Manchester Martyrs Commemoration

The famous story of the Manchester Martyrs (Allen, Larkin and O'Brien) by an eminent Irish historian, followed by an Irish ballad session. The Story of the Manchester Martyrs A talk by the historian Professor Ruan O’Donnell The execution of the Manchester Martyrs on 23 November 1867, is one of the most significant incidents in the struggle for Irish freedom before the 1916 Rising. Following the audacious rescue of two Fenian leaders, during which a policeman was killed, the police arrested several suspects who were charged with murder. Some were acquitted, but three members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood who lived in the area and had taken part in the rescue, William Allen, Michael Larkin and Michael O’Brien, were sentenced to death, earning them the epithet of ‘the Manchester Martyrs’. Professor Ruan O’Donnell will relate the sensational story of these men, their part in the rescue, their trial and the international reaction to their public execution. Professor Ruan O'Donnell works in the School of History and Geography at the University of Limerick. He is originally from Dublin and has lived and worked in Limerick since 1998. His research interests focus on the history of Irish republicanism worldwide from 1791 to 1998. The talk will be followed by an Irish ballad session with Paddy Campbell and the popular band Errigal.