Thomas D’Arcy McGee could have saved Louis Riel

So here we have Louis Riel’s tombstone. It’s located in the Cimetiere de la Cathedrale de Saint-Boniface. From the Fort Garry Hotel in the heart of Winnipeg, I walked through the VIA-Rail train station, crossed over the Red River on Esplanade Riel, and made my way along the river to the tombstone. I was especially…

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Celtic Lightning: what happens at the Toronto launch . . . .

Our Hero and Patrick Crean. A writer and his editor. With HarperCollins  Canada, we launched Celtic Lightning last night at Ben McNally Books in Toronto. Photographer Peter Rehak took the above shot. We signed a few books (right photo: Sheena Fraser McGoogan). And (below) Havard Gould made me do it . . . ? Author…

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Well, hello Vancouver! Wonderful to surface where I did my MFA. . .

Author Q&A: Ken McGoogan credits influence of Scotland, Ireland for what makes Canada Vancouver Sun September 25, 2015 In his new book Celtic Lightning, Ken McGoogan looks at the influence of Scottish and Irish immigrants on the new Canadian nation. McGoogan has written a dozen books, including 50 Canadians Who Changed the World and How…

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Celtic Lightning to strike bookstores in September

 With Celtic Lightning, best-selling author Ken McGoogan plunges into the perpetual debate about Canadian roots and identity: who do we think we are? He argues that Canadians have never investigated the demographic reality that informs this book — the fact that more than nine million Canadians claim Scottish or Irish heritage. Did the ancestors of…

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Our Hero goes public on Franklin, the Scots, and the Irish

The hue and cry is deafening. Where can we see Our Hero? Where is he appearing next? Last night, Ken entertained the Canadian chapter of The Explorers Club. He talked about Chasing John Franklin into the Northwest Passage. You missed that? Not to worry. On the evening of March 4, Ken will give a presentation…

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Richard Dawkins + Celtic figurines = Who Do We Think We Are?

Whoosh! Away it goes to the copy editor.  Beneath that title page, the manuscript reminds us that, despite our perpetual obsession with our collective identity, we Canadians have never investigated a crucial demographic reality  — the fact that more than nine million Canadians claim Scottish or Irish ancestry. Did the ancestors of more than one…

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