The Irish Invasion of…..Canada?!?

So I couldn’t find any more islands that were of a great interest around Ireland itself but how about an Invasion of Canada by Irishman. I mean come on why would the Irish government attack Canada? Well it wasn’t the Irish government, at the time of the invasion ( 1866 ) Ireland was still under the British government, the same to Canada. The attackers were a small group of Irish-Americans who wanted to bring independence to Ireland by causing trouble in Canada. Thus, supposedly, forcing England to declare independence for Ireland (the person who came up with that plan must have been drunk). The group was called the Fenian Brotherhood, and supposedly they were supported by the American government in hopes to bring Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick into the United States, however their is not enough proof to support this argument. This “war” was called the Fenian raids and lasted till approximately the 1890s though no real fighting occurred after the 1860s-1870s.

The main battle I wanted to focus on is the Campobello Island raid. It wasn’t really a battle however the effects after it was a shake to Canada and its relations with a foreign power. Campobello Island is a tiny island off the coast of Maine and in the province of New Brunswick. The island posed no real strategic, or economic gain for the Fenians. The real purpose was to antagonize the English crown by showing some strength and that they were serious for Irish Independence. Approx 700-800 men invaded the island and quickly took control in April.

This was a really short victory. Soon after they took the island, British commander Charles Doyle took 700 British regulars and invaded the island. However Irish scouts had seen the British coming and alerted the other Fenians earlier, this force the Irish to retreat the island. The attack by the Fenians and the supposed help from the United States led New Brunswick to vote to join the United Dominion of Canada and remain under British dominance. This also worsened relations between Canada and the United States. Even though there was no proof, the Fenians were Irish-Americans and the U.S did very little to stop them when they invaded Canada.

Note this song is really slow paced…this song also doesn’t focus on the Fenian raids but rather all the Irish Rebels that died for Irish freedom.