Speaker Series – The Fenians

Museum Speaker Series
December 8th, 2026

In the mid-1860s Canada faced a significant threat to our national security and public safety. Irish Americans, many of whom had just come back from active service in the US Civil War, were part of a movement that sought independence for Ireland from England and saw Canada as a good place to invade, thus putting pressure on Great Britain to concede. In this presentation, retired CSIS analyst, Phil Gurski, will look back at those years, the extent of the Fenian threat, the government’s response and how local communities viewed the situation.