author
John O'Mahony
1816–1877
A scholar-activist who helped shape Irish nationalism in the United States, he is best known for founding the Fenian Brotherhood and for bringing Irish language and history into his political work.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born near Mitchelstown in County Cork in either 1815 or 1816, John O'Mahony became known as both a Gaelic scholar and a committed Irish nationalist. He took part in the Young Ireland rising of 1848, then went into exile after its failure.
In the United States, he became a central figure in Irish-American political life. He founded the Fenian Brotherhood, the American sister organization of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and helped popularize the very name "Fenian" for a new generation of republicans.
O'Mahony also worked as a translator and editor, most notably on Geoffrey Keating's history of Ireland, reflecting his deep interest in Irish language and tradition. He died in New York in 1877, and his reputation endures through both his political organizing and his cultural work.