War in the shadows
Subtitle: the Irish-American Fenians who bombed Victorian Britain
By: Shane Kenna
Publisher: Merrion
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Sallins, Co. Kildare
Language: eng
Number of pages: 410
ISBN-13: 9781908928054; 9781908928023; 9781908928412
Copyright date: 2014
Subjects: Politics and government; Irish Americans; Autonomy and independence movements; Bombings; Clan-na-Gael; Terrorism; Fenians; Political violence; History
Description: The transformation from regular warfare to the strategy of a war of attrition within urban centers was an enormous development within the history of Irish Fenianism. Having its origins in the complex world of Irish-American politics, the Fenian dynamite campaign in Victorian Britain was undertaken between 1881 and 1885, and was largely a response to the failures of Fenianism in the previous decade. Involving many well-known Fenians - such as Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, Thomas James Clarke, and Denis Deasy (who died in British custody following arrest for his role in the bombings) - the campaign was as innovative as it was modern and represented an increasing predilection for clockwork mechanisms on explosive devices. As author Shane Kenna describes, this was the first time in history the bomber did not need to be close to his bomb before detonation, but could set it, deposit the explosive in an urban center, and have ample time to escape before detonation. This book examines the history of those dramatic events and also the story of how the British state responded to an adversary fighting a war in the shadows. Irish bombings in Victorian Britain would capture world headlines and the public imagination. The campaign left behind a significant legacy: for the first time in British history, the Irish question would not be confined to Ireland, but would affect British urban centers and sensibilities, reaching and touching not only the political elite, but the very people themselves. --Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (395-402) and index.
Table of contents: title: Chronology of Fenian bombings and conspiracy in Britain, 1881-1885; title: Preface: Who were the Fenians?; title: Introduction; title: Irish-American retribution and the trans-Atlantic conspiracy; title: The skirmishers at large; title: Political crisis and the dirty war in the shadows; title: Bombs across Britain; title: Das agents provocateurs; title: Clan na Gael and the Gallagher Conspiracy; title: The escalating dynamite campaign; title: The mysterious case of John Daly; title: The ceasefire and counter Fenian strategy as political action; title: The fall of Edward George Jenkinson; title: The Mexican general and the game of shadows; title: The game of shadows revealed: Irish-American conspiracy on trial; title: Conclusion.