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 he discovered that his comrades had initiated a secret means of arming themselves in preparation for rebellion. Nagle also detailed the secret nature of the Fenian cellular system, describing the alphabetical ranking order within Fenian circles. His narrative would be repeated throughout each of the individual trials.
O’Donovan Rossa’s was the third trial to take place with Thomas Clarke Luby and John O’Leary preceding him. He was tried from 9 to 11 December 1865. In the case of O’Leary, it had been put to the court that O’Donovan Rossa had travelled to America in 1863 and this was ostensibly on Fenian business under the alias of Anthony O’Donnell. In O’Leary’s trial the Crown Prosecution had argued that when O’Donovan Rossa had returned to Ireland he had arrived with two Americans under the name of Dunne and Meehan. The prosecution had also alluded to the dispatches which Meehan had earlier lost, and the shipping magnate and a police detective confirmed that O’Donovan Rossa had boarded the SS Cuba at Queenstown. Nagle, in his evidence against O’Leary, had confirmed the handwriting of O’Donovan Rossa in several letters, and claimed that Rossa had asked him about swearing in other Fenians. Nagle also hinted at the existence of a secret central committee within the Fenian executive, claiming that James Stephens, O’Donovan Rossa,
John O’Leary, Charles Kickham and James O’Connor regularly held meetings in a private room in the offices of The Irish People that ordinary members of staff were not allowed to attend.39
O’Donovan Rossa had no respect for the Court and believed the Commission to be a ‘legal farce’, which was intent on securing convictions by means of packed juries.40 Brought before the Court, he was charged with being engaged in a treasonable conspiracy, which sought foreign intervention into Ireland. As a means of showing his disrespect for the Court, he had determined that he would extend his case for as long as possible, and recognising that he was going to be convicted, he had decided to make his trial, as one contemporary noted, ‘a defiance of the British Government, a merciless exposure of its utterly unfair methods in conducting political trials and of the rottenness of his judicial system in Ireland’.41 On the eve of his trial he had written to Mary Jane where he explained the course he was going to follow. O’Donovan Rossa lamented that he would probably be punished by the Court and this would result in the State taking its frustrations out on Mary Jane by blocking her from attending the Commission. O’Donovan Rossa feared his resolve would crumble without his wife and he would be ‘deprived of the happiness of [Mary Jane] sitting beside me during my conviction’.42 He also feared for the welfare of his children and implored Mary Jane to take care of them in his absence, holding: ‘I have only to say to you what I said to you before. You are Father and Mother to them while you are alive and while I am dead to the world and you will do for them what you consider best…’43
Opening his trial, the Crown Prosecution argued that O’Donovan Rossa was on intimate terms with Clarke Luby, O’Leary, John O’Mahony, and most notoriously, James Stephens, the leader of Irish conspiracy. He held that articles would be produced indicating that the Irish People newspaper was seditious and constituted a distinct act of treason felony. O’Donovan Rossa, as the business manager, he argued, must be held accountable for the newspaper. O’Donovan Rossa commented how there was no criminal act with which he could be charged with. He was also determined to bring up allegations made against him in the case of John O’Leary. While not addressing the fact that he had travelled to America under an alias, he had claimed that his American visit was on business. He next addressed the fact that Governor Price had seized a number of papers relating to his defence and he was fearful that there was a possibility that they could be given to the prosecution. Keogh addressed the prosecution, who told him that they had not seen the papers, and summoning Price to court, the Governor argued that he had seized the papers
