Invincibles, the

Group of Irish terrorist revolutionaries formed in 1881 to carry out political assassinations. Established in Dublin as the Irish National Invincibles, an offshoot of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, their leaders included James Carey, John McCafferty, and P J Tynan. Notoriety soon followed their first, and only real attack, the Phoenix Park Murders in 1882, when they assassinated the chief secretary for Ireland, Lord Frederick Cavendish, and his undersecretary, Thomas Burke.

In a massive investigation, Carey was soon identified as a suspect and he turned Queen's evidence (gaining immunity by naming others involved), which led to the arrest of 20 main conspirators. Attempting to flee to Cape Town, South Africa, Carey was shot dead by Patrick Donnell, a bricklayer and former Invincible. Five of the Invincible leaders were hanged, and the remainder were given lengthy prison sentences. It was revealed that Edmund Burke had been their intended target, and they had been unaware of the importance of Cavendish.