The month of March is upon us and that means that Saint Patrick’s Day will soon be here. Everyone has heard of Saint Patrick, but there are many more interesting events in Irish history besides him. One interesting tale is the story of the Fenian Raids.

Long before Ireland actually won its freedom from England, they started fighting for it. There were many attempts and uprisings but up until the 20th century, and they all failed. The Irish people were strong, but they were extremely outnumbered and much less funded. The English had the upper hand in almost every situation. This element of the situation led to some “creativity” from Irish Revolutionaries…. and by creativity what is meant is utter ridiculousness.

Thousands of Irish immigrants fought in the American Civil War. They now had battle experience and training. Although most of these men were now patriotic American citizens, quickly assimilating into the society in their new home, others had different opinions.

There was an element of Irish men who were veterans of the Civil War that wanted to use their battle experience to help their native country. They could have gone back to Ireland and helped the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), a precursor to the Irish Republican Army, to train men and raise an army to fight the British for independence. That was too conventional an idea, apparently.

Instead, they decided they would force England’s hand into granting Ireland their independence. They figured out something the English wanted more than Ireland: Canada. A group of Irish American men formed a group called the Fenian Brotherhood, sort of the American answer to the IRB. Founded by two Civil War veterans, the Fenian Brotherhood drew support from Irish Americans all over the country, raising money and membership.

Hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants supported the group. They bought weapons and formed an army several hundred men strong. After about a year of planning, the army of the Fenian Brotherhood tried to invade New Brunswick in April of 1866. The attempt was a massive failure for the Fenians. They later tried to invade Canada at Niagara Falls, which resulted in the Fenian capture of Fort Erie. This invasion may have been successful, had it not been for the United States stopping their supply line within the U.S. There were several other attempted invasions, including a plot to invade on the west coast in Vancouver.

The Fenians goal was to capture Canada and hold it hostage. They would give Canada back to the English if they freed Ireland. Unfortunately for the Fenian Brotherhood, they could never raise an army more than 800 strong and the United States government started cracking down on their activity inside of the U.S., making it hard for them to continue with their activities. The English and Canadians, however, did not believe the U.S. did enough to stop the Fenians, and accused the Americans of secretly supporting them due to anger over perceived Canadian support for the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

This lead to an Anti-American sentiment in Canada, as well as unifying the Canadian provinces and encouraging a sense of Canadian nationalism. All in all, it was a failed effort for the Fenian Brotherhood and did nothing to help secure Irish independence. It is, however, an interesting story that helps point out the hand Irish Americans have had in Irish history.