Irish Republicanism in Scotland, 1858-1916: Fenians in Exile

The first historical narrative of Irish nationalism in Scotland, dealing with the exiled Irish nationalist movement in Scotland as a whole and not just focusing on the physical-force tradition within that movement. The book begins with a discussion of the Irish in Scotland, and follows the organizational birth and growth of the Irish Republican Brotherhood and other Irish nationalist groupings up to 1882. The nature of Irish expatriate political organization and activity is discussed and Fenianism in Scotland is measured against its counterparts in England and Wales, North America, Australasia and South Africa. The immigrants’ political development is examined and the prevailing view of the Fenian tradition is challenged, placing the beginning and development of the movement much more in the Irish diaspora than in Ireland itself.