In this episode, we discuss the Fenian movement of the 1860s and its effects on Saint John during security scares in late 1865 and the spring of 1866, including its political impacts in the latter year and beyond. Founded on both sides of the Atlantic by former members of the Young Ireland movement of the late 1840s, the Irish Republican Brotherhood was dedicated to the liberation of Ireland from British rule and the establishment of an independent republic. A secret society whose membership and activities were far from secret in the United States, it was opposed by the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic church because of its radical goals and acceptance of physical force as opposed to gradual reform. American Fenianism channeled bitter memories among immigrant communities of the Irish Famine of the late 1840s [see episode # 4, The Irish Famine Migration].

One wing of the American movement, which attracted thousands of Irish Americans with Civil War combat experience, wanted to attack Canada to put pressure on Great Britain, but the O’Mahony wing believed in fomenting an uprising in Ireland. Fueled by press speculation as well as genuine intelligence from British officials on a possible raid, many citizens of Saint John in late 1865 feared a Fenian attack. In 1866, the provincial authorities prepared for an attack and/or uprising on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day. In short order, hundreds of American Fenians began to gather on the Maine-New Brunswick border, seemingly intent on making some type of military incursion. The arrival of a schooner with a cargo of rifles and ammunition made the situation on the border - 75 miles from Saint John - potentially critical. As tensions mounted, the New Brunswick government sent volunteer militia infantry and artillery units to the border, joined by British troops from Halifax and five Royal Navy vessels.

The episode discusses a mysterious “Fenian circular” that appeared on the streets of Saint John near the height of the 1866 crisis and explores whether it could have been an example of ‘black propaganda,’ designed to discredit not the Fenians, but the current Anti-Confederation government of New Brunswick. We also examine evidence- admittedly slim- that is suggestive of a Fenian cell in the city and any lingering support for physical force republicanism in later years. By the middle of the 1910s, this became the dominant approach towards securing the independence of Ireland. Finally, our trip back to the 1860s explains how the Fenians, despite their avowed opposition to the federal union of the colonies of British North America, can be considered Fathers of Confederation.

The song “Down by the Glenside/The Bold Fenian Men” written by Peadar Kearney was performed by Morgan Driscoll, backed up by John Lawrence on fiddle and Greg Marquis on guitar. It was recorded at O’Leary’s Pub in Saint John.

Show Notes: https://www.nothinghappenedhere.ca/post/except-for-the-fenian-threat-of-1865-1866