Na Fianna Éireann was an Irish nationalist youth organisation founded in Dublin in 1909 by Constance Markievicz and Bulmer Hobson. Conceived as a republican alternative to Baden-Powell’s Boy Scouts, it trained young people in military drill, scoutcraft, Irish history and the Irish language, and it became an important recruiting ground for the wider republican movement. Many of its members went on to take part in the 1916 Easter Rising and the subsequent revolutionary period, and the organisation continued in various forms through the twentieth century.
This section is a small collection, comprising fewer than twenty items spanning the period from 1909 to 2005. Though limited in volume, the material offers glimpses into the organisation’s long history, from its formative years in the early republican movement through to its later decades. Researchers should note that the holdings are not comprehensive and represent a selection of surviving documents rather than a continuous record of the organisation’s activities.
Some items are added in collaboration with fiannaeireann.com and the links will direct visitors there.
1909-1969
The Fianna Handbook
First published in 1914, The Fianna Handbook served as the official manual of Na Fianna Éireann, setting out the organisation’s aims, structure and training programme. Alongside practical instruction in drill, scouting and outdoor skills, it carried contributions on Irish history, language and culture from leading figures in the movement, reflecting the organisation’s dual purpose as both a youth scouting body and a vehicle for republican education. The handbook offers valuable insight into how the Fianna sought to shape its young members in its formative years.
Provisional Sinn Féin Na Fianna
Following the split in the republican movement in 1969–70, which divided Sinn Féin and the IRA into “Official” and “Provisional” wings, Na Fianna Éireann was reconstituted in association with Provisional Sinn Féin. The material in this subsection relates to the organisation in this later period, documenting its activities, structure and republican youth work from the early 1970s onward.
Republican Sinn Féin Na Fianna
The 1986 split over the question of abstentionism led to the formation of Republican Sinn Féin by those who broke from the Provisional movement. Na Fianna Éireann associated with Republican Sinn Féin dates from this period. The items in this subsection document this strand of the organisation’s later history and its continuation of republican youth activity into more recent decades.
 Issue 1 – Oct/Nov 2003 |  Issue 2 – Jan/Feb 2004 |  Issue 4 – Spring 2005 |
 NFÉ Prisoner Leaflet (2000s) |  Fianna (2001) |  Join Fianna Na hEireann (2000s) |
Misc
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