Hope this info leads to somewhere.... Blessings, Kathleen The Rise of Fenianism: http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~col/fenian/irish.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The political structure of the Kingdom of Ireland was very weak in the eighteenth century due to poor harvests and Church grievances. A series of events from 1780s to the 1880s characterized the national turmoil and aggravation of the Irish: reform movements began, failure of the Commercial Propositions for free trade, the French Revolution, the formation of the radical Society of United Irishmen who sought complete independence from Great Britain and instigated several revolts and the Poor Law System. By 1879, the Land League was formed to protect tenants and boycott production which sparked British legislation to ensure fair rent, fixity of tenure and freedom for the tenant to sell his right of occupancy. As a result of this Land Act, landlords declared war on tenants and tried to take advantage every government loophole possible. Sir Walter Scott said of Ireland's masses "...[people] live in cabins that would scarce serve for pigsties in Scotland." In 1845, an American potato fungus spread like wildfire thoughout Europe, brutally striking the principal crop of Ireland. The masses of peasantry were completely dependant on the little round vegetable as a dietary staple. The year brought devastating crop failures. The next year was a total repeat of the previous year, with a winter season so severe that many people would forage through drifts of snow to locate weeds or other edibles. The fungus didn't return in 1847, but the two years before had created a shortage and utter despair. No one had money to buy seed and some had eaten the remaining seed to survive. Those fortunate enough to replant in 1847 received another blow when the fungus returned in 1848. Over two million people fell victim to hunger, scurvy, cholera, fever and other famine related diseases. Hundreds were buried without any records. Some help was given to the famine-struck land. The British Association for Famine Relief collected almost 400,000 British pounds. The government spent millions of pounds in an attempt to secure employment and food, but such "relief" was administered on the principal that aid and charity shouldn't disable private initiative and enterprise. Public Works programs provided the Irish with work in return for food and soup kitchens were established, but only a minority of the starving masses qualified for help. The Work Program was useless because it built roads leading to nowhere and filled in potholes, only to dig them up again. The financial backing for these programs was theoretically to come from Irish taxes. Obviously, this failed because Ireland's economy couldn't handle the burden. The Great Famine (1845-1848) changed the face of Ireland forever. The most drastic effect of the starvation was the rapid declination of propulation. In a few short years, the population dropped by two million. The most logical principle for the horrific conditions of the Irish state was to blame the British. Two political factions competed for Irish loyalty during the famine years and thereafter; the "Young Irelanders" headed by John Mitchell, William Smith O'Brien, and Thomas Davis and the "Repealers" led by Daniel O'Connell. The Young Ireland movement represented a militant stance to completely sever ties with Great Britian. Young Irelanders symbolized hope that the common people of Ireland could break the bondage that constrained the Irish spirit. The movement was quickly recognized for its impassioned zeal and nationalistic fervor, especially under the leadership of Davis and Mitchell. The Young Irelanders were responsible for raising patriotic sympathies and enraging the British government by initiating countless revolts to prompt intervention. Mitchell was eventually banished to Australia (Van Dieman's Land), but escaped and wrote several memoirs describing his passion for Irish independence. The Repeal movment, on the other hand, became prominent under the authority of a Catholic lawyer and Irish landowner, Daniel O'Connell. To most Protestant Irishmen, O'Connell was proof postive that the British catered to the elite and ignored the starving masses. O'Connell was a landlord of some ill-repute and frequently called upon the government for more troops to quell the secret societies which resisted landlord oppresion and eviction. He maintained an anti-revolutionary position and was frequently at odds with the Young Irelanders, which drew much criticism form his fellow countrymen. The Repealers advocated the reapeal of the Act of Union that joined Ireland to Great Britain, and the re-establishment of an Irish parilment without breaking every connection with England; such as the case with Canada. The influnce of Young Ireland and the Repeal movement swelled into the United States as thousands of immigrants fled the famine of their homeland. In America, two leaders emerged who would pioneer the fenian uprisings, James Stephens and John O'Mahoney. Both of these men found enough anti-english feelings in the states that lead them to believe that a revolt among Irish-Americans was entirely possible. O'Mahoney spearheaded the Fenian organization which was also known as the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a secret oath-bound society dedicated to armed revolution. The alliance was suppressed, still it remained active and gave birth to a new generation of revolutionary Fenians. Other sites that might be useful: Irish adoption- http://welcome.to/irishadopt Irish Societies- http://search.freefind.com/find.html?id=2077098&pageid=r&mode=all&query=Irish+Societies Irish Societies- http://www.iol.ie/~fagann/1798/dfender.htm (The Whiteboys) ===== "The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears." Cherokee __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals. http://personals.yahoo.com