Irish citizens were left to starve by the British during the Great Hunger, potato famine in the 1840s, 1850s, and 1860s. Those who could afford it traveled mostly to America to survive, with many dying on the way on ‘coffin’ ships. As a result of this and other British atrocities, Irish patriots like O’Donovan Rossa rose up in Ireland with nationalistic intent and were incarcerated by the British. Queen Victoria granted amnesty to some of them in 1871 if they would leave Ireland forever. These patriots including Rossa joined the fledgling Clan na Gael organization when they reached America. This ‘Family of Gaels’ , a brother organization to the secret Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) in Ireland became a driving force, organizationally and financially in the Irish Revolutionary War.