Item 39 - Octave Fariola, Paris, to [Anthony C. Griffin], Chief Executive, Irish Republican Brotherhood, New York, 31 March 1867

2pp

Letter from Octave Fariola, a Belgian soldier serving as chief of staff of the Fenian (Irish Republican) forces during the 1867 Fenian Rising, urging 'the necessity of relieving the officers now in Europe in the service of our cause and who are now in the greatest destitution. Colonel [Thomas J.] Kelly is in London with a few others and in daily danger of being captured.'
Fariola reports that he, William O'Donovan, and other Fenian officers in Europe were in severe financial hardship while attempting to continue the movement's work following the rising. He argues that a lack of funding had hindered operations in Ireland, and attributes setbacks in part to the decisions of imprisoned leader Patrick J. Condon while maintaining that the movement could resume active operations if resources were provided.
Fariola urges continued support for the Irish republican cause, reports on the circumstances of several movement figures including James Stephens ('living quietly in the suburbs, affecting to be in great destitution'), and stresses his ongoing commitment to the Fenian objective despite the movement's difficult situation.