Canada to Ireland explores the poetry and prose of twelve Irish writers and nationalists in Canada between 1788 and 1900. The book demonstrates that Canadian cultural nationalism left its mark on both countries. Contemporary decolonization movements in Canada and cultural exchanges between Ireland and Indigenous peoples make this a timely study.
“With exemplary scholarship, [Michele Holmgren] provides a highly informed analysis of the kinds of engaging materials that the likes of Thomas D’Arcy McGee recommended to Canadian writers as the fittest subjects for the inspiration of Canadian readers. After reading Holmgren’s extensive survey and study of our Irish-Canadian heritage, one would not be amiss in viewing Canada articulating its nascent national self in the titular terms of Norman Levine’s memoir: [Ireland] Made Me. This reviewer is convinced of Holmgren’s thesis by the evidence marshalled and by her painstaking argument.” Gerald Lynch, University of Toronto Quarterly