The Invincibles

'Britain in Ireland is a beast exceeding terrible; his feet and claws are of iron,' The Invincibles

In an Ireland still reeling from years of famine, with tenant farmers being evicted and left to starve for their inability to pay exorbitant rents, revolutionary fervour was growing. An inner circle of the IRB was formed, a secret assassination squad within a secret society – the Irish National Invincibles. Their mission was to strike at the heart of British Imperial power, to kill the figureheads of Ireland's oppressors.

On their way home from a triumphal parade through the city, Lord Frederick Cavendish and Thomas Burke, two of the heads of the establishment, were set upon and stabbed to death in the Phoenix Park. These killings would shake the Empire to its core, and shape the following decades of Irish history.

Remembering Dr Shane Kenna – Liz Gillis page 9


Introduction – Dr Ruan O'Donnell 11

1 Background to the Invincibles 15


2 The Genesis of the Invincibles 47


3 The Phoenix Park Assassinations 66


4 The Investigation 78


5 Cracks in the Conspiracy 118

THE TRIALS


5 Joe Brady 160


6 Daniel Curley 173


7 Timothy Kelly 181


8 Michael Fagan 187


9 'Skin the Goat' – James Fitzharris 195


10 Thomas Caffrey & Patrick Delaney 202


11 Edward O'Brien & Peter Doyle 208


12 James Mullet, William Moroney & Laurence Hanlon 210


13 Timothy Kelly 214


14 Joseph Mullet 230


The Executions


15 Joe Brady 242


16 Daniel Curley 248


17 Michael Fagan 254


18 Thomas Caffrey 258


19 Timothy Kelly 262

THE Aftermath


20 Carey's Flight 270


21 The Reaction 281


22 The Execution of Patrick O'Donnell 299

Afterword – Aidan Lambert 307


Editor's Note 309


Endnotes 311


Acknowledgements 323


Index 325

well-researched … readable … almost a crime novel



terrific. Kenna has married his deep, exhaustive scholarship of the subject with his natural storytelling skills to produce a hugely authoritative work that should be a magnet to the popular reader and the specialist



this book is Kenna’s fitting testament



a detailed and highly readable book … His deep knowledge of Republicanism of this period is reflected in the book … Readers already familiar with the subject will find new insight for Kenna provides fresh understanding, based on detailed research



a detailed and highly readable book [from] one of the specialists of Fenianism and late Victorian Republicanism .. Readers already familiar with the subject will find new insight for Kenna provides fresh understanding, based on detailed research



well-researched study is sober in judgement and rich in detail weniger anzeigen expand_less