'The Fenian' is an epic production currently in the making, and we're excited to be able to share our story with you all, on The Wild Geese.

Development work on the upcoming feature film began in April 2014 and we look forward to sharing future updates on the production, as they happen.

Thank you,

Pelican Pictures
Perth
Western Australia

Our Story

From 1865 to 1867, British authorities rounded up supporters of the Irish independence movement and transported the Fenians to the penal colony of Western Australia on the convict ship Hougoumont.

They docked at Fremantle harbour in January 1868. The men were sentenced to a life of living hell in the Convict Establishment (now Fremantle Prison).

Within a year, one of the men, John Boyle O’Reilly, with the help of a local Catholic priest, made a rare escape from the ‘un-escapable’. O’Reilly fled to Boston where he became a respected writer,  poet and emancipator.

Six years later, in 1873, New York newspaper editor and ex-Fenian member John Devoy, received a smuggled letter from one of the six Fenians still perishing in jail. It was a desperate request to help the remaining Fenian prisoners escape. Devoy, O’Reilly and other members of the Irish Brotherhood conceived a plan for the six men to be rescued by stealth rather than force of arms. 

They purchased the whaling ship ‘Catalpa’ and secured the services of American sailor, Captain George Anthony. Laden with legitimate cargo so not to arouse suspicion, the Catalpa set sail for Western Australia.

Two Fenian agents, Thomas Desmond and John Breslin, were sent ahead to Fremantle.  

Breslin masqueraded as an American businessman  ‘James Collins’, Desmond took a job as a wheelwright and recruited five local Irishmen who were to cut the telegraph lines connecting
Australia on the day of the escape.

What ensued was to become a legendary tale of love, passion, drama and human endeavour during the most daring and unimaginable escape story in Irish American history. 

The Fenian epitomises the Irish American spirit of freedom in a story to tell the world.

‘Wherever you hold our men and women, we will find them
and we will bring them home.’ 

http://www.thefenian.com.au

The Fenian. The Album.

During our recent production research trip from Fremantle to Dublin to Boston and New York, we were lucky enough to meet and experience some incredible musical talent. So many, we decided to release our own original digital compilation of unsigned artists, in support The Fenian movie production -  'The Fenian. The Album' 

After posting a call for submissions, we received an overwhelming amount of original recordings, in a variety of musical styles from artists and bands around the world, including the USA, Australia and Japan.