2016-12-24 Sat

A 30-millimeter brass medal was issued by an Irish revolutionary organisation named Fenian Brotherhood established in the United States in 1858 by exiles. The medal features a ship along with the inscriptions F – B and IRISH REPUBLIC. There is a piercing on the medal and its reverse features clasped hands between IRELAND and AMERICA, a rising sun and the inscription 1866.

John O’Mahony and Michael Doheny. O’Mahony were a part of the Fenian Brotherhood who later joined an “Irish Brigade” to fight with the Union Army in the American Civil War.

The Fenians had planned to attack the British in the Western Hemisphere. They used war surplus American rifles to invade Canada and asked for Ireland in return. The operation was dependent on the neutrality of the U.S. government and cooperation of the anti-British U.S. Army. In the end though, Ireland lost the battle. Canadian colonies came together in 1867 as the Dominion of Canada to fight against the British.