Following the failure of the Fenian uprising in 1867, two leading members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, Thomas J. Kelly and Timothy Deasy, went to England to raise funds and rally support. They were arrested for vagrancy in Manchester on September 11th. On the 18th, as they were being transferred between prisons, they were freed by a gang of Fenians who accidentally shot a policeman in the process. The attack became an excuse for whipping up national anti-Irish hysteria. Following a roundup of sympathisers, twenty-six suspects were arrested, of which six were brought to trial on 28 October 1867. Three of the accused were executed by public hanging outside Salford Gaol on 23 November 1867.
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Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "Fenian brotherhood Manchester bombing". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 10 January 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5109, accessed 18 April 2024.]
