Fenian
noun /ˈfiːniən/
/ˈfiːniən/
- a member of an organization formed in the 1850s in the US and Ireland in order to end British rule in Ireland
- (informal, taboo) (especially in Northern Ireland) an offensive word for a CatholicCultureThe Fenians were involved in the Easter Rising in 1916, and in forming the IRA in 1919. Some people, especially Protestants in Northern Ireland, use the word 'Fenian' as an offensive way of referring to a Roman Catholic.
Word Originfrom Old Irish féne, the name of an ancient Irish people, confused with fíann, fianna (see Fianna Fáil).