The Fenian Manifesto 1867 - Essential Groundwork PDF

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core part of the module . Essential groundwork....

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The Fenian Manifesto 1867 The Fenian Rebellion of 1867 was an abortive attempt to free Ireland by force of arms. This radical action followed the suppression of the movement in preceding years. The Fenian Manifesto was very much of its time, drawing heavily on the socialist philosophies which had swept Europe. According to the manifesto, the agricultural working classes are the true owners of the soil and are being held in bondage by an alien oligarchy. The only solution was an Irish republic created by force of arms. The Manifesto also advocated the separation of church and state. And went out of its way to emphasise, that the average English man was not the enemy. A theme, which is still current today among violent Republican’s. The Manifesto’s internationalist nature champions the cause of the working classes everywhere, in much of the same way as Marx’s “Das Kapital “. The Manifesto foreshadows the 1916 proclamation, in its justification of the creation of a republic for the people by the use of arms. There is notably a key theme that is a consistent factor throughout the document. This is the theme of Aristocracy versus The Working People. This theme can be described as interesting, as this means that the bone the Fenian’s have to pick, is not with the English. Although this is what one would stereotypically assume, in this case, who they have a bone to pick with is who they describe as “the aristocratic leeches”1. The main issue they have with these aristocrats can be described as direct and to the point. This issue is to do with ownership, how the Irish people were being deprived of the right to privately own what they feel is their property. How it does not matter and is felt to be irrelevant, which noble aristocrat happens to have the deed to the land. The Fenian’s convey strongly in this document, that the real owners of the land are unarguably the people of Ireland and the people of Ireland alone. ”English or Irish, who have eaten the verdure of our fields-against the aristocratic leeches who drain alike

1 The Fenian Manifesto (1867)

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our field and theirs”2. The use of the possessive pronoun “our” in this quote , could be claimed as a method of the Fenian’s showing the aristocrats , that they are not asking them if the land is truly theirs , rather telling them that they know it is. It can be argued, that the fact that this particular document was written in 1867, the same year that “Das Kapital” by Karl Marx was published could be described as a bit more than coincidental. Upon publication, the people of Europe can be described as being enthralled and spellbound by “ The philosophies of Socialism and Anarchism, and looked to the Working Class as the only class which could save mankind from the terrible direction it had taken”3. That being said, this influence can be straightforwardly found throughout the document. It could be claimed that, this influence can be seen prominently, for example at the beginning of this document, in the third paragraph. In particular reference, to when the document states how if change for the better, in hope of a better, freer ,life for the working people is going to happen ,there is no other way to achieve that but one. Force by the working people, for the working people, is going to have to be taken and is the only remaining option for the Fenian’s. “Having no honourable alternative left, we again appeal to force as our last a resource”4. A striking feature that one may notice, from reading this document, is it’s similarity to the 1916 Proclamation. These similarities could make the argument that The Fenian Manifesto speech in 1867, served as a sense of inspiration for the 1916 proclamation. A key message that is shared between both sources, is this idea of how the only people who should have ownership over Ireland are the inhabitants (i.e., the people of Ireland themselves). These similarities can be interpreted, as both parties being unwilling to compromise in their aims and sought out results (i.e. a republic). This can translate into explaining why the 1916 2 The Fenian Manifesto (1867) 3 Cael (2009). “The proclamation of the Irish Republic 1867 as a signifier of Class Struggle”. Irish Republican Socialist. 2015. 4 The Fenian Manifesto (1867)

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proclamation ,may have took inspiration from The Fenian Manifesto ( 1867) as both parties are radical in their actions and unwilling to compromise in their desired outcomes. “The right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland”5 and “The soil of Ireland, a present in the possession of an oligarchy, belongs to us, the Irish people and to us it must be restored”6. However, that being said, there is an argument, for there being a key difference between the 1916 proclamation and The Fenian Manifesto 1867 that one may recognise upon analysing this particular document. That is the point, that the 1916 proclamations main conflict can be interpreted, as being dominantly to do with the matter of nationality. This is in contrast to The Fenian Manifesto 1867 , where the key conflict is not just with the particular issue of nationality , but in addition to, along with the issue of class conflict. “Old tradition of nationhood”7 and “The soil of Ireland, at present in the position of an oligarchy”8. The Fenian Manifesto seeks to occupy the high moral ground. The right of the working classes to own and prophet from their land is a core principle. It does however; ignore the economic reality that the economic landscape was changing. And that the tenant farmer stroke grazier was about to come into his own. Just as in “Das Kapital” the so called oppressed workers were the only hope for the future and anyone who did not accept this was the enemy. This included, almost everyone else including many of the so called working classes. How much the authors of The Fenian Manifesto believed in their own rhetoric is open to question as the notion of the “ rising in every generation “ and the “ blood sacrifice “ was a key driver of rebellious intent. This would be equally true in 1916. However, the document is important as it echoes a wider European tradition of power to the people, with Marx as its most influential thinker. The document is equally influenced by the well-worn idea, that all of Ireland’s ills were caused by its neighbour. The documents lasting legacy was 5 The 1916 Proclamation 6 The Fenian Manifesto (1867) 7 The 1916 Proclamation 8 The Fenian Manifesto 1867

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the direction and quasi approval it gave to the Irish revolutionary movement of the early twentieth century. When in truth, Irish workers had far less to be unhappy about and it is the Fenian Manifesto’s links to 1916 which preserves it in Irish history.

Bibliography

The Fenian Manifesto 1867 The 1916 Proclamation Cael (2009). “The proclamation of the Irish Republic 1867 as a signifier of Class Struggle “. Irish Republican Socialist. 2015. Today in Irish History – The Fenian Rebellion, March 8 1867, John Dorney, TheIrishStory.com.

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