The
Three Fs were a series of demands issued by Irish nationalists in their campaign for land reform in
Ireland. They were
- fair rent
- free sale
- fixity of tenure
Many historians argue that their absence contributed severely to the
Great Irish Famine (1846-49), as it allowed the mass eviction of starving tenants. The Three Fs were campaigned for by a number of political movements, notably the
Independent Irish Party and later the
Irish Parliamentary Party. They were conceded by the British Government in a series of Land Acts enacted from the 1870s on.
In another context, the "three Fs" is also an informal
mnemonic used by educators to help
psychology students remember the primary triggers for
sympathetic nervous system activity: fear, fighting and sexual arousal.