Cló Saoirse publish “Heroes and Villains: The Rise and Fall of the Invincibles”

Cló Saoirse publish “Heroes and Villains: The Rise and Fall of the Invincibles” by Seán Óg Ó Mórdha



On a showery May evening in 1882 two cyclists enjoying their then novel hobby in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, witnessed what at first appeared to be a scuffle between a pair of well-dressed gentlemen and a group of working men. The cluster of figures quickly separated with at least four leaping onto a nearby horse-trap before disappearing in the direction of the Chapelizod Gate. The cyclists speedily reached the scene and to their horror found two blood-soaked bodies on the ground, evidently stabbed to death. The cry of “murder” was raised and assistance sought.



Among the first to answer their frantic efforts to raise the alarm was Colonel Forster, an officer stationed at the Vice-Regal Lodge, who had the double shock of not only finding a pair of dead bodies but also of being able to identify them as Lord Frederick Cavendish, the newly appointed Chief Secretary of the British Administration in Ireland and his deputy, Thomas Henry Burke, the Under-Secretary.



Both men, who were at the very apex of British Rule in Ireland, had been struck down in broad daylight within strolling distance from the Royal Irish Constabulary headquarters and several military barracks. The shock Forster felt was to be mirrored by the rest of the British establishment as news of the daring and bloody deed spread.



The next morning’s newspapers reported the events with an almost hysterical tone, several adding to the air of drama by carrying a claim by the previously unknown group called the “Irish Invincibles” that they had committed the audacious slayings. But who were these “Invincibles” and why had they taken such drastic action?



Seán Óg Ó Mórdha examines this question in his forthcoming book “Heroes and Villains: The Rise and Fall of the Invincibles,” to be published by Irish Freedom Press later this spring.



Seán Ó Mórdha was born into an Irish Republican family in Co Armagh in 1970. He joined Na Fianna Éireann, the Irish Republican Scouts, in the 1980s and was imprisoned in Mountjoy, Limerick, and Portlaoise Prisons for Republican activities in the 1990s. He is the author of several articles of a Republican and historical nature. Seán currently lives in the Irish midlands with his wife and dogs.

For pre-orders and any further information contact Josephine Hayden of Cló Saoirse/Irish Freedom Press: +353 (0)1 872 97 47 or irishfreedompress@saoirse.info.



Seán Óg Ó Mórdha
Heroes and Villains: The Rise and Fall of the Invincibles
Cló Saoirse/Irish Freedom Press
Dublin, April 2015



Críoch/Ends.