The birth of violence in Irish agitation

Most of the agitation in 19th century Ireland was of a peaceful nature. O’Connell’s great movements and that of Parnell had no connection whatsoever with violence.

Nevertheless, the likelihood of some violent protest was always there. Such happened in the early 1880s during the agitation for Land Reform and Home Rule. The IRB – Irish Republican Brotherhood – was a secret oath bound society dedicated to establishing an Irish republic by any means.
It was closely allied with Clan na Gael (successors of the Fenian movement) in the Untied States. A group within the IRB, calling themselves The Invincibles, planned a number of political assassinations in 1882.
Around this time the government followed a policy of coercion against the Land League that resulted in Parnell and other leaders being jailed.
Eventually a compromise called the Kilmainham Treaty was reached, which was to lead to a softening of the government’s attitude and the leaders were released on May 2. They travelled to England to meet Michael Davitt who was released on May 6. As part of the new initiative there was to be a change of officials in Dublin Castle and, on May 5, Lord Cavendish arrived to take up his position as Chief Secretary of Ireland.
Cavendish had a brother in the government at Westminster and was married to a niece of Gladstone. His appointment was seen as a gesture of goodwill towards implementing the agreement. Unfortunately for him and for the country, he never got a chance to function in his new role.
One of the targets of the Invincibles was a man named Thomas Henry Burke. He was head of the Civil Service in Ireland and was closely associated with the strong action against the Fenian movement and the Land League. This was the very policy that the Kilmainham Treaty and Cavendish’s appointment was meant to end.
An attempt on Burke’s life was bungled on the evening of May 5 and the Invincibles tried again the following evening. As Burke walked to his residence in the Phoenix Park he happened to meet Cavendish who joined him on his walk. Being less than 24 hours in the country, for Cavendish, it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. They were attacked by a group of five or six men and stabbed to death.
The police hunt was widespread and a large number of suspects were arrested. They were kept in jail and by playing one off against another, Superintendent Mallon brought them to court.
Some of their members testified against their comrades and they were convicted of murder. Five were hanged in Kilmainham and others sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.
The long term effects on the country were much more severe. An attempt was made to link Parnell to the murders through forged papers published in The Times but this eventually came to naught.
Government and landlords reacted with renewed force against the Land League and evictions were widespread.
On the political scene, Gladstone lost support within his own party and his Home Rule Bill, which looked certain to be passed, was defeated.
The incident known as The Phoenix Park Murders when Cavendish and Burke were killed by the Invincibles took place on May 6, 1882 – 130 years ago this week.                     n Michael Torpey