Thomas Brennan (28 July 1853 – 19 December 1912) was an Irish republican activist, agrarian radical and co-founder and joint-secretary of the Irish National Land League, and a signatory of the No Rent Manifesto. Biography Early life Thomas was the second child of Patrick Brennan and Catherine Rourke of Yellow Furze, Beauparc, County Meath. Although not much is known of his schooling and early years, he evidently received a high degree of formal education, as illustrated by his knowledge of history and oratory skills which he displayed at a young age. By the age of 18 he was working as a clerk alongside his uncle James Rourke for the Murtagh Bros baking company in Castlebar, County Mayo. He and his uncle both joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) in the early 1870s. Brennan, alongside other Fenians based in Connacht, successfully campaigned for John O'Connor Power in the 1874 general election, despite strong opposition to Power's candidacy from the Irish Catholic Church. Brennan moved to Dublin in 1876 to work at the head office of Murtagh Bros, which had been renamed the North City Milling Company and was one of the largest stock companies in Ireland. The company was led by fellow IRB member Patrick Egan, who appointed Brennan as his secretary. During this time Brennan also became secretary of the Leinster IRB, and honorary secretary of the Dublin Mechanics Institute. In January 1878, Brennan organised a homecoming reception for several recently released IRB members, including Michael Davitt, who had been imprisoned at Dartmoor for seven and a half years. Following this, a close friendship developed between Brennan, Egan and Davitt. The Land League The three men fervently advocated for widespread agitation in the west of Ireland, where the conditions of tenant farmers were especially poor, igniting a period of civil-unrest and sporadic violence known as the Land Wars. They organised a large-scale protest at Irishtown, County Mayo, attended by 15,000-20,000 people, on 20 April 1879 during which Brennan was a principal speaker. The protest yielded a reversal of potential evictions and a 20% reduction in rent in the area. This success spurred Brennan, Davitt and Egan to establish the Land League of Mayo in June 1879. They convened a meeting of Irish nationalists at the Imperial Hotel in Castlebar on 21 October 1879 during which the Irish National Land League was founded. Brennan was appointed a secretary alongside Davitt and