On Monday 8 December 2025 in the function room of the Tanyard Bar, Skibbereen at 5pm, Coolim Books is delighted to launch our latest publication The Fenian Movement: An Account of its Origin, Progress and Temporary Collapse by Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa.
Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa (1831-1915) was a well-known leader of the Fenian Movement. A prolific writer, in 1885 he penned eleven articles for the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper entitled ‘The Fenian Movement: An Account of its Origin, Progress and Temporary Collapse’. Those articles primarily dealt with his own involvement with the early Fenian Movement from its inception in 1858 to his arrest in 1865. For much of this period he was resident in the town of Skibbereen. It also covers the time he was employed by the Irish People newspaper in Dublin, when he travelled widely in Ireland and Britain promoting the Movement. They contain information not published in his other works, including poems that he wrote while in jail. For the first time ever, this book brings those eleven articles together into one volume, collated and edited by local historian William Casey. A modern Irish language version of O’Donovan Rossa ‘s prison poem, Eire trasna ’n tSáile, is included, as are a small number of footnotes to explain certain events and individuals to the reader. Also, an index was added as a search aid.
Books will be on sale at the launch and all are welcome to attend.
