IrishCentral Staff @IrishCentral Apr 16, 2026 (reproduced here with permission from Irish Central)
The Catalpa Flag began its journey to Australia in the aftermath of the Fenian Uprising of 1867, when 62 Irish Republican Brotherhood leaders and supporters were arrested and transported to Fremantle in Western Australia by the British Administration in Dublin Castle.
The National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks will mark the 150th anniversary of the Catalpa Rescue Mission with a rare public display of the ship’s flag, a historic symbol of Fenian daring and transatlantic Irish-American cooperation. The Flag of the Catalpa will go on view on Saturday, April 18, and Sunday, April 19, 2026, in the Palatine Room.
Measuring 4.5 by 3 meters and featuring 36 hand-sewn stars, it is the largest flag in the national collection and was the official flag of the United States between July 4, 1865, and July 4, 1867.
The flag is one of the last surviving artifacts linked to the dramatic prison break in Western Australia that unfolded 150 years ago, from April 17 to 19, 1876. During the operation, six Fenian prisoners escaped from a British penal colony and made their way aboard the US whaling ship Catalpa.
James Wilson, Thomas Darragh, Martin Hogan, Michael Harrington, Thomas Hassett, and Robert Cranston were among 62 Irish Republican Brotherhood leaders and supporters transported to Fremantle after the Fenian uprising of 1867. By 1875, most had been released, but these six men remained behind bars.
The rescue was organized through the efforts of John Devoy, leader of Clan na Gael in New York, along with John Boyle O’Reilly and Thomas McCarthy Fennell, both of whom had been imprisoned in Fremantle. They arranged for the purchase and refitting of the Catalpa so it could sail to Western Australia and bring the prisoners to the United States.
In April 1876, after an 11-month voyage, the Catalpa arrived off Western Australia under the command of Captain George Anthony and waited for the men to escape. When the six Fenians finally boarded the vessel, the Georgette, a ship operated by the British authorities in Fremantle, gave chase and threatened to fire unless the crew surrendered the prisoners.
Captain Anthony responded by raising the American flag and warning that any attack would mean firing on the United States. The Georgette backed down and returned to Fremantle, helping the Catalpa escape safely to New York.
[Readers will find more details on the rescue in https://tintean.org.au/2025/10/10/anniversary-of-catalpa-fenian-escape-in-wa/
[And if readers are visiting Ireland, there may be some memorabilia at the National Museum https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museums/Decorative-Arts-History/Exhibitions/Catalpa-150]
Tinteán 