This is an extensive, fresh account of the early life of Thomas D'Arcy McGee. Astonishing new details are provided of his escape across Ireland in 1848, including his stay on Lough Derg in the course of being rescued by Clogher and Derry priests in a carefully managed operation. Indications are that his secret mission to the north at the start of the Irish Rebellion had astonishing possibilities, but it was so sensitive he could never discuss it later. The delightful discovery of his christening gown leads to further examination of his birth and early childhood at Carlingford. There is an extensive account of his career as a journalist in America, and his early involvement with Young Ireland's cultural and political mission which becomes his own. Thomas Davis was an early acquaintance; Gavan Duffy was a close friend; John Mitchel was an early mentor. While McGee led the moderates in the Confederation, he was also preparing for war as he organized the Clubs to satisfy the militants just before the revolt. There was no truer Irishman. The official Government side of the story, including Peel's extensive relief efforts made during the Great Irish Famine and Lord Clarendon's continuing vigilance is thoroughly researched and written so as to provide a balanced perspective to the general dissent and the determined and sustained efforts towards Irish independence, including McGee's own glorious initiatives.

These poems tell the story of an Irish rebel who was a practical idealist of astounding energy. The verse, as well as being technically superb, simmers with indignation. The poet's attacks on privilege, defense of the poor, and vision of Canada as a champion of peace have recovered their timeliness today.

A brilliant writer, outstanding orator, and charismatic politician, Thomas D'Arcy McGee is best known for his prominent role in Irish-Canadian politics, his inspirational speeches in support of Canadian Confederation, and his assassination by an Irish revolutionary who accused him of betraying his earlier Irish nationalist principles. Thomas D'Arcy McGee, the first volume in a two-part biography, explores the development of those principles in Ireland and the United States. David Wilson follows McGee from Wexford, Ireland across the Atlantic to Boston, where at nineteen he became the editor of America's leading Irish newspaper, and traces his subsequent involvement with the Young Ireland movement, his reactions to the Famine, and his role in the Rising of 1848. Wilson goes on to examine McGee's experiences as a political refugee in the United States, where his increasing disillusionment with revolutionary Irish nationalism and his opposition to American nativism propelled him towards conservative Catholicism and sent him on a trajectory that ultimately led to Canada - his experiences are the subject of volume 2, Thomas D'Arcy McGee: The Extreme Moderate, 1857-1868.