Tragic loss of Canada's greatest patriot (Thomas D'Arcy McGee).

• Author: Normey, Rob

"And we've a short space only to be triumphant and brave."

- J.M. Synge

In Who Killed Canadian History? Jack Granatstein laments the decline of genuine interest in Canadian history. It seems self-evident that a nation with a disdain for its past must be radically uncertain about its future.

One place to start in the battle to recapture the ties to Canada's remarkable past is with a study of the life and legacy of Thomas D'Arcy McGee. Although he's known to the cognoscenti as the most colorful of the Fathers of Confederation, his many contributions to the creation of our country and the fostering of a national sense of identity are little known. McGee is probably best known to the general public as the witty drunk who matched deft repartee with John A. Macdonald (we all know who he is, don't we?). In the hectic days leading up to Confederation both Macdonald and McGee relieved their tensions by indulging a little too freely in libations. McGee in fact was bothered by poor health throughout his life and drank to relieve the pain. At one point Macdonald, "looking like an ash tree in its palest hour," collared the silver tongued orator and exclaimed: "Look here, McGee, this Cabinet can't afford two drunkards and I'm not quitting."

McGee's life is recounted in two fine biographies - Josephine Phelan's Ardent Exile and T.P. Slattery's The Assassination of D'Arcy McGee. Phelan's book contains writing of a very high order. Slattery's work reveals the rewards of the painstaking research of a highly regarded barrister.

Tommy McGee was born in Carlingford, Ireland in 1825. The death of his mother Mary which he experienced at age 12 had a profound impact on him. It was she who had nurtured his romantic, artistic side and inspired him with the passion to become a poet.

Harsh economic circumstances forced the mere youth of 17 to emigrate to the USA. He worked as journalist and editor and already revealed himself to be a promising orator. In 1845 he returned to Ireland to help edit the nationalist newspaper, Nation. The year 1848 was a watershed in Europe and in the life of the courageous Irish patriot. In response to the revolutionary currents breaking out across Europe, a group of Irishmen referred to as Young Ireland attempted an impulsive rebellion against an intransigent foreign power - Britain - which was quickly put down. McGee escaped capture by disguising himself as a priest and boarding ship for America.

By 1857 the erstwhile rebel had become a...