The Lie of the Landrumour, Myth and Fabrication in Nineteenth-century Irish Nationalism, 1858-1888

Abstract

It is normally accepted that the purpose of a historical narrative is to arrive at some kind of 'truth' about the past; it is less often remembered that Falsehood has its own story to tell. This article illustrates the point by looking at the various myths and fabrications surrounding Irish republicanism between 1858 and 1888. At the beginning of this period, the Irish Republican Brotherhood was at the centre of a propaganda war between partisans and adversaries, portrayed in turn as a well-organised secret army, or a sanguinary socialistic plot for the assassination of landlords and priests. By the late 1880s, the IRB had lost the limelight and become a simple political weapon against C.S. Parnell, leading to one of the greatest political scandals of Irish history: the 'Parnell forgeries'.