Thomas D'Arcy McGee

Subject: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: chessell
Date: 27 Dec 00 - 09:27 PM

Hello. I am a young musician just starting out with song writing and am very interested writing about songs dealing with history. I am hoping to write a song about Thomas D'Arcy McGee. Does anyone have some information on him or know of any good websites? If you do, please post or email at [e-mail] . Thanking you in advance, Paddy.

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: GUEST,Sarah
Date: 27 Dec 00 - 09:58 PM

Barnes & Noble's "Secondhand and Out of Print" site shows three books:

1) Historical Sketches of O'Connell and His Friends, With a Glance at the Future Destiny of Ireland (by Thomas D'Arcy McGee)-- They want almost $500 for this!

2)The Hon. Thos. D'Arcy McGee, His Life and Death (by Fennings Taylor) -- This one is a little over $50.

3) The Assassination of D'Arcy McGee (by T.P. Slattery) -- they have 14 copies of this, from $21.55 to $58.

I couldn't find any websites beyond the Catholic Encyclopedia biography.

But there are lots of secondhand and rare bookdealers out there...

Good luck!

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: chessell
Date: 28 Dec 00 - 12:07 AM

Thanx. All those books are probably a little out of my price range.....

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: Fiolar
Date: 28 Dec 00 - 01:48 PM

Try the site www.ottawa.cbc.ca/ When you access the site, on the left hand side is a menu which includes a search button. Click on that and when the page opens type in Thomas D'Arcy Magee in the keywords area and hit search.

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 28 Dec 00 - 02:30 PM

A search at  Google  returns some 13 references.

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: MARINER
Date: 28 Dec 00 - 04:53 PM

Thomas Darcy McGee came from Pardise Row in Wexford Town, Ireland. His family burial place is in the grounds of Selskar Abbey also in Wexford town. Wasn't he the first Prime Minister of Canada and didn't some Candian bump him off?.

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: Hollowfox
Date: 28 Dec 00 - 06:00 PM

Get the books on interlibrary loan from your local library.

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: chessell
Date: 28 Dec 00 - 06:32 PM

Thanks for all the great info guys. It really helped me out. Cheers, Paddy.

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: Suffet
Date: 29 Dec 00 - 07:24 AM

Thomas D'Arcy McGee appears on a 5c Canadian stamp issued in 1927 as part of Canada's Historical Series. It is listed in the Scott catalogue as no. 146. An excellent exhibit on the 5c McGee stamp has been put together by Canadian philatelist Charles Verge.

Anyone who shares an interest in folk music and stamp collecting might wish to take a look at Pickin' & Lickin', a newsletter published at irregular intervals by Ada Marie Prill of Rochester, New York. Even if you have only the slightest interest in just one of those endeavors, you will likely find Pickin' & Lickin' to be a hoot and a half. It's witty, entertaining, often endearing, and almost always off-the-wall!

Unfortunately it has been a couple of years since Ada published an issue, but I am certain she would love to send you a back issue or two or three for your persusal. A contribution of a buck or two to pay for her duplicating and postage would certainly help.

Her addresses, postal and e-mail:

Ada Marie Prill
130 Trafalgar Street
Rochester, NY 14619 [USA]

[e-mail]

If you contact her, tell her I sent you.

Pickin' and Lickin' has not yet done an article of the Thomas D'Arcy McGee stamp, but once Chessell write the song the tie-in for an article should be obvious.

--- Steve Suffet

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: Crowhugger
Date: 29 Dec 00 - 07:56 AM

MARINER,

A correction: the first PM of Canada was Sir John A. MacDonald. Maybe Thomas D'Arcy McGee was the first US president? :-)

CH.

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: GUEST,Smartass
Date: 29 Dec 00 - 12:06 PM

Feelin' good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and D'arcy McGee

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: Suffet
Date: 30 Dec 00 - 12:08 PM

> Feelin' good was good enough for me
> Good enough for me and D'Arcy McGee.


Tell that to the Fenians who knocked him off! McGee was the first of only two Canadian politicians to be assassinated. The other was a Québec provincial cabinet minister whose name I believe was Roger LaPorte.

Although McGee was Irish born and generally sympathetic to Irish concerns, the Fenians came to believe he had become to moderate and too willing to compromise with the Anglophiles.

Although LaPorte was Québecois and generally sympathetic to Ferench-Canadian concerns, the Quebec separatists came to believe he had become too moderate and too willing to compromise with the Anglophones.

La plus ça change...!

--- Steve

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: chessell
Date: 30 Dec 00 - 02:36 PM

Thanks for all the information. His story should make for a great song.

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Dec 00 - 11:44 PM

Mr Darcy Magee was a minor politician of no particular interest other than someone shot him over his gambling debts. I am interested to know why you wish to write a song about someone about whom you know so little,

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: Fiolar
Date: 31 Dec 00 - 05:45 AM

D'Arcy McGee is best remembered in Ireland for his great poem "The Celts" which has the lines - "Long, long ago, beyond the misty space Of twice a thousand years, In Erin old there dwelt a mighty race, Taller than Roman spears." McGee was not killed because of gambling debts. He denounced a threatened Fenian invasion of Canada and was shot outside hie house in Ottawa on April 7th 1868. The posting I gave earlier relates to a play which covers the event and the subsequent of his alleged killer.

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: Willie-O
Date: 31 Dec 00 - 07:55 AM

McGee had an interesting enough life alright. He was exiled from his native Ireland to Australia as I understand, for political activities--and ended up as a high-profile silver-tongued and ultimately famously dead Canadian politician.

Or as you might say, a statesman.

The other guy mentioned was Pierre LaPorte, not Roger.

Willie-O

Subject: RE: Thomas D'Arcy McGee
From: Suffet
Date: 31 Dec 00 - 03:44 PM

Thank you for the correction. I believe I had Monsieur Pierre LaPorte mistaken with some American political activist who was either killed or may have killed himself in some antiwar protest around the same time. Sorry for the foul up, but comme on parle in the Francophonic version of Let's Make a Deal, "Monte, je voudrais avoir la porte numéro trois!"