Irish Freedom at Last — A Catalpa 150 Celebration

Kidogo Arthouse presents Saoirse ar Deireadh — Freedom at Last, an evening curated by Joanna Robertson, owner and creative force behind Kidogo Arthouse, commemorating 150 years since six Irish Fenians arrived in New York as free men after their daring escape from Fremantle aboard the Catalpa.

One hundred and fifty years ago, one of history's boldest prison breaks unfolded on this very coastline. Six Irish political prisoners — the Fremantle Six — slipped their convict work parties, raced for the shore, and rowed out to a waiting American whaling barque, the Catalpa. Behind them lay Fremantle Prison and a life sentence. Ahead lay the open ocean — and, eventually, freedom on the docks of New York.

It was a rescue years in the making, stitched together across two continents by John Devoy, Clan na Gael and thousands of Irish-Americans. It humiliated an empire, electrified a movement, and became one of the…