THE MANCHESTER Martyrs – William Philip Allen, Michael Larkin, and Michael O'Brien – were three men executed on November 23, 1867 for the murder of a police officer in Manchester.
The men were members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, a revolutionary organisation dedicated to ending British rule in Ireland.
Allen, Larkin and O’Brien have been memorialised, both in Manchester and in Ireland, where many regard them as heroes.
Here are nine facts about the Manchester Martyrs:
They were Irish revolutionaries
At the time, the entire island of Ireland had been under British rule since 1603. The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) was founded Saint Patrick’s Day of 1858 with the aim of revolution.
By 1865 the IRB had over 100,000 members, and began to carry out acts of violence in Britain in the hopes of weakening Britain’s hold over the Emerald Isle.
Police were suspicious of the Irish community in Britain
The police soon became suspicious of the Irish in Britain for their 'Fenian sympathies'.
In a report, one police detective in Liverpool said: “I find the great majority of Irish labourers in this town, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle, as well as those residing in towns of less note through this country, if not actually enrolled members of the brotherhood, are strongly impressed with the spirit of Fenianism”.
![James Stephens, founder of the Irish Republican Brotherhood [Picture: Fulton Images/Getty]](https://media.irishpost.co.uk/uploads/2016/11/James_Stephens.jpg)
James Stephens, founder of the Irish Republican Brotherhood [Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty]Their uprising failed
In 1865, arms shipments were being made through Liverpool and everything was in place for an attempt at an uprising – but the Fenian leadership hesitated at the vital moment.
The British Army became aware of a large amount of Fenian double agents in their ranks, and deported the offenders to Australia.
By the time the rising finally took place in Dublin on March 5, 1867 it was easily put down.
Their leaders were arrested
After the failure of the rising, two men were sent in from America to rally the Irish in Britain – Colonel Thomas Kelly from Galway, and Captain Timothy Deasy from Cork.
During the early hours of September 11, 1867, Manchester Police arrested Kelly and Deasy after they were seen acting suspiciously during the night.
A plan was quickly hatched to bust them out.
![Fenians gather during the national Fenian Rising, March 1867 [Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty]](https://media.irishpost.co.uk/uploads/2016/11/Fenian_Uprising.jpg)
Fenians gather near Dublin during the national Fenian Rising, March 1867 [Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty]The policeman’s death was an accident
On September 18 1867, Kelly and Deasy were being transferred via a police van escorted by 12 mounted policemen. As it passed under a railway bridge, 30-40 armed Irishmen held it up.
Police Sergeant Charles Brett refused to open the door, so one man put his revolver at the keyhole to blow the lock. Only, Brett looked through the keyhole at the exact same moment to see outside.
The bullet passed through his eye into his brain and killed him instantly. Kelly and Deasy escaped and were never seen again.
The convicted men were probably innocent
A total of 26 men said to have been present on the day of the heist were brought to trial, with only five of them eventually convicted for the murder of Charles Brett.
William Allen, Michael Larkin, Michael O'Brien, Thomas Maguire, and Edward O'Meagher Condon were sentenced to death by hanging and cried "God save Ireland" from the dock. Maguire and O’Meagher Condon were let off almost instantly – leaving three to be executed.
There was no evidence that any of the men shot Brett, only that they had been present.
![The Fenian attack on a police van in Manchester, 18th September 1867 [Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty]](https://media.irishpost.co.uk/uploads/2016/11/Fenian_Arch.jpg)
The Fenian attack on a police van in Manchester, 18th September 1867 [Picture: Hulton Archive/Getty]Thousands lined up to watch their execution
A crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 people gathered in Salford to witness the three men’s public execution on November 23 1867.
Hanged from the gallows, Allen died instantly – but Larkin and O’Brien were subjected to agonisingly slow deaths thanks to the fumbling hangman.
They became a symbol of Irish nationalism
Funeral processions were held across Ireland and even in a few British cities in the weeks after the executions of the men – attracting thousands of well-wishers.
The cry of the men became the inspiration for the song God Save Ireland, which was Ireland’s unofficial national anthem until Amhrán na bhFiann was adopted in 1926.
Commemorations to the Manchester Martyrs take place annually both in Ireland and Manchester itself.
You can see their monuments today
Monuments to the three Manchester Martyrs stand throughout Ireland in Kerry, Limerick, Clare, Tipperary, Offaly, Antrim, Dublin and even in Manchester itself.
The site of the monument in Manchester has suffered a number of attacks and acts of vandalism – and is considered “at risk” by the local council.
Police Sergeant Brett was buried in Harpurhey Cemetery in Manchester, with the words "I will do my duty" engraved on his tombstone.
A memorial tablet to him stands in nearby St Ann's Church.
See More: Featured, Irish Famine, Manchester Martyrs
