ThoughtGallery.org > Book Launch: “When the Irish Invaded Canada” with Christopher Klein

Book Launch: “When the Irish Invaded Canada” with Christopher Klein

When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom—which will be released by Doubleday Books on March 12, 2019—is a popular narrative history that tells the outlandish, untold story of a band of Irish American revolutionaries who tried to free Ireland by invading Canada in the years following the Civil War. By the time that this series of five attacks—known collectively as the Fenian Raids—began in 1866, Ireland had been Britain’s unwilling colony for seven hundred years. Thousands of Civil War veterans who had fled to the United States rather than perish in Ireland’s potato famine still considered themselves Irishmen first, Americans second. With the tacit support of the U.S. government and inspired by a previous generation of successful American revolutionaries, this motley group—including a one-armed war hero, an English spy infiltrating rebel forces, and a radical who staged his own funeral—managed to seize a piece of Canada, if only for three days. Inspiring, lively, and often undeniably comic, this is a story of resistance and fighting for what’s right in the face of impossible odds.

CHRISTOPHER KLEIN is the author of three books, including Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan, America’s First Sports Hero. A frequent contributor to History.com, Christopher has also written for The Boston Globe, The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Harvard Magazine, Smithsonian.com, and AmericanHeritage.com. He lives in Andover, Massachusetts.











When: Mon., Apr. 8, 2019 at 6:30 pm
Where: American Irish Historical Society (AIHS)
991 Fifth Ave.
212-288-2263
Price: $10
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When the Irish Invaded Canada: The Incredible True Story of the Civil War Veterans Who Fought for Ireland’s Freedom—which will be released by Doubleday Books on March 12, 2019—is a popular narrative history that tells the outlandish, untold story of a band of Irish American revolutionaries who tried to free Ireland by invading Canada in the years following the Civil War. By the time that this series of five attacks—known collectively as the Fenian Raids—began in 1866, Ireland had been Britain’s unwilling colony for seven hundred years. Thousands of Civil War veterans who had fled to the United States rather than perish in Ireland’s potato famine still considered themselves Irishmen first, Americans second. With the tacit support of the U.S. government and inspired by a previous generation of successful American revolutionaries, this motley group—including a one-armed war hero, an English spy infiltrating rebel forces, and a radical who staged his own funeral—managed to seize a piece of Canada, if only for three days. Inspiring, lively, and often undeniably comic, this is a story of resistance and fighting for what’s right in the face of impossible odds.

CHRISTOPHER KLEIN is the author of three books, including Strong Boy: The Life and Times of John L. Sullivan, America’s First Sports Hero. A frequent contributor to History.com, Christopher has also written for The Boston Globe, The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Harvard Magazine, Smithsonian.com, and AmericanHeritage.com. He lives in Andover, Massachusetts.

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