John Boyle O’Reilly


Sentenced for alleged involvement in the 1865 Fenian uprising in Ireland, John Boyle O’Reilly was transported for 20 years.

A poet, journalist and fiction writer, he escaped and only four years later arrived in Philadelphia as a hero amongst the Irish immigrant community.

This is a song written about him by Bono and The Edge :

Van Diemens Land – Bono & the Edge