There was nothing comical about the Fenians who were deadly serious and had the tacit support of the US govt which was in a lawsuit against Britain for damages caused by CSA commerce raiders which had been built, armed, outfitted in Britain and largely crewed by British and colonial seamen.
The story about the Fenians and the tavern has been around a long time and is unfounded.
The above mentioned book "The Last Invasion of Canada" Senior and the more recent "Ridgeway" Vronsky are well worth reading to get a true idea of the situation.
We can be grateful to the Fenians for forcing the Canadian and British govts to purchase arms which are now collectors items.