Item 1 - Address of the Council of the Fenian Brotherhood, 29 September 1870

2pp

Address regarding the Ninth General Convention of the Fenian Brotherhood, assembled in New York on 30 August through 5 September 1870, as signed by John Savage, Chief Executive of the Fenian Brotherhood.
The 1870 address of the Fenian Brotherhood celebrates the reunification of Fenian organisations in America under the leadership of John Savage and General John O’Neill, presenting this achievement as a major advance for the Irish nationalist movement. The Council argues that growing unity, discipline, and membership demonstrate the increasing strength of Fenianism and its appeal among Irish nationalists worldwide.
The document reaffirms the Brotherhood’s commitment to Irish independence, insisting that British attempts to reform Irish grievances are ineffective because the fundamental problem is English rule. Only national self-government, it argues, can resolve Ireland’s political, economic, and social difficulties. Fenianism is therefore portrayed as both necessary and inevitable until Ireland regains autonomy.
The address links Irish nationalism with wider democratic and republican movements, expressing support for the French Republic and sympathy with democratic developments in England. It contends that ordinary English and Irish people share a common enemy in the aristocratic and privileged classes whose power denies liberty and equality.
A major theme is that Fenianism seeks more than political change. It aims to transform the moral character, political consciousness, and national spirit of the Irish people, preparing them for true independence. While emphasising education and organisation as essential foundations of revolution, the address maintains that force may ultimately be required to secure freedom. Concluding on an optimistic note, it points to growing unity, international sympathy, and organisational strength as signs that Irish independence is approaching.