Fenian

thumb|Supplement given with the Weekly Freeman of October 1883

The Fenians (, ) were Irish republican revolutionaries that sought to achieve the independence of Ireland from the British Empire in the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century. The main Fenian organisations were the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood. In 1867, they attempted a rising in Ireland which was co-ordinated with raids into Canada from the United States. Although the rising failed, the IRB continued in existence and played a central part in the 1916 Easter Rising and the 1919–1921 Irish War of Independence which led to the establishment of the Irish Free State.