Welcome to The Irish in Canada, the podcast exploring the lives and legacies of Irish immigrants and their Canadian descendants.
Join Jane McGaughey for a season of short, informative episodes about a kind of Canadian history you may never have heard before…
Season 3, Episode #8 - "Parting Shots"
April 25, 2024
Over the last three seasons, we've explored just how much Irish immigrants and their descendants have shaped Canada over the past 250 years, in so many ways. In this concluding episode to the podcast, Jane looks back at some of her favourite moments from the show, wonders why certain bloodthirsty tales are eternally popular, takes a stand on cancel culture, and gives James FitzGibbon one last fan-girl shout-out.
Listen →Season 3, Episode #7 - Controversial Woman, Part 3: Emily Murphy
April 18, 2024
Ah, Emily Murphy... where do we begin?! Maybe with the salient fact that this first female magistrate in the British Empire and driving force behind the Persons' Case of 1929 was also the grand-daughter of Ogle Gowan, the founder and Grand Master of the Orange Order in Canada. In terms of having an Irish pedigree, she definitely had one, though how many of her fans knew that her great-grandfather was the leader of Co. Wexford's notorious Black Mob after the 1798 Irish Rising? Emily Gowan Ferguson Murphy was a lightning rod for controversy during her lifetime, and she remains so to this day. But, why? How does her story fit within the larger conversation in the 2020s regarding who should be remembered in Canadian history?
Listen →Season 3, Episode #6 - Controversial Women, Part 2: Nellie McClung
April 11, 2024
Nellie McClung was a provocative woman, stirring up controversies and column inches in her own lifetime and in all the years since she died. Arguably Canada’s most famous first-wave feminist, her efforts guaranteed that Manitoba’s women won the provincial vote in 1916, a first in Canada. She was also one of The Famous Five, the group of activists who won the right for Canadian women to be considered as legal ‘persons’ under the law. On the other hand, Nellie is also the first woman we’ve featured on this podcast to have been literally burned in effigy—and many of her opinions from the 1910s and 1920s are roundly criticized today. Controversial? Chances are, Nellie ‘Shanty Irish’ McClung wouldn’t have had it any other way.
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