of committed by empires and governments went against the religious teachings and principles of these religious leaders, and against the spiritual teachings of their founders, messiahs or prophets. And this contrasts sharply with the religious leader's condemnation of rebellions and risings by the ordinary people against tyrants and empires. This exposed a moral cowardice and hyocrisy by religious leaders.

The upper and middle classes tended to be religious and they were brainwashed and obsessed with religion and Tory "respectability", and they controlled the Irish press and media. They were also very apprehensive about the new social and political movements - democracy and democratic rights including the vote for all persons over 18, the vote for women, worker's rights and unions, farmers rights, equality before the law, national freedom and independence, etc.. They saw it as a threat to their own privilege and social status. Their fears intensified the propaganda in the press and media and this in turn played a major role in brainwashing the ordinary people, the working classes and rural labourers, and all sections of society, and led to the demonising of these new social movements. This deeply affected public opinion and voters, and this in turn affected politics and the laws which were passed and the legal measures used to suppress and oppress even more.

Tories and their supporters in the press and media and the churches warned people about this threat to "decent civilised society" and "respectability" and that they could be destroyed by the so called "threats" posed by Fenianism, worker's rights and trade unionism, ending child labour, farmers rights, pensions for older people, affordable healthcare, ending colonialism around the world, the vote for women to the existing social order in England (and its empire). Their warnings were misplaced as there was certainly no "decent civilised society" or "respectability" in existence in Ireland and Britain (and British empire) then and in the 600 prior years of British occupation, murder, genocide and oppression in Ireland.

The great poet and IRB man (and Nobel Prize winner) William Butler Yeats summed up this attitude in his poems and prose.

September 1913
By William Butler Yeats

What need you, being come to sense,
But fumble in a greasy till
And add the halfpence to the pence
And prayer to shivering prayer, until
You have dried the marrow from the bone;
For men were born to pray and save:
Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone,
It’s with O’Leary in the grave.

Irish People Newspaper and Early years of the IRB prior to the 1867 Rising

The early years of the IRB were marked by strong growth in Ireland, in Britain and in the USA. This involved a lot of work and travel by James Stephens and IRB meetings and recruitment drives, infiltration of British army and RIC and civil service, acquiring arms and ammunition, and fund raising. Relations with the USA were maintained and IRB members travelled to the USA regularly, and Fenians from the USA travelled to Ireland and Britain. Plans, strategies and new improvements were discussed and implemented. It was a busy period for the IRB. The details of this are described in a book about James Stephens published in 1866 which can be downloaded for free here at
James Stephens, Chief Organizer Of The Irish Republic
and in John O' Learys book 'Fenians and Fenianism' published in 1896, which can be downloaded for free here at
'Fenians and Fenianism' book.

American Fenians made plans for a rising in Ireland, but the plans were discovered on 15 July 1865 when an emissary lost them at Kingstown railway station. They found their way to Dublin Castle and to Superintendent Daniel Ryan head of G Division. Ryan had an informer within the offices of the Irish People named Pierce Nagle, he supplied Ryan with an "action this year" message on its way to the IRB unit in Tipperary. With this information, Ryan raided the offices of the Irish People on Thursday 15 September, followed by the arrests of O’Leary, Luby and O’Donovan Rossa. The last edition of the paper is dated 16 September 1865.

Arrests and escapes

Before leaving, Stephens entrusted to Luby a document containing secret resolutions on the Committee of Organization or Executive of the IRB. Though Luby intimated its existence to O’Leary, he did not inform Kickham as there seemed no necessity. This document would later form the basis of the prosecution against the staff of the Irish People. The document read:

EXECUTIVE

I hereby appoint Thomas Clarke Luby, John O’Leary and Charles J. Kickham, a Committee of Organization or Executive, with the same supreme control over the Home Organization (Ireland, England, Scotland, etc.) I have exercised myself. I further empower them to appoint a Committee of Military Inspection, and a Committee of Appeal and Judgment, the functions of which Committee will be made known to each member of them by the Executive.

Trusting to the patriotism and ability of the Executive, I fully endorse their action beforehand, and call on every man in our ranks to support and be guided by them in all that concerns our military brotherhood.
9 March 1864, Dublin
J. STEPHENS

Charles Kickham

Kickham was caught after a month on the run. Stephens would also be caught, but with the support of Fenian prison warders, John J. Breslin and Daniel Byrne was less than a fortnight in Richmond Bridewell when he vanished and escaped to France.

Preparation for a Rising

The Fenian Brotherhood (in USA), especially a faction of it under William R. Roberts, mobilised up to 1,000 Irish veterans of the American Civil War to launch raids on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada in order to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland, between 1866 and 1871. While the U.S. authorities arrested the men and confiscated their arms afterwards, there is speculation that many in the US government had turned a blind eye to the preparations for the invasion, angered at actions that could be construed as British assistance to the Confederacy during the American Civil War. There were five Fenian raids of note. While they had some minor successes against Canadian forces, they were militarily and politically unsuccessful.

In February 1867 Fenians, one of whom was Michael Davitt, attacked Chester Castle in order to obtain arms for the rising. The revolt's organisers had hoped to benefit from considerable support among Irish nationals, or their descendants, living in England. 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.

The Fenians and IRB had also infilatrated the British army based in Ireland. Many of the men in this army were Irishmen and catholics and joined the army as they were jobless, poor and impoverished. The Fenians secretly managed to recruit 15,000 British soliders based in Ireland into the IRB. However, British spies and informers learnt about this infilatration by the IRB. They gathered information and passed it onto the police and British government. The police and military arrested and jailed the IRB leaders, closed down the cells, and posted army regiments to India, Asia, Africa, Australia, and other parts of the empire, prior to 1867.

Rising of 1867

On 14 February 1867 there was an attempted rising in County Kerry. The Fenians attacked a coastguard station, robbed a man's house and stole his horses, and killed one policemen before heading towards Killarney. When the Fenians were near the town it was discovered that the RIC and British army were occupying it. They then retreated by passing between the Toomey Mountains and MacGillycuddy Reeks. On 5 March 1867, risings took place in Dublin, Cork city and Limerick. The largest of these engagements took place at Tallaght, County Dublin, when several hundred Fenians, on their way to the meeting point at Tallaght Hill, were attacked by the Irish Constabulary near the police barracks, and were driven off after a firefight.

The rebels burnt down police barracks at Ballingarry, Emily, Gortavoher and Roskeen, in County Tipperary. A number of rebels armed with pikes gathered at Ballyhurst outside Tipperary town led by Colonel Thomas F Bourke of Fethard. A short battle took place with soldiers of the 31st Regiment which resulted in one man being killed and several wounded. Some escaped, though many were interned in Clonmel gaol to await trial. Before the end of the week the rising in Tipperary was crushed.[8]

Around 40 men attacked a police barracks in Ardagh, County Limerick with guns, muskets and pikes.

A total of twelve people were killed across the country on the day. When it became apparent that the co-ordinated rising that had been planned was not transpiring, most rebels simply went home. The rising failed as a result of lack of arms and planning, but also because of the British authorities' effective use of informers. Most of the Fenian leadership had been arrested before the rebellion took place.

However, the rising was not without symbolic significance. The Fenians proclaimed a Provisional Republican government, stating,

The Irish People of the World

We have suffered centuries of outrage, enforced poverty, and bitter misery. Our rights and liberties have been trampled on by an alien aristocracy, who treating us as foes, usurped our lands, and drew away from our unfortunate country all material riches. The real owners of the soil were removed to make room for cattle, and driven across the ocean to seek the means of living, and the political rights denied to them at home, while our men of thought and action were condemned to loss of life and liberty. But we never lost the memory and hope of a national existence. We appealed in vain to the reason and sense of justice of the dominant powers. Our mildest remonstrance's were met with sneers and contempt. Our appeals to arms were always unsuccessful. Today, having no honourable alternative left, we again appeal to force as our last resource. We accept the conditions of appeal, manfully deeming it better to die in the struggle for freedom than to continue an existence of utter serfdom. All men are born with equal rights, and in associating to protect one another and share public burdens, justice demands that such associations should rest upon a basis which maintains equality instead of destroying it. We therefore declare that, unable longer to endure the curse of Monarchical Government, we aim at founding a Republic based on universal suffrage, which shall secure to all the intrinsic value of their labour. The soil of Ireland, at present in the possession of an oligarchy, belongs to us, the Irish people, and to us it must be restored. We declare, also, in favour of absolute liberty of conscience, and complete separation of Church and State. We appeal to the Highest Tribunal for evidence of the justness of our cause. History bears testimony to the integrity of our sufferings, and we declare, in the face of our brethren, that we intend no war against the people of England – our war is against the aristocratic locusts, whether English or Irish, who have eaten the verdure of our fields – against the aristocratic leeches who drain alike our fields and theirs. Republicans of the entire world, our cause is your cause. Our enemy is your enemy. Let your hearts be with us. As for you, workmen of England, it is not only your hearts we wish, but your arms. Remember the starvation and degradation brought to your firesides by the oppression of labour. Remember the past, look well to the future, and avenge yourselves by giving liberty to your children in the coming struggle for human liberty. Herewith we proclaim the Irish Republic.

The Provisional Government.

The proclamation preceded the Easter 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic by almost 50 years. it also sheds some light on early Fenianism: it is centred with the ideas of republican democracy; however it is embedded with ideas of class struggle. The proclamation claims that their war was "against the aristocratic locusts, whether English or Irish" which denotes that their ideology at this time was in some way embedded in class differences against the landed aristocracy rather than merely against British rule.

Aftermath

On 11 September 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'Meagher Condon with other Manchester Fenians; on 18 September, 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 Charles Brett, who was seated inside the van, was shot dead. The three Fenians, who were later executed, were remembered as the "Manchester Martyrs."

Colonel Tom Kelly (IRB and Union army of USA)

Manchester Martyrs

On the same day of November 1867, Ricard O'Sullivan Burke, who had been employed by the Fenians to purchase arms in Birmingham, was arrested and imprisoned in Clerkenwell Prison in London. In December, whilst 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. The Clerkenwell Outrage, 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.

The rising itself was a military failure, but it did have some political benefits for the Fenian movement. There were large protests in Ireland against the execution of Fenian prisoners, many of whose death sentences were, as a result, reprieved. In addition, the bravery of the three "Manchester Martyrs" on their execution provoked an emotional reaction among the Irish public, 17 monuments were erected in their honour and annual commemorations were held well into the 20th century. An Amnesty Association for Fenian prisoners was established by Isaac Butt, later the founder of the Home Rule League.

In 1871, the unsung hero of the later 1916 Easter Rising John Devoy and the four other members of the "Cuba Five" were released from prison by the British, along with 28 other Fenian prisoners. Many including the Cuba Five settled in the USA and immediately joined the Fenian Brotherhood and later Clan na nGael there and started recruiting in new members and plotting and planning the next military actions in Ireland. Their influence, especially that of John Devoy, would last up until the 1916 Rising and the Irish war of independence.

The Cuba Five

The Catalpa Rescue

Many fenians were sentenced to penal servitude in Australia after 1867. In 1874 the IRB and Fenians in the USA recieved a request for a jail break from fenians imprisoned in Freemantle Australia. John Devoy and John Boyle O' Reilly hatched a plan to do this. They bought a ship with fenian and IRB funds, the Catalpa, in the USA and hired a captain who was a fenian and a crew who knew nothing about the plan. In 1875 they sailed to Freemantle, Australia and arrived in 1876. Some Fenians had landed in Australia months earlier to prepare the escape from the prison work camp. Some of the ship's crew went on land and met with them and got information on the escape plan details. A small boat was put in place a few miles away from the prison work camp to carry the prisoners to freedom. Six fenian prisoners escaped from the work camp, walked to a pick up point where a horse carriage transported them several miles to the small boat. They rowed the boat through rough seas and made it to the ship Catalpa. The British authorities had been alerted by an onlooker on land, and a police ship pursued the Catalpa and fired a shell at it. The Catalpa raised the American flag and reminded the police that they were in international waters and that an attack would mean an act of war against the USA. The police ship returned back to Australia and the Catalpa sailed back to the USA, avoiding the British navy on the way. In New York, USA, the six escaped fenians were treated to a hero's welcome. This was a major publicity coup for the IRB. It established the high reputation of John Devoy in the USA, in Ireland and around the world.

You can view a documentary film about it below

The Catalpa ship

Later, IRB men in Australia worked with other Irish people living there and Australians to help establish Australian independence from Britain, and also played a part in achieving unions and worker's rights, and in ending penal servitude in Australia. Many of their offspring played a part in defending Australia from invasion during World War 2 in the 1940's. The Irish and IRB played a significant part in Australian history.

The New Departure and the Formation of the IRB Supreme Council and IRB Constitutions

The IRB and Fenians themselves re-organised after the failure of the rising in 1867. In 1868, the IRB established a new Supreme Council which would govern and run the affairs of the IRB. In 1868, the IRB issued a number of public statements to the Irish public and nation. These outlined reasons why the 1867 Rising was unsuccessful and the need for changes in the IRB and the need to continue the struggle for Irish independence. It was the first use of the term "Irish Republican Army" and this is an important historical milestone. A similar public address was given to the Irish public in 1870. See document about this at
THE I.R.B. SUPREME COUNCIL, 1868-78
In 1869, the IRB debated and passed its first Constitution which provided the rules and laws for the IRB organisation. This Constitution was a radical document and provided a governing structure, an international organisational structure, roles and responsibilities, an oath of allegiance, and rules which lasted for many decades with some minor amendments. Support was given to those who wished to use peaceful and political methods for freedom Links to this historical Constitution below:

1869 Constitution - paper 1
1869 Constitution - paper 2
1869 Constitution - paper 3

In 1873, the Irish Republican Brotherhood amended the 1869 Constitution and this became known as the 1873 Constitution. This stated that armed rebellion would not be pursued again until it had majority backing from the Irish people and nation. The 1873 Constitution was similar to the 1869 Constitution. This 1873 Constitution lasted for many decades and was cited in the 1916 Rising. It was amended by the new Constitution of 1917, in the aftermath of the 1916 Rising.

In 1879, the leaders of the IRB, principally John Devoy, decided on a New Departure, eschewing, for the time, physical force in favour of adopting the land question and building a broad nationalist movement. IRB members helped set up the Land League in 1879 to fight for the rights of Irish farmers, tenants and labourers. The IRB played a role in the Land War in Ireland of the late 1800's and early 1900's. Michael Davitt, the great leader of the Land League was also a secret member of the IRB. This eventually won rights for tenant farmers, land redistribution, loans for land purchases by tenants, housing for farmers and labourers, and important rights for small Irish farmers.

IRB members were involved in the setting up of the Home Rule League. The IRB supported Parnell and the Irish Parliamentary party and it's struggle for Irish Independence which was opposed by Benjamin Disraeli, a corrupt, prejudiced and unscrupulous politician, and other corrupt politicians in Britain. Parnell was believed to be a secret member of the IRB. The Fenians cooperated with the Land League in the land war from the 1870s onwards and with the Irish Parliamentary Party in their quest to win Home Rule for the 32 counties of Ireland. These were key strategic moves by the iRB and Fenians and represented a departure away from violence and armed conflict.

The IRB activity at local level proved to be very important. The IRB and Fenians assisted the Land League and Irish families in resisting illegal evictions through protests and in the courts and in many cases through violently resisting evictions. Also violent retaliation against landlords and their agents was used to make a point. TheIRB also applied political pressure on politicians, particularly on Parnell and the Irish Parliamentary party to get more involved in the land issue. This land war and Home Rule dominated Ireland from the 1870's to the early 1900's, and the IRB and it's many members were the key driving force behind this. By 1908 the British government had partially surrendered in that they bought up some of the large estates and sold them or leased them off to the Irish tenant farmers.

Evictions of Irish farming families in the 1800's

This IRB led political activity led to the rise of Parnell and the Irish Parliamentary Party and their success in elections in Ireland, and the Home Rule bills presented to the British Parliament calling for 32 county Home Rule for Ireland in the 1880's - 1890's. These were defeated by the Tories and the Unionists in the British Parliament. This blocking of Irish freedom in the British parliament and the blocking of democratic changes in the British parliament radicalised many Irish nationalists in the late 1800's and early 1900's and paved the way for the violent nationalism and war in the 20th century.

John Devoy (IRB and Fenians)

Michael Davitt (IRB and Land League)

O'Donovan Rossa

Not all Fenians agreed with this New Departure policy however, and several breakaway groups emerged that continued to believe in the use of political violence in pursuit of republican objectives. One was the Irish National Invincibles who executed the two most important British functionaries in Ireland, Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke, Chief and Under Secretaries for Ireland, respectively, in Dublin in 1882. Two other factions, one sponsored by O'Donovan Rossa, the other by the Irish-American Clan na Gael, carried out a bombing campaign in Britain between 1880 and 1887.

Irish Special Branch and Spies and Informers

In March 1883 the London Metropolitan Police's Special Irish Branch was formed, initially as a small section of the Criminal Investigation Department, to monitor Fenian and IRB activity. And G Division of the Dublin Metropolitan Police in Dublin city established a special section to investigate and spy on the IRB and the Fenians and on nationalist political parties. And the RIC (police force) set up a special detecive branch to gather information about nationalists all over Ireland. They relied on spies and informers and on infiltrators for information and to set people up and to raid homes. In most cases they used bribes, honey traps, extortion, corupt deals, and blackmail against people to get information. The most infamous informers and spies were Pierce Nagle, John Corrydon (Corridan), RIC Detective Talbot, RIC Superintendent Daniel Ryan, and Henri Le Caron (Thomas Beach) of British Intelligence who wrote a book about his Judas work . Pierce Nagle was executed in London for his spying and treachery, Superintendent Daniel Ryan was posioned, and other traitors suffered similar fates while Corrydon and Talbot fleed to foreign countries.

Judas Iscariot

This problem of spies and informers plagued the IRB for many more decades. The famous IRB man and Irish leader Michael Collins encountered the same problems in the Irish war of Independence 1919-1921.

Twentieth century

By the start of the 20th century, the IRB was a stagnating organisation, concerned more with Dublin municipal politics than the establishment of a republic. A younger generation of Ulster republicans aimed to change this, and in 1905 Denis McCullough and Bulmer Hobson founded the Dungannon Clubs. Inspired by the Volunteers of 1782, the purpose of these clubs was to discourage enlistment into the British Army, and encourage enlistment into the IRB, with the overall goal of complete independence from Britain in the form of an Irish Republic.They were joined by Sean MacDermott, and in 1908 he and Hobson relocated to Dublin, where they teamed up with veteran Fenian Tom Clarke. Clarke had been released from Portland Prison in October 1898 after serving fifteen and a half years, and had recently returned to Ireland after living in the United States. Sent by John Devoy and the Clan na Gael to reorganise the IRB, Clarke set about to do just that. In 1909 the young Michael Collins was introduced to the brotherhood by Sam Maguire. By 1914 the Supreme Council was largely purged of its older, tired leadership, and was dominated by enthusiastic men such as Hobson, McCullough, Patrick McCartan, John MacBride, Sean MacDermott, and Tom Clarke. The latter two were to be the primary instigators of the Easter Rising in 1916.

Tom Clarke

The Gaelic Revival and a New National Irish Consciousness

The IRB played a major part in the Gaelic Revival in the late 1890's and early 1900's. It supported the setting up of the Gaelic League in 1893, and IRB members served in this organisation as officers, leaders, teachers, students and organisers. The Gaelic League promoted the Irish language through classes, lectures, examinations, summer schools, political campaigns to include Gaelic in all schools and colleges, publishing Gaelic newspapers and books, and Gaelic schools. IRB men such as Padraig Pearse, The O’Rahilly, Thomas MacDonagh, Sean McDiarmada, Piaras Béaslaí, Eamon Ceannt, Eamon De Valera, and Roger Casement were members of Gaelic League and very active. And the IRB used infiltration of the Gaelic League to influence it's policies and leadership and also to recruit new members into the IRB. By 1915 the IRB had largely taken over the Gaelic League.

Irish Language newspaper 1903

IRB men helped set up the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland in 1884. And it assisted the spread of the GAA to USA and Britain. Most GAA clubs had IRB members by the early 1900's and there was active recruitment of GAA men into the IRB. The famous hurling and gaelic football trophies - the McCarthy cup and the Sam Maguire cup were named after IRB men, Liam McCarthy and Sam Maguire. They were both involved in IRB activities and Maguire recruited the famous Michael Collins into the IRB in 1909 in London, England. The GAA games such as hurling and football helped build fitness, coordination, physical strength, teamwork and character among the youth and manhood of Ireland and this was important for the IRB and the Fenians.

Hurling

Gaelic Football

The Irish lierary revival which included William Butler Yeats, Shaw, Joyce, Synge, Gregory, McDonagh, O'Casey, Beckett and others was supported by the IRB as they helped build a new sense of Irish expression, Irish culture, a sense of pride in being Irish, and a new nationalistic consciousness. W.B. Yeats the famous writer was a member of the IRB.

In 1910, the IRB set up a new newspaper called Irish Freedom or Saoirse na hEireann. Tom Clarke, Sean McDermott and Bulmer Hobson were the main people behind this. Bulmer Hobson was the first editor and manager of the paper. It was a success and writers for the newspaper included Padraig Pearse, Sean McDermott, Thomas Clake, Bulmer Hobson, Piaras Beaslai, Pat McCartan, P. S. O'Hegarty, Ernest Blythe, Sean McGarry, Roger Casement, Pat Devlin, J. W. Good, Brian O'Higgins, Terence MacSwiney. It promoted Irish freedom and Irish culture, language and identity. The newspaper operated until December 1914 when it was shut down by the British government for promoting anti war sentiment.

The IRB involvement in the Land League and Land war had won over many Irish farmers and farming families to the IRB and to nationalist politics. This proved very important in the 20th century.

Teachers in primary schools and secondary schools (high schools) were actively recruited into the IRB and instructed to provide lessons about Irish history to children which would encourage a strong nationalistic and republican viewpoint among children. This education of children in the 1890's and early 1900's provided the recruits for the later 1916 Rising and war of Irish independence.

By 1908, there were 800 GAA clubs and 671 Gaelic league branches all over Ireland, with hundreds more among Irish emigrant communities abroad. Many thousands were also involved in supporting the Irish Parliamentary party, Sinn Fein, and many other Irish cultural activities. There were hundreds of thousands of people now involved in Irish cultural activities aligned to the IRB. A new national Irish consciousness had been born. This would provide the men and women for the coming struggle for national independence and freedom. This was the 'hearts and minds campaign'.

Planning of the 1916 Rising by the IRB

The Supreme Council of the IRB met on 5 September 1914, just over a month after the British government had declared war on Germany. At this meeting, they decided to stage an uprising before the war ended and to secure help from Germany. Responsibility for the planning of the rising was given to Tom Clarke and Seán MacDermott. The Irish Volunteers—the smaller of the two forces resulting from the September 1914 split over support for the British war effort —set up a "headquarters staff" that included Patrick Pearse as Director of Military Organisation, Joseph Plunkett as Director of Military Operations and Thomas MacDonagh as Director of Training. Éamonn Ceannt was later added as Director of Communications.

In May 1915, Clarke and MacDermott established a Military Committee or Military Council within the IRB, consisting of Pearse, Plunkett and Ceannt, to draw up plans for a rising. Clarke and MacDermott joined it shortly after. The Military Council was able to promote its own policies and personnel independently of both the Volunteer Executive and the IRB Executive. Although the Volunteer and IRB leaders were not against a rising in principle, they were of the opinion that it was not opportune at that moment. Volunteer Chief-of-Staff Eoin MacNeill supported a rising only if the British government attempted to suppress the Volunteers or introduce conscription, and if such a rising had some chance of success. IRB President Denis McCullough and prominent IRB member Bulmer Hobson held similar views. The Military Council kept its plans secret, so as to prevent the British authorities learning of the plans, and to thwart those within the organisation who might try to stop the rising. IRB members held officer rank in the Volunteers throughout the country and took their orders from the Military Council of the IRB, not from MacNeill.

Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, Roger Casement and Clan na Gael leader John Devoy met the German ambassador to the United States, Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff, to discuss German backing for an uprising. Casement went to Germany and began negotiations with the German government and military. He persuaded the Germans to announce their support for Irish independence in November 1914.

Devoy and Casement in USA

Casement also attempted to recruit an Irish Brigade, made up of Irish prisoners of war, which would be armed and sent to Ireland to join the uprising. However, only 56 men volunteered. Plunkett joined Casement in Germany the following year. Together, Plunkett and Casement presented a plan (the 'Ireland Report') in which a German expeditionary force would land on the west coast of Ireland, while a rising in Dublin diverted the British forces so that the Germans, with the help of local Volunteers, could secure the line of the River Shannon, before advancing on the capital. The German military rejected the plan, but agreed to ship arms and ammunition to the Volunteers.

James Connolly—head of the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), a group of armed socialist trade union men and women—was unaware of the IRB's plans, and threatened to start a rebellion on his own if other parties failed to act. If they had done it alone, the IRB and the Volunteers would possibly have come to their aid; however, the IRB leaders met with Connolly in January 1916 and convinced him to join forces with them. They agreed that they would launch a rising together at Easter and made Connolly the sixth member of the Military Council. Thomas MacDonagh would later become the seventh and final member.

The death of the old Fenian leader Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa in New York in August 1915 was an opportunity to mount a spectacular demonstration. His body was sent to Ireland for burial in Glasnevin Cemetery, with the Volunteers in charge of arrangements. Huge crowds lined the route and gathered at the graveside. Pearse made a dramatic funeral oration, a rallying call to republicans, which ended with the words "Ireland unfree shall never be at peace".

Build-up to Easter Week by the IRB

In early April, Pearse issued orders to the Irish Volunteers for three days of "parades and manoeuvres" beginning on Easter Sunday. He had the authority to do this, as the Volunteers' Director of Organisation. The idea was that IRB members within the organisation would know these were orders to begin the rising, while men such as MacNeill and the British authorities would take it at face value.

On 9 April, the German Navy dispatched the SS Libau for County Kerry, disguised as the Norwegian ship Aud. It was loaded with 20,000 rifles, one million rounds of ammunition, and explosives. Casement also left for Ireland aboard the German submarine U-19.

On Wednesday 19 April, Alderman Tom Kelly, a Sinn Féin member of Dublin Corporation, read out at a meeting of the Corporation a document purportedly leaked from Dublin Castle, detailing plans by the British authorities to shortly arrest leaders of the Irish Volunteers, Sinn Féin and the Gaelic League, and occupy their premises. Although the British authorities said the "Castle Document" was fake, MacNeill ordered the Volunteers to prepare to resist. Unbeknownst to MacNeill, the document had been forged by the Military Council to persuade moderates of the need for their planned uprising. It was an edited version of a real document outlining British plans in the event of conscription. That same day, the Military Council informed senior Volunteer officers that the rising would begin on Easter Sunday. However, it chose not to inform the rank-and-file, or moderates such as MacNeill, until the last minute.

The following day, MacNeill got wind that a rising was about to be launched and threatened to do everything he could to prevent it, short of informing the British. MacNeill was briefly persuaded to go along with some sort of action when Mac Diarmada revealed to him that a German arms shipment was about to land in County Kerry. MacNeill believed that when the British learned of the shipment they would immediately suppress the Volunteers, thus the Volunteers would be justified in taking defensive action, including the planned manoeuvres.

The Aud and the U-19 reached the coast of Kerry on Good Friday, 21 April. This was earlier than the Volunteers expected and so none were there to meet the vessels. The British Royal Navy through spies and interceptions of German communications had known about the arms shipment and intercepted the Aud, prompting the captain to scuttle the ship. Furthermore, Casement was captured shortly after he landed at Banna Strand.

When MacNeill learned that the arms shipment had been lost, he reverted to his original position. With the support of other leaders of like mind, notably Bulmer Hobson and The O'Rahilly, he issued a countermand to all Volunteers, cancelling all actions for Sunday. This countermanding order was relayed to Volunteer officers and printed in the Sunday morning newspapers. It succeeded only in delaying the rising for a day, although it greatly reduced the number of Volunteers who turned out.

Eoin MacNeill

Patrick Pearse

British Naval Intelligence had been aware of the arms shipment, Casement's return, and the Easter date for the rising through radio messages between Germany and its embassy in the United States that were intercepted by the Royal Navy and deciphered in Room 40 of the Admiralty. The information was passed to the Under-Secretary for Ireland, Sir Matthew Nathan, on 17 April, but without revealing its source, and Nathan was doubtful about its accuracy. When news reached Dublin of the capture of the Aud and the arrest of Casement, Nathan conferred with the Lord Lieutenant, Lord Wimborne. Nathan proposed to raid Liberty Hall, headquarters of the Citizen Army, and Volunteer properties at Father Matthew Park and at Kimmage, but Wimborne insisted on wholesale arrests of the leaders. It was decided to postpone action until after Easter Monday, and in the meantime Nathan telegraphed the Chief Secretary, Augustine Birrell, in London seeking his approval. By the time Birrell cabled his reply authorising the action, at noon on Monday 24 April 1916, the Rising had already begun.

James Connolly, IRB and Leader of Citizens Army

On the morning of Easter Sunday, 23 April, the Military Council met at Liberty Hall to discuss what to do in light of MacNeill's countermanding order. They decided that the Rising would go ahead the following day, Easter Monday, and that the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army would go into action as the 'Army of the Irish Republic'. They elected Pearse as president of the Irish Republic, and also as Commander-in-Chief of the army; Connolly became Commandant of the Dublin Brigade. Messengers were then sent to all units informing them of the new orders.

Old video archives of Irish volunteers drilling, IRB men, and the 1916 Rising  

The Rising in Dublin in 1916

On the morning of Monday 24 April, 1916, about 1,200 members of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army mustered at several locations in central Dublin. Among them were members of the all-female Cumann na mBan. Some wore Irish Volunteer and Citizen Army uniforms, while others wore civilian clothes with a yellow Irish Volunteer armband, military hats, and bandoliers. They were armed mostly with rifles, but also with shotguns, revolvers, a few Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistols, and grenades. The number of Volunteers who mobilised was much smaller than expected. This was due to MacNeill's countermanding order, and the fact that the new orders had been sent so soon beforehand. However, several hundred Volunteers joined the Rising after it began.

Shortly before midday, the rebels began to seize important sites in central Dublin. The rebels' plan was to hold Dublin city centre. This was a large, oval-shaped area bounded by two canals: the Grand to the south and the Royal to the north, with the River Liffey running through the middle. On the southern and western edges of this district were five British Army barracks. Most of the rebels' positions had been chosen to defend against counter-attacks from these barracks.The rebels took the positions with ease. Civilians were evacuated and policemen were ejected or taken prisoner.Windows and doors were barricaded, food and supplies were secured, and first aid posts were set up. Barricades were erected on the streets to hinder British Army movement.

A joint force of about 400 Volunteers and Citizen Army gathered at Liberty Hall under the command of Commandant James Connolly. This was the headquarters battalion, and it also included Commander-in-Chief Patrick Pearse, as well as Tom Clarke, Seán MacDermott and Joseph Plunkett. They marched to the General Post Office (GPO) on O'Connell Street, Dublin's main thoroughfare, occupied the building and hoisted two republican flags. Pearse stood outside and read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. Copies of the Proclamation were also pasted on walls and handed out to bystanders by Volunteers and newsboys. You can view an original of this Proclamation here at

1916 Proclaimation of Independence

The GPO would be the rebels' headquarters for most of the Rising. Volunteers from the GPO also occupied other buildings on the street, including buildings overlooking O'Connell Bridge. Elsewhere, some of the headquarters battalion under Michael Mallin occupied St Stephen's Green, where they dug trenches and barricaded the surrounding roads. The 1st battalion, under Edward 'Ned' Daly, occupied the Four Courts and surrounding buildings, while a company under Seán Heuston occupied the Mendicity Institution, across the River Liffey from the Four Courts. The 2nd battalion, under Thomas MacDonagh, occupied Jacob's biscuit factory. The 3rd battalion, under Éamon de Valera, occupied Boland's Mill and surrounding buildings. The 4th battalion, under Éamonn Ceannt, occupied the South Dublin Union and the distillery on Marrowbone Lane. From each of these garrisons, small units of rebels established outposts in the surrounding area.

The GPO during the 1916 Rising

The rebels also attempted to cut transport and communication links. As well as erecting roadblocks, they took control of various bridges and cut telephone and telegraph wires. A contingent under Seán Connolly occupied Dublin City Hall and adjacent buildings. They attempted to seize neighbouring Dublin Castle, the heart of British rule in Ireland. As they approached the gate a lone and unarmed police sentry, James O'Brien, attempted to stop them and was shot dead by Connolly. According to some accounts, he was the first casualty of the Rising. The rebels overpowered the soldiers in the guardroom, but failed to press further. The British Army's chief intelligence officer, Major Ivon Price, fired on the rebels while the Under-Secretary for Ireland, Sir Matthew Nathan, helped shut the castle gates. Unbeknownst to the rebels, the Castle was lightly guarded and could have been taken with ease. The rebels instead laid siege to the Castle from City Hall. Fierce fighting erupted there after British reinforcements arrived. The rebels on the roof exchanged fire with soldiers on the street. Seán Connolly was shot dead by a sniper, becoming the first rebel casualty. By the following morning, British forces had re-captured City Hall and taken the rebels prisoner.

The British moved in thousands of troops into Dublin city over the next 4 days and these were supplemented by artllery and a gunboat Helga on the river Liffey which shelled the GPO, the headquarters of the Irish volunteers. The principal rebel positions at the GPO, the Four Courts, Jacob's Factory and Boland's Mill saw little action initially. The British surrounded and bombarded them with shells rather than assault them directly. Snipers and machine gun fire kept the rebels pinned down in these locations. British reinforcements were sent to Dublin from Britain, and disembarked at Kingstown on the morning of Wednesday 26 April. Heavy fighting occurred at several rebel held locations around the city over the next 4 days. There were heavy casualties on the British side and Irish side, and some atrocities against the innocent civilian population by British troops.

On Saturday 29 April, from this new headquarters, Pearse issued an order for all companies to surrender. Pearse surrendered unconditionally to Brigadier-General Lowe. The surrender document read:

In order to prevent the further slaughter of Dublin citizens, and in the hope of saving the lives of our followers now surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered, the members of the Provisional Government present at headquarters have agreed to an unconditional surrender, and the commandants of the various districts in the City and County will order their commands to lay down arms.

The other posts surrendered only after Pearse's surrender order, carried by nurse Elizabeth O'Farrell, reached them. Sporadic fighting therefore continued until Sunday evening, when word of the surrender was got to the other rebel garrisons. The conflict in Dublin city left much of the inner city in ruins. Heavy shelling by British artillery, incenidary bombing, and shells from the gunboat Helga had done most of the damage.

Dublin after the 1916 Rising

Command of British forces had passed from Lowe to General John Maxwell, who arrived in Dublin just in time to take the surrender. Maxwell was made temporary military governor of Ireland. General Maxwell quickly signalled his intention "to arrest all dangerous Sinn Feiners", including "those who have taken an active part in the movement although not in the present rebellion", reflecting the popular belief that Sinn Féin, a separatist organisation that was neither militant nor republican, was behind the Rising.

A total of 3,430 men and 79 women were arrested. A series of courts-martial began on 2 May, in which 187 people were tried, most of them at Richmond Barracks. Controversially, Maxwell decided that the courts-martial would be held in secret and without a defence, which Crown law officers later ruled to have been illegal. Only one of those tried by courts-martial was a woman, Constance Markievicz, who was also the only woman to be kept in solitary confinement. Ninety were sentenced to death. Fifteen of those (including all seven signatories of the Proclamation) had their sentences confirmed by Maxwell and fourteen were executed by firing squad at Kilmainham Gaol between 3 and 12 May. Among them was the seriously wounded Connolly, who was shot while tied to a chair because of his shattered ankle. Maxwell stated that only the "ringleaders" would be executed. However, the evidence presented was weak, and some of those executed were not leaders and did not kill anyone: Willie Pearse described himself as "a personal attaché to my brother, Patrick Pearse"; John MacBride had not even been aware of the Rising until it began, but had fought against the British in the Boer War fifteen years before; Thomas Kent did not come out at all—he was executed for the killing of a police officer during the raid on his house the week after the Rising. The most prominent leader to escape execution was Éamon de Valera, Commandant of the 3rd Battalion, who did so partly because of his American birth.

Most of the executions took place over a ten-day period:

• 3 May: Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh and Thomas Clarke
• 4 May: Joseph Plunkett, William Pearse, Edward Daly and Michael O'Hanrahan
• 5 May: John MacBride
• 8 May: Éamonn Ceannt, Michael Mallin, Seán Heuston and Con Colbert
• 12 May: James Connolly and Seán Mac Diarmada
  
  

1916 Rising Leaders

These executions wiped out the leadership and Supreme Council of the IRB. As the executions went on and on, the Irish public grew increasingly hostile towards the British and sympathetic to the rebels. The massive public outcry and increasing hostility of the Irish public led to the cancellation of many executions. The rebels were imprisoned in British prisons. Most were released by the end of 1917 and 1918.

The famous poet and writer (and IRB man) William Butler Yeats wrote the following about the 1916 Rising and it's leaders.

Easter, 1916
By William Butler Yeats

I have met them at close of day   
Coming with vivid faces
From counter or desk among grey   
Eighteenth-century houses.
I have passed with a nod of the head   
Or polite meaningless words,   
Or have lingered awhile and said   
Polite meaningless words,
And thought before I had done   
Of a mocking tale or a gibe   
To please a companion
Around the fire at the club,   
Being certain that they and I   
But lived where motley is worn:   
All changed, changed utterly:   
A terrible beauty is born.

That woman's days were spent   
In ignorant good-will,
Her nights in argument
Until her voice grew shrill.
What voice more sweet than hers   
When, young and beautiful,   
She rode to harriers?
This man had kept a school   
And rode our wingèd horse;   
This other his helper and friend   
Was coming into his force;
He might have won fame in the end,   
So sensitive his nature seemed,   
So daring and sweet his thought.
This other man I had dreamed
A drunken, vainglorious lout.
He had done most bitter wrong
To some who are near my heart,   
Yet I number him in the song;
He, too, has resigned his part
In the casual comedy;
He, too, has been changed in his turn,   
Transformed utterly:
A terrible beauty is born.

Hearts with one purpose alone   
Through summer and winter seem   
Enchanted to a stone
To trouble the living stream.
The horse that comes from the road,   
The rider, the birds that range   
From cloud to tumbling cloud,   
Minute by minute they change;   
A shadow of cloud on the stream   
Changes minute by minute;   
A horse-hoof slides on the brim,   
And a horse plashes within it;   
The long-legged moor-hens dive,   
And hens to moor-cocks call;   
Minute by minute they live:   
The stone's in the midst of all.

Too long a sacrifice
Can make a stone of the heart.   
O when may it suffice?
That is Heaven's part, our part   
To murmur name upon name,   
As a mother names her child   
When sleep at last has come   
On limbs that had run wild.   
What is it but nightfall?
No, no, not night but death;   
Was it needless death after all?
For England may keep faith   
For all that is done and said.   
We know their dream; enough
To know they dreamed and are dead;   
And what if excess of love   
Bewildered them till they died?   
I write it out in a verse—
MacDonagh and MacBride   
And Connolly and Pearse
Now and in time to be,
Wherever green is worn,
Are changed, changed utterly:   
A terrible beauty is born

The British actions set in motion a series of chain reactions in Ireland which ultimately led to outright war. The IRB and most released prisoners immediately got to work organising a political campaign around Sinn Fein and building up a support base in each county of Ireland. They campaigned door to door in the midldle of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 - 1920 which killed 50 million people worldwide. They took great personal risks for the freedom of Ireland (this served as an example to future generations of Irish people). Thousands of more people joined Sinn Fein and the IRB in the period 1916 - 1918. There was a massive rise in support for Sinn Fein among all classes of people. In the 1918 election, Sinn Fein won a massive victory in the general election, winning almost every seat in Ireland.

The setting up of Dail Eireann (Irish parliament) in January 1919

The newly elected Sinn Fein politicians, many of them IRB men refused to take their seats in the House of Commons in Britain and took seats in the newly established Dail Eireann (Irish parliament) in the Mansion House in Dublin in January 1919. This Dail Eireann lasted from 1919 - 1922 and represented the 32 counties of Ireland. It carried out many important activities and supported the Irish army (IRA) in its war for Irish independence for the 32 counties of Ireland. The British refused to recognise Dail Eireann as the new Parliament of Ireland in 1919 and refused to acknlowledge the democratic mandate of the Irish people in the 1918 election. This led to a series of events which led to the war of independence in 1919.

In 1919, the I.R.B. relinquished its governmental claims to Dail Eireann, and in 1921 the I.R.B. also dropped its claims to the presidency of the republic. The IRB transferred power to the Dail but this was conditional, and power could be transferred back to the IRB if the Dail failed in its legal and Constitutional duties and national duties to secure a 32 county Republic. The testimony of Tom Costello to the Bureau of Military History confirms this fact, as testified to in this document tom-costello.doc
This would become a major point of controversey after the Anglo Irish treaty was signed on December 6th 1921.

First Dail Eireann, 1919

Elected members of Dail Eireann, 1919

IRB men who were elected politicians in Dail Eireann played an important part in drafting and passing new laws, government policies, the Declaration of Irish Independence, the first Constitution of the Irish Republic, the Democratic Program of the First Dail and the message to the free nations of the world. The foundations of the present day Irish Republic were laid in the First Dail of 1919.
The First Dail's most famous works are listed below.

Constitution of Dáil Éireann (21 January 1919 and amended in April 1919)
https://www.difp.ie/volume-1/1919/constitution-of-dail-eireann/6/#section-documentpage

Original 1919 Constitution in the National Archives
https://catalogue.nli.ie/Record/vtls000784780
and https://catalogue.nli.ie/Search/Results?lookfor=1919+Constitution&type=AllFields&limit=20&sort=relevance

Declaration of Irish Independence by Dail Eireann 1919 and also at https://www.dail100.ie/en/debates/1919-01-21/1896

Message for the Free Nations of the World by Dail Eireann 1919

Democratic Programme of Dail Eireann 1919

The Minutes of Proceedings of the First Dail of the Republic of Ireland, 1919-1921 (Official Record)

Constitution of Dáil Éireann (25 August 1921)

There is an interesting official account of what happened in 1919 at https://www.dail100.ie/en/long-reads/the-underground-dail/

The IRB officially recognised Dail Eireann as the legitimate government of the 32 county Irish Republic in 1920 in the IRB Constitution of that year. This IRB support for a 32 county Irish Republic and Dail Eireann was to play a key role in the years ahead. A copy of this IRB Constitution of 1920 can be bought by clicking here or on picture below

War of Independence

Flying Column of the IRA during Irish War of Independence

The Irish war of indepence began in January 1919 when an Irish army unit carried out an ambush and seized British munitions in Solohedbeg in Tipperary. Two British agents were shot dead in the ambush. This began a series of military enagements around Ireland in 1919 between the Irish army and the British army and RIC (British police force in Ireland). Later in 1919, elected members of Dail Eireann were arrested and jailed by the British and the new Irish Parliament (Dail Eireann) was suppressed by the British. This war was fought between the Irish army (IRA) on one side and the British army and police (the RIC and black and tans) on the other side. It lasted from January 1919 to July 1921. Most IRB members served in the Irish army (IRA) and in Dail Eireann and in the Dail courts. During the 1919–21 War of Independence, the IRB was under the control of Michael Collins, who was secretary, and subsequently president, of the Supreme Council. Michael Collins was also a Leader of the Irish army (IRA) and he oversaw many of the operations against the British in Dulbin and nationwide. The IRB continued to recruit members into the IRB and IRA during the war of independence and also worked with Cumann na MBan to get women involved in the struggle for freedom. Indeed women played a vital role in intelligence gathering, delivering messages and guns, armed combat on a few occassions, running safe houses, and nursing wounded soldiers. Many IRA national leaders and local leaders were IRB members during the war of independence. It played both a political role and social and community role. All the members of Michael Collin's 'Squad' were IRB men. The IRB's twin organisation Clan na nGael in the USA continued to send funds and arms and personnel over to Ireland during this time.

IRB and Clan na Gael meeting in 1920 in New York, USA. John Devoy seated in the centre. Funds were raised for the Irish War of Independence which was happening at the time.

The Irish army (IRA) conducted many operations against the British and had many successes such as at Kilmichael, Tourmakeady, Crossbarry, and the Coolavokig ambush, the elimination of spies and agents on Bloody Sunday and throughout the war period, prison break outs in Ireland and in Britain, the Lord French Ambush, the battles in Ballinalee, Millstreet, Knocklong, Solohedbeg, Rineen, Sheemore, Tooreen, Headford, Scramogue, and Carowkennedy. These battles were intense and hard fought. And the take over and destruction of RIC (police) stations in Tipperary, Cork, Kerry, Mayo, Sligo, Limerick, Clare, Longford, and several other counties. In Dublin city, Michael Collins and his squad of IRA men eliminated many British spies and Irish spies. And he also set up an IRA intelligence section which got vital information about British army and police activities in Ireland. In Cork a similar was put in place there by the Cork units of the IRA. The Irish army were organised into flying columns, which ranged from 20 men to 100 men, with an officer in charge, and they carried out guerrila warfare against British forces around Ireland. The British retalitated by sending in the black and tans, many of them ex soldiers and criminals released from British jails, and they carried out a campaign of terror in Ireland killing many civilians and burning homes and Cork city in 1920. The black and tans were assisted in this activity by the RIC (police force). Only 10,000 Irish men out of 100,000 registered IRA men, Sinn Fein members, Volunteers and republicans were involved in the actual fighting. This was 10% or less, a very small percentage of men.

Michael Collins

John Devoy and Clan na Gael continued to send money to Ireland to asist the Irish army in the fight for independence. And he and Clan na Gael organised protests, marches and demonstrations, and fund raising there. They also lobbied American politicians and the US government to recognise the Irish parliament (the Dail) and assist the Irish in their struggle for full independence. Bonds were also raised in the USA to assist in this.

In June 1921 during the Irish war of independence, the British government passed a law setting up a parliament and semi-independent state in the 6 counties of Northern Ireland.It was effectively under British control in London, as it had limited legislative powers, limited jurisdiction, no foreign relations powers, and the English monarch was the head of the Northern Ireland state. This event completely undermined Dail Eireann (Irish parliament) in Dublin, Ireland which represented a 32 county Ireland, including the 6 counties of northern Ireland. It also completely undermined the Irish army (IRA) and the IRB who were fighting for a 32 county Irish Republic. This new parliament in the 6 counties of Northern Ireland was cynically used by the British in the treaty negotiations between July - December 1921 to prevent the granting of a 32 county Irish Republic to the Irish government. This would have devastating consequences for Ireland causing a Civil war in Ireland and ongoing sectarianism and conflict in Northern Ireland for the next 70 years.

The Irish War of Independence is celebrated in Irish songs, poetry, and dance. Here is one celebrating a few of the Irish heroes of the war.

The Treaty, The Civil War, Splits, Expulsions and Controversey

A truce was called on 11 July 1921 between Irish and British forces. This began a series of negotiations between representatives of the Irish government and representatives of the British government.. A special Irish delegation was sent over to London to negotiate a peace treaty in Autumn 1921. The recently established parliament in the 6 counties of Northern Ireland was cynically used by the British negotiators to undermine the Irish demand for a 32 county Irish Republic and 32 county parliament in Dublin. On December 6th 1921 a treaty was signed between representatives of the Irish government and the British government establishing a 26 county Irish Free State. This agreement was forced on the Irish government under threat of violence, further invasion, genocide and war by the British according to Michael Collins and other members of the Irish negotiating team. Lloyd George Britain’s PM threatened to wage ‘Immediate and terrible war’ on the Irish people. These threats and duress made the treaty illegal under British law and international law. This Free State came into effect in December 1922 and consisted of 26 counties (out of 32 counties of Ireland) and was not a Republic and lasted from 1922 - 1949.

The Anglo-Irish Treaty only gave Ireland :
- a free state of 26 counties not the 32 counties of Ireland
- a few Irish ports remained under British control
- Ireland took on some of Britain's massive world war 1 debt
- Ireland was NOT a republic as the British monarch was made head of the Irish free state and Irish TD's and government Ministers had to swear an oath of allegiance to the British monarch.
- The 6 counties in northern Ireland became a seperate sectarian and apartheid state under Unionist control and British control and a vicious discrimination and war against catholics was enforced there, leading to much violence, bloodshed and conflict for the next 75 years.
The treaty was a disaster for Ireland and the Irish.

The IRB Supreme Council received a copy of the Treaty in early December 1921 and it rejected the Treaty on December 3rd 1921 and sent notice of their rejection to Michael Collins in Dun Laoghaire habour on December 3rd 1921. The IRB Supreme Council gave a direct order to Michael Collins to reject the treaty and NOT sign it until the 3 provisions were removed from the treaty. The IRB Supreme Council rejected the following 3 provisons in the Treaty:
1. the oath of allegiance to the Monarch of England
2. the retaining of some of Ireland's sea ports by Britain and the British military
3. the partition of Ireland into two - the 6 counties of northern Ireland which would be a sectarian state, under Unionist control and British control, and a 26 county free state. The denial of a 32 county free state or Irish Republic.
Source: The IRB from the Treaty to 1924, by John O'Beirne-Ranelagh, 1976. Document at www.irishrepublicanbrotherhood.org/treachery.pdf

Despite the IRB Supreme Council rejecting the Treaty and ordering Michael Collins NOT to sign the treaty, Michael Collins signed the Treaty in London on December 6th 1921. The signed Treaty had the same provisions which the IRB had rejected on December 3rd 1921. By signing the Treaty, Collins had gone against the orders of the Supreme Council of the IRB, and Collins had also breached the Constitution of the IRB by signing the Treaty. The IRB Constitution supported a 32 county Irish Republic and a Dail (Irish parliament) for the Irish Republic. Some historians believe Michael Collins was expelled from the IRB for disobeying a direct order from the IRB Supreme Council. Collins also broke his IRB oath and breached the IRB Constitution (1920), specifically Clauses, 1, 2 and 35. These were expulsion offences in the IRB. And they were treason offences, which were additional reasons for expulsion. This disastrous treaty ultimately led to a split in the IRB and to civil war in Ireland and to over 70 years of war in the artificial Northern Ireland 6 county state.

The Treaty was signed in London on 6 December 1921 and Collins and his Irish delegation returned to Ireland a few days later. Despite the IRB Supreme Council rejecting the treaty on December 3rd 1921, the treaty was again debated by the Supreme Council of the IRB from December 10th - 11th, 1921. At this meeting, Michael Collins applied pressure and duress on Supreme Council members to accept the treaty. Eleven members supported the Treaty while four opposed it. And the Supreme Council also voted to allow IRB men who were TD's to vote as they wished, either for or against the treaty in Dail Eireann. Following heated discussions and correspondence, the IRB Supreme Council later issued the following to IRB members and circles:
- the IRB would not support or reject the Treaty but would take a neutral stance
- the IRB would remain neutral on the issue of the Treaty until such time as it viewed the proposed new Irish Constitution (due later in 1922). After viewing it, the supreme council would either accept the Treaty and the Irish Constitution or reject them.
- that IRB members in the Dail were free to vote against or for the Treaty in the Dail. This was extended to ordinary IRB members in the Referendum later in 1922
Read ruling of IRB Supreme Council dated January 12 1922

But Sean O'Murthuile, secretary of the IRB Supreme Council, circulated a false document among TD's falsely telling them that the IRB Supreme Council supported the treaty and wanted it passed by Dail Eireann. He did this from December 12th 1921 up to January 7th 1922. This deception, fraud, and lie led to many TD's changing their minds and voting for the treaty. Dáil Éireann voted to approve the treaty on 7 January 1922, following a debate through late December 1921 and into January 1922. The vote was 64 in favour, 57 against. The Dail vote supporting the treaty was achieved by the fraud, deception and lies of Sean O'Murthuile. Laws passed by fraud and deception are null and void and could still be challenged in the courts in Ireland. This fraud was to have serious consequences for the Irish people and nation.
Sources: Birth of a State: The Anglo-Irish Treaty By Mícheál Ó Fathartaigh

Michael Collins gave no commitment or time frame for achieving a 32 county Irish Republic which was the objective of the IRB and stated in the IRB Constitution. The 26 county free state was a monarchy state dominated by and still occupied by Britain. It was a disaster for Michael Collins and the IRB ! This caused deep divisions and discontent within the Supreme Council and throughout the IRB nationwide from January 1922 onwards.

On January 10th 1922, there was an IRB meeting of county centres, division centres and city centres from around Ireland. At this meeting the vast majority of IRB members rejected the Treaty. In late January 1922 the IRB in Munster rejected the Treaty and declared it as treason, and cut itself off from the Supreme Council of the IRB and refused to cooperate with it. The Munster IRB became an independent, decentralised unit of the IRB. IRB centres and circles around the country felt that the Supreme Council had acted outside its authority and against the IRB Constitution. As an example of this intensity to the point of disobedience, Florence O’Donoghue cited a meeting of all the officers in the County Board officers and District Centres of the IRB on the 21st of January 1922. There, they protested to the Supreme Council against the latter’s support of the Treaty. “Only a high sense of duty could have driven a group of disciplined officers into such open conflict with their superiors,” was how O’Donoghue explained it, with pride and no small sense of wonder.
Sources: The IRB from the Treaty to 1924, by John O'Beirne-Ranelagh, 1976. Document at www.irishrepublicanbrotherhood.org/treachery.pdf
O’Donoghue, Florence. No Other Law: The Story of Liam Lynch and the Irish Republican Army, 1916-1923 (Dublin, Irish Press [1954]), p. 194 and
https://www.theirishstory.com/2015/04/27/this-splendid-historic-organisation-the-irish-republican-brotherhood-among-the-anti-treatyites-1921-4/#.Yr7o4e0o82w

These events alarmed the IRB Supreme Council and a meeting of the IRB organisation was called for in April 1922. The IRB meeting of the Supreme Council, divisional centres and county centres in April 1922 revealed that a big majority of IRB members were anti Treaty. This was enough to reject the Treaty, dismiss the existing Supreme Council and elect a new Supreme Council which would represent the majority of IRB centres and members and enforce the IRB Constitution. This was not done. The IRB meeting broke down in discord and disharmony over the Treaty. There were calls nationwide for a re-election of the IRB Supreme Council which were ignored and blocked by Michael Colins and a few others in the supreme council. This breached the democratic mandate of the IRB organisation and led to a fatal split in the IRB. Many important IRB leaders such as Liam Lynch, Eamon De Valera, Harry Boland, Dan Breen, Sean Hogan, Sean Moylan, Austin Stack, Humphrey Murphy, Sean Hegarty, Florrie O'Donoghue, Tom Hales, Frank Aiken, and Liam Melowes became involved in the anti Treaty IRB and later the anti Treaty IRA and they fought against the treaty in the Irish Civil War.

The split caused by the treaty and the indecision of the IRB Supreme Council and Division leaders caused more and deeper splits in the IRB which were serious as the split in the IRB was accompanied by a split in the IRA and in Sinn Fein. Those on the IRB Supreme Council who opposed the Treaty included former leader Harry Boland, Austin Stack and Liam Lynch and they and their many supporters around Ireland increasingly favoured a violent solution.

The Irish Civil War began in late June 1922 when the newly formed Irish free state army shelled and shot at the four courts in Dublin to remove anti Treaty IRA men who had occupied the building in protest since April 1922. This led to a series of military engagements in Dublin city and county which quickly spread to the rest of the country. The IRB divided into pro treaty IRB and anti treaty IRB factions during the Irish civil war, and this was reflected in the armed conflict between pro treaty free state troops and anti treaty IRA. The Civil War caused confusion and disarray in the IRB and a loss of control by the supreme council and divisional centres, with armed conflict between pro treaty IRB men and anti treaty IRB men. There was no national leadership, national structure, strategic direction and national policy by the IRB especially after the death of Michael Collins in August 1922 and Liam Lynch in 1923. Liam Lynch was the leader of the anti treaty IRB and Michael Collins was the leader of the pro treaty IRB.

Liam Lynch, anti-Treaty IRB and anti-Treaty IRA

The attack on the Fourt Courts, Dublin, June 1922

The IRB had split into two, and there was no officially elected leader or national leader of the IRB during this time. This led to a decentralisation of IRB circles and units around Ireland, along pro treaty and anti treaty lines, with local IRB leaders being dominant, which lasted for the duration of the Civil war and for decades after it. The anti treaty IRB or Republicans remained loyal to the original aims and objectives of the IRB - an independent 32 county Ireland with its own Irish parliament (the Dail).

It should be pointed that all IRB men had sworn the following oaths of allegiance:
- to the IRB and its Constitution and rules which specifically supported an independent and democratic Irish Republic of 32 counties
- to Dail Eireann representing the 32 counties of Ireland as the only parliament for Ireland. Instituted in January 1919.
- to the Irish Volunteers and later the IRA (those IRB men who joined it). And this military oath of allegiance was to the 32 county Dail Eireann and for an independent 32 county Irish Republic

IRB supporters of the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 had broken all of these oaths. They had expelled themselves from the IRB.

The basic fact is that the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 breached the IRB's own Constitution, rules and sworn oaths which supported an independent and democratic Irish Republic of 32 counties, and the treaty was opposed by some Supreme Council IRB leaders and most ordinary IRB members and by most circles, county boards and divisions around Ireland. The IRB officially recognised Dail Eireann as the legitimate government of the 32 county Irish Republic in 1920 in the IRB Constitution of that year. This IRB support for a 32 county Irish Republic and Dail Eireann was to play a key role in the Treaty debates and later.
A copy of this IRB Constitution of 1920 can be bought by clicking here or on picture below

As already stated there were calls nationwide for a re-election of the IRB Supreme Council which were ignored and blocked by Michael Colins and a few others. This breached the democratic mandate of the IRB organisation and this in turn led to deep divisions and a split within the IRB. These combined factors made the IRB decision in 1922 to accept the Treaty null, void and illegal and led to the automatic cessation of membership of those IRB members who supported the treaty. The Constitution and rules of the IRB were very clear and serious breaches had led to automatic expulsions and cessations of membership in the past. For example, traitors, informers, spies and breachers of the Constitution were automatically expelled since 1858. The pro Treaty IRB men had expelled themselves from the IRB. The anti Treaty IRB certainly viewed them as expelled from the IRB.

No formal decision was made to dissove the IRB by the Supreme Council and by a general meeting of the centres and ordinary members of the IRB, and no records or evidence of such a dissolution were ever produced. The IRB descended into pro Treaty IRB and anti Treaty IRB and into decentralised units in Ireland and abroad.

The pro Treaty side won the Civil War in May 1923, with the assistance of the British. They enforced the 26 county Irish free state on the people of Ireland. This free state was not the desired independent 32 county Irish Republic demanded by the IRB since 1858. The partition of Ireland would create a disunited free state and lead to continuing conflict in Northern Ireland for the next 70 years.

The Death of John Devoy

John Devoy, the great IRB man and Clan na Gael man died in the USA in 1928. His remains were brought back to Ireland and he was given a state funeral by the new Irish government in Dublin. Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Dublin for this funeral. From 1865 to 1925 John Devoy had worked for Irish independence and was involved in many of the risings, attacks, jail breaks, recruitment drives, fund raising and arms smuggling during that time. He had spent 60 years working to get a 32 county Irish Republic and full independence and this dream had eluded him, as the 26 county monarchial free state failed to live up to his expectations. Yet he is remembered as one of the greatest patriots of Ireland.

IRB's continued Existence up to the Present

The IRB was forced to break up into decentralised units along pro treaty and anti treaty lines during he Civil War. The IRB did not dissolve and continued to exist in decentralised circles, units and groups after the Civil War, and has continued in existence up to the present day. It's anti treaty stance pushed it underground in the new 26 county monarchical free state which emerged after the Irish civil war. The Irish national army mutiny of 1924 and its aftermath exposed the lingering divisions in the pro Treaty IRB and within the new Irish government. A few members of the pro Treaty IRB decided to disband their circle in Dublin in 1924, but they were already expelled from the IRB and they were not recognised by the anti Treaty IRB. They were not elected members of the Supreme Council and did not have the backing of all IRB centres and members around Ireland. This has been misinterpreted as a national disbanding of IRB. And the anti Treaty IRB and military wing were also very divided over the future of the IRB. Disillusionment at the loss of the Civil War divided the anti Treaty IRB. Some wished to continue while others wished to disband. Many IRB circles continued in existence for many decades after 1924. No formal decision was made to dissove the IRB by the Supreme Council and a general meeting of the county centres of the IRB as specified in Clause 35 of the IRB Constitution of 1920, and no records or evidence of such a dissolution or disbandment were ever produced.

Those who claim to have disbanded an IRB circle in 1924 had violated the IRB oath and Constitution and the Supreme Council decision to reject the Treaty on December 3rd 1921, by ratifying the Treaty (December 12th 1921) and they were expelled from the IRB. Despite their claims they were no longer IRB members and could not disband an organisation they were not members of. The IRB could not be disbanded by its president or it’s Supreme Council under the IRB Constitution of 1920. Disbandment of the IRB could only happen with a general convention of the County Centres of Ireland and a majority vote to disband the IRB under Clause 35 of the IRB Constitution of 1920. This never happened in 1924 or any time after that. No formal decision was made to dissove the IRB by the Supreme Council and a general meeting of the county centres of the IRB, and no records or evidence of such a dissolution were ever produced. The IRB split into pro Treaty IRB and anti Treaty IRB and into decentralised units of the IRB during the Civil War and after it. These dencentralised IRB units continued to exist into the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's influencing Irish polticis and the struggle for full independence up to the present day. IRB members continued their IRB activities by joining or setting up new political parties, new political movements, new social movements and organisations, new organisations to achieve peace in Ireland, Gaelic cultural organisations, and some joined the IRA with a view to achieiving a united 32 county Ireland in the late 1920's, 1930's, 1940's and 1950's. The IRB circles continued to work quietly in the background in Ireland and the USA as a decentralised structure, with decentralised IRB circles, centres, boards and ordinary members meeting regularly and laying wreaths at commemorative occasions, and influencing politics and republican movements to achieve a 32 county United Irish Republic in the years and decades after the civil war.

The founding of the Fianna Fail party by IRB men and their election victory in 1932 led to renewed IRB and nationalist hopes of a 32 county Irish Republic and a repudiation of the Anglo-Irish treaty. And there was some progress in these issues - the Anglo-Irish treaty and its hold over the Irish Free State was ended by 1938 with the (i) abolishment of the governor-general (British king's representative in Ireland), (ii) the end of the land annuities paid to Britain (iii) the return of the treaty ports to Ireland, (iv) the establishment of a President of Ireland and the new Irish Constitution in 1937, and (v) in 1949 with the achievement of a full Irish Republic of 26 counties. This represented some progress towards a 32 county united Ireland. IRB and ex IRB men played key role in achieving this in 1938 and 1949.

The Treaty of 1921 had disastous consequences for both the north and south of Ireland and for Ireland and Britain. The 6 counties of Northern Ireland became a sectarian and apartheid state in 1922 where Irish catholics and nationalists were discriminated against in jobs, bank loans, education and housing, deprived of their civil rights, actively harassed and beaten by the police, illegally jailed, tortured, and murdered by loyalist gangs and mobs and off-duty police and militia, deprived of votes, burned out of their houses by loyalist mobs, etc.. This led to violent confict in the 1920's, 1930's and 1950's and from 1968 -1998. Thousands of lives were lost in this conflict since 1922. The matter of the 6 counties of Northern Ireland remained a lingering issue until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and Peace Process which helped resolve many of these social, economic and political issues. The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 makes provision for a Referendum in Northern Ireland to decide if the 6 counties can join with the 26 counties to form a 32 county Irish Republic. This provides a path forward to a 32 county Irish republic and Dail.

The IRB in Modern Ireland and the 21st century
The IRB supported the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and Peace Process and members have played a part in promoting it and making it successful. Peace in Ireland after hundreds of years of war caused by the English is a positive and welcome development.

As late as 1964, IRB funds in a bank in the names of IRB trustees including Sean O’Muirthile were transferred towards the cost of the Wolfe Tone statue now on St Stephen’s Green, in Dublin. The unveiling of this statue in Dublin city was attended by IRB men and women. Leaders and members of Decentralised IRB circles, units and groups in Ireland and USA came together from time to time. However the IRB was reduced down to laying wreaths, attending commemorations, conferences and meetings, making public speeches, and writing letters to Irish politicians which were ignored. The challenges to Irish national sovereignty, 32 county unity, personal sovereignty, freedom and democracy are massive in the 21st century and the IRB is reforming and renewing itself and working with Irish men and women and all types of organisations to meet these challenges. The IRB circles came together to form a new IRB Supreme Council in 2019 under the leadership of Thomas Ryan. This new Supreme Council is young, ambitious, visionary, dynamic and hard working.

Most importantly, the sovereignty of the Irish people and of the Irish nation was and is being destroyed by outside forces such as Globalism, EU Federalism, Taxpayer bank bail outs costing 100 billion euros, Globalist Vulture Funds and Speculators robbing the Irish people of their homes, businesses, lands and farms, the continued control of the 6 northern counties by Britain, and Open Borders and mass migration into Ireland. Irish sovereignty, culture and identity was being destroyed. In 2020 and 2021, these same Globalists imposed lockdowns on many countries, including Ireland for a virus which was proven by science to be the equivalent of a flu season, with a 0.2% mortlaity rate ; see web site http://www.data-analytica.org . This destroyed the Irish economy and most Irish businesses and has added another 40 billion euros to the national debt which is now over 250 billion euros. This has bankrupted Ireland and the Irish people. They have reduced the working class and the small and medium sized Irish businesses down to the level of beggars and debt slaves. Globalism and Globallists, which is the New Imperialism, are the enemies of Ireland and of national economies, nationalism and the working class worldwide.

Video Documentaries

There are some excellent video documentaries about this important period 1916 - 1923 in the Gallery section of this web site. They include actual video footage from this period in history.

Leaders of the IRB

Notable members of the IRB

Listing of notable members

Some documentaries about the IRB and the Fenians

The Fenians