Fenian dynamite campaign
Part ofIrish republicanism
An 1893political cartoon depictingErin telling an Irish republican to stop the campaign
Type	Political violence
Location	Great Britain
Planned by	Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa Alexander Martin Sullivan
Target	Government and civilian targets
Date	14 January 1881 – 10 February 1885
Executed by	Irish Republican Brotherhood United Irishmen of America Clan na Gael
Outcome	Failure
Casualties	4 killed 86 injured

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TheFenian dynamite campaign (also known as theFenian bombing campaign) was a campaign ofpolitical violence orchestrated byIrish republican paramilitary groups inGreat Britain from 1881 to 1885. It involved attacks usingexplosives such asdynamite on British government and civilian targets and was carried out by theIrish Republican Brotherhood,United Irishmen of America andClan na Gael with the ultimate aim of endingBritish rule in Ireland.Infrastructure was attacked along with government (including military and police) targets as part of the campaign, which killed 4 people, including a young boy, and wounded 86. The campaign met with widespread backlash in Britain and a mixed response in Ireland, and led to the establishment of theSpecial Irish Branch by theMetropolitan Police to counter the campaign. By 1885, the campaign petered out, though Irish republicans would continue to carry out attacks in Great Britain well into the 20th century.

• 14 Jan 1881: A bomb exploded at a military barracks inSalford, Lancashire.^[1] A young boy was killed^[2]
• 16 Mar 1881: A bomb was found and defused in theMansion House, London.^[1]
• 5 May 1881: Bomb explodes at Chester Barracks, Chester.^[3]
• 16 May 1881: Bomb attack at Liverpool police barracks.
• 10 June 1881: Bomb planted atLiverpool Town Hall,^[1]
• 30 June 1881: Disguised explosives found aboard SS Malta at Liverpool.^[3]
• 2 July 1881: Disguised explosives found aboard SS Bavaria in Liverpool.^[3]

• 12 May 1882: A bomb exploded at the Mansion House, London.^[1]

• 20 January 1883: InGlasgow, bombs exploded at Tradeston Gasworks, Possil Road Bridge and Buchanan Street Station. About a dozen people were injured.^[1][3]
• 15 Mar 1883: In London, bombs exploded at government buildings atWhitehall and at the offices ofThe Times newspaper. There were no injuries.^[1]
• 29 March 1883: Fenians Denis Deasy, Timothy Featherstone and Patsy Flanagan are arrested while police inCounty Cork raid the homes and businesses of associates of Deasy and Flanagan.^[3]
• 28 May 1883: Future Easter Rising leaderTom Clarke is sentenced topenal servitude for life.^[3]
• 11 June 1883:Gallagher Trials begin.^[3]
• 22 August 1883: Fenian 'Red' Jim McDermott arrested.^[3]
• 31 August 1883: Those responsible for Glasgow bombings in January were arrested.^[3]
• 30 Oct 1883: Two bombs exploded in theLondon Underground, atPaddington (Praed Street) station (injuring 70 people) andWestminster Bridge station.^[1]
• December 1883: Trial of Glasgow bombers.^[3]

• 26 Feb 1884: A bomb exploded in the left-luggage room ofVictoria station, London. The building was empty at the time and no-one was injured. Other bombs were defused atCharing Cross station,Ludgate Hill station and Paddington station.^[1][3]
• 11 April 1884:John Daly arrested with explosives atBirkenhead.
• 30 May 1884: Three bombs exploded in London: at the headquarters of theMetropolitan Police'sCriminal Investigation Department (CID) andSpecial Irish Branch inScotland Yard, in the basement of theCarlton Club (agentlemen's club for members of theConservative Party) and outside the home of Conservative MPSir Watkin Williams-Wynn. Ten people were injured. A fourth bomb was planted at the foot ofNelson's Column but failed to explode.^[1][4]
• 30 July 1884: John Daly, James Egan and William O'Donnell tried atWarwick Assizes under charges of treason.^[3]
• 13 Dec 1884: Two American-Irish Republicans, who wereplanting a bomb on London Bridge, were killed when their bomb prematurely exploded. One of the men wasWilliam Mackey Lomasney.^[1]

• 2 Jan 1885: A bomb exploded atGower Street station, London.^[1]
• 24 Jan 1885: Three bombs exploded in London, in theHouse of Commons chamber, inWestminster Hall and in the Banqueting Room of theTower of London. Four passers-by were injured, as werePCs Thomas Cox and William Cole, who were both awarded theAlbert Medal for attempting to get the Westminster Hall device out of the building.^[5] Henry or Harry Burton and James Gilbert Cunningham were sentenced to penal servitude for life as a result.^[6][1][7]
• 10 February 1885: Dynamite found onHarrow Road, London.^[3]

• List of Irish uprisings
• Fenian Rising
• Fenian raids
• Manchester Martyrs andCuba Five
• S-Plan - a bombing campaign in England by the Irish Republican Army
• Physical force Irish republicanism

• Whelehan, Niall (2012).The Dynamiters: Irish Nationalism and Political Violence in the Wider World, 1867-1900. Cambridge University Press.
• McKenna, JosephThe Irish-American Dynamite Campaign: A History, 1881-1896 (2012) McFarland & Co

• ‘One skilled scientist is worth an army’ – The Fenian Dynamite campaign 1881-85 at The Irish Story
• Thomas Clarke Treason Felony Convict J464 at The Irish Story

• 1880s in England
• 1880s in Ireland
• Irish Republican Brotherhood
• Terrorism in the United Kingdom
• Explosions in the United Kingdom
• Terrorist incidents attributed to Irish republican militant groups

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2020