The Irish-American Dynamite Campaign

In the 1880s, Clan-na-Gael, an extremist Irish-American organization that succeeded the Fenian Brotherhood, initiated a dynamite campaign against Britain in a bid to bring about Irish independence. Throughout England, explosions rocked government, military and police targets, including the Tower of London, London Bridge and the Houses of Parliament. This detailed study chronicles the origins, operations and aftereffects of the campaign, especially its heavy infiltration by spies, informers and agents of a rogue British Secret Service. By exploring the overlooked areas of the operation’s history, this volume reveals how, in a bid to discredit the Irish National Party in Parliament, those most entrusted with Britain`s security were themselves complicit in the bombings.

Joseph McKenna is a retired local studies librarian, with over 30 years experience working in the Central Library in Birmingham, England. He formerly sat on the City Council`s Conservation Advisory Areas Committee.

Joseph McKenna
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 216
Bibliographic Info: 52 photos, appendices, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2012
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6896-6
eISBN: 978-0-7864-9042-4
Imprint: McFarland

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii
List of Initialisms viii
Preface 1
Introduction 3
1. Rossa’s Campaign Begins 15
2. Combating the Dynamitards 21
3. The Gallagher Campaign 28
4. The Featherstone-Dalton Campaign 61
5. The Railway Explosions 68
6. The Case of John Daly and James Egan 72
7. The Bombing of Scotland Yard 89
8. London Bridge Is Broken Down 95
9. The Bombing of the Tower of London 99
10. The Bombing of Parliament 105
11. Aftermath and the Admiralty Explosion 112
12. The Jubilee Plot 119
13. The Parnell Commission 128
14. The Special Men 143
15. The Daly Case Reexamined 148
16. Questions in the House 156
17. Release of the Dynamitards 169
18. The Bell Plot 172
19. A Last Throw of the Dice 174
20. A Spiritual Reawakening 178
21. Tying Up Loose Ends 183
Appendix A. Home Office Papers Concerning the Daly-Egan Case 187
Appendix B. List of Convicted Dynamitards 196
Chapter Notes 197
Bibliography 201
Index 203