As Ireland gets ready to honour the centenary of the funeral of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa, we bring you some of the highlights from our archives aboutone of Ireland's most respected Fenian.

As the sky dimmed over the West Cork town of Skibbereen, the smell of peat smoke was in the air.

What made Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa oppose British rule? Author Shane Kenna describes his early life and the key moments that helped shape his future path as a patriot.    

Certain things tend to run in families — particularly names. Williams Rossa Cole is a great grandson of O’Donovan Rossa. His brother is Ross Williams Cole, and their father was William Rossa Cole. The brothers have four children between them — all have a Rossa in their name.

The lone Irish-based descendent of O’Donovan Rossa tells Noel Baker how her family is proud of its famous ancestor. We get a bigger picture of him as a human being and not just as a Fenian.

The casket which carried the body of Irish Fenian leader Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa home from the US has been restored and will go on public display this weekend.

From Cork to New York, the Fenian whose funeral is now seen as a dry run for the Easter Rising, will be well remembered this summer on the centenary of his death.

In the centenary year of Jeremiah O’Donovan Rossa’s death, it is appropriate that his life, and his patriotism, be marked in the county and country of his birth, writes Gabriel Doherty