John O'Mahony - Fenian Brotherhood

Fenian Brotherhood

In 1860, O'Mahony organized the Fenian Brotherhood, also known as the Irish Republican Brotherhood. The object of the association was to secure the freedom of Ireland. The name was probably derived from O'Mahony's Gaelic studies, the Fenians having been a military body in pagan Ireland, celebrated in the songs of Ossian. The early portion of Keating's History is occupied with the exploits of the ancient Fenians. The organization of the new society was completed at conventions that were held in Chicago in 1864, and in Cincinnati in January, 1865.

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