The Ladies Committee also faced the powerful influence of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. As mentioned earlier, the Irish Clergy were staunchly opposed to Fenianism. With the arrests of the Fenian prisoners in 1865, the Catholic Church only hardened its position on the movement, lauding the British Government for its stern action. The Church also continued to regularly assail Fenianism through sermons and encyclicals. Archbishop Cullen, remaining dogged in his opposition to Fenianism, welcomed the arrest of O’Donovan Rossa and his colleagues, and the suppression of The Irish People. Producing an encyclical, which was read at Masses and published in the newspapers, he stated:
They are said to have proposed nothing less than to destroy the faith of our people by circulating works like those of the impious Voltaire, to preach up socialism, to seize the property of those who have any, and to exterminate both the gentry of the country and the Catholic Clergy. Whatever is to be said of such fearful accusations – which we hope are only founded on vague report – it is too certain that the managers of the Fenian paper, called the Irish People, made it a vehicle for scandal, and circulated in its columns most pernicious and poisonous maxims … it must be admitted, that for suppressing that paper the public authorities deserve the thanks and gratitude of all those who love Ireland, its peace and its religion.32
With the Church resolutely against the Fenian prisoners, the work of the Ladies Committee was incredibly difficult and despite early fundraising success, between January to June 1866, monthly subscription totals decreased from £270 to £30.
As a prisoner at Richmond Prison, O’Donovan Rossa rejected the silent treatment enforced upon the Fenian prisoners, not only were they a different category to ordinary prisoners, as prisoners on remand, he also argued that it undermined their defence. This objection was grounded in a consideration that as the prisoners were implicated with each other, the fact that they could not speak to each other meant that they could not prepare for Court together. O’Donovan Rossa became incredibly frustrated, and as he was processed as a prisoner he was asked his religion – deciding he would be difficult, and in an attempt to vent his frustration, when a prison warder asked him if he was Roman Catholic, he responded stating he ‘was Irish not Roman’, and refused to sign himself as Roman Catholic.33 Aggravating his jailers, O’Donovan Rossa demanded that he be registered as an Irish Catholic and continued to refuse to sign a declaration professing that he was a Roman Catholic. After much argument, the authorities decided that he would be prevented from attending Catholic Mass while a prisoner until he relented. Bringing further attention on himself, O’Donovan Rossa then demanded that the authorities provide all the evidence they had to them as to why the prisoners were arrested so that they could prepare their defence. While the prisoners were eventually allowed to speak to one another, albeit in the company of their solicitor, the State remained obstinate in allowing them to see the evidence against them. It also increasingly became known amongst the prisoners that Nagle was an informer and would eventually provide evidence against them in Court.
James Stephens now hurriedly moved to prevent rebellion in 1865. His Executive Council had been obliterated and faced imprisonment – 1865 would not be the year of action. With a bounty of £200 on his head, the Chief Organiser of the Irish Republic ensconced himself in Sandymount, Dublin with Charles Kickham, Edward Duffy and Hugh Brophy. The suppression of The Irish People had greatly undermined the IRB and Cardinal Cullen had again denounced the movement with the most vocal of terms, holding that it would be a good thing for Ireland if Fenianism were to be eradicated from the country. The Irish People newspaper, he argued, was scandalous, preached socialism and ‘circulated in its columns the most pernicious and poisonous maxims’,34 for the false education of the Irish people. Cullen continued to wax lyrical on the Fenian threat and held that the British government ‘deserve the thanks of all who love Ireland, its peace and its religion’.35 Within two months of the suppression of The Irish People, James Stephens was discovered and taken to Richmond Prison but with the help of two warders: John Breslin and Daniel Byrne, Stephens escaped from the prison. The Fenian network had supplied the warders with copied keys designed by Dublin Fenian, Michael Lambert, an instrument maker and jeweller. Breslin and Byrne helped Stephens climb over the prison wall, where he was met by John Devoy and his lieutenant, Thomas Kelly. O’Donovan Rossa remembered the night of Stephens’ escape. That day, with his solicitor, he had met with John O’Leary, Thomas Clarke Luby and Edward Duffy. Duffy had whispered to O’Donovan Rossa that Stephens was leaving the prison that evening, and seeing Stephens’ escape as a victory for the Fenian movement, Rossa had tried to stay awake to hear. Eventually falling asleep he was woken up by a prison guard who was frantically checking his cell to confirm if he were still in custody. At this, O’Donovan Rossa joyfully concluded that ‘the bird had flown’.36
Following Stephens’ escape from Richmond Prison, the government decided to move the Fenian prisoners to Kilmainham Gaol, in the Dublin countryside. To this effect it was decided that the newly built east wing of the Gaol would be used exclusively for Fenian prisoners. Instructing the Gaol Governor, Henry Price, of their plans, Dublin Castle insisted that Kilmainham was to become one of Ireland’s most secure gaols in preparation for the arrival of the Fenian prisoners. To secure Kilmainham Gaol it was decided that each cell would be double-locked by means of bolts, hasps and padlocks. There were only two master keys to the locks and these were in the possession of the Gaol management. Twelve gates were placed within the prison corridors parallel to a body of armed sentries and soldiers stationed both at the prison and adjoining courthouse. When O’Donovan Rossa arrived at Kilmainham Gaol he was stripped naked, searched, given a prison uniform and number, and taken to a small cell. He had a number of papers which he intended to use for his defence to provide to his Counsel; these papers were seized by Governor Price upon entry and were not returned until his trial. Writing to Mary Jane, he had commented how he felt about the seizure of his papers, implying that the State was acting improperly against him. He insisted to his wife that he would kick up ‘hells delights’, in Court about Governor Price’s behaviour.37
On 27 November 1865 a Special Commission was opened in Dublin to oversee the trial of the arrested Fenians. Further commissions were to take place in Cork and Limerick. In total, forty-six men including O’Donovan Rossa, John O’Leary, Charles Kickham, George Archdeacon, Patrick Haybourne, George Gillis and William Francis Roantree were tried for their part in a Fenian conspiracy in Dublin. Of the forty-six, eleven were admitted bail. Despite his earlier belief that he would be hanged by the State, O’Donovan Rossa had come to terms with the fact that he would probably receive a life sentence. The judge presiding over the Special Commission was William Keogh, an erstwhile nationalist who had presided over Rossa’s trial in 1859, despite previous assurances he would reject any official position offered him. The Fenian prisoners had been tried with Treason Felony by attempting to undermine British Rule in Ireland and were actively seeking foreign intervention in Ireland against the State. Nagle provided Crown evidence against the prisoners and taking his place within the witness box, sitting with his back to them, he explained what the Fenian society was. In his narrative the prisoners were involved in a conspiracy to ‘overthrow the Queen’s government in Ireland and when that was done the Republic was to be established’.38 He detailed his connection with The Irish People newspaper and connected O’Donovan Rossa, John O’Leary, James O’Connor, Charles Kickham and Dowling Mulcahy with James Stephens. While he claimed not to have taken an oath to the IRB, Nagle admitted that he had personally sworn men into the conspiracy, and on one occasion he had visited Clonmel where