The Immortal Irishman

Timothy Egan’s The Immortal Irishman recounts the life of Irish nationalist and Union Army brigadier general Thomas Francis Meagher. Although he could’ve embarked on a comfortable life within a well-off family in Waterford, Ireland, Meagher chose to actively protest the Acts of Union between Great Britain and Ireland. His actions as a part of the Young Ireland movement nearly led to his death and set in motion a turbulent, but impactful life of leading the Irish people both at home and abroad.

The author covers Meagher’s life within the context of major historical events that shaped the histories of Ireland, Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) and the United States in the mid-19th century. Through these challenging times, Egan notes the perspectives of the Irish and Irish American public and Meagher’s subsequent reactions to best serve his people.

Historical Comprehension

Egan utilizes various specialty libraries, battlefield parks and museums to piece together the life of Meagher. In particular, the author’s research into The Great Hunger and the following mass emigration out of Ireland alongside the scenes of New York in the 1850s help contextualize Meagher’s thought processes and actions. Without these carefully constructed guides into the lives of Irish-Americans, it would be challenging to rationalize Meagher’s worldview. While certain facts relating to Meagher’s heroic and noble successes are likely exaggerated, the author uniquely articulates the subject’s historical significance amongst major events impacting Ireland and the U.S.

Modern Readability

This is one of the better “page-turning” biographies that I’ve read in terms of audience engagement and narrative flow. Egan’s manages to help the reader understand the perspectives of those surrounding Meagher while keeping pace with his own personal thoughts and actions. The author’s narrative captures Meagher’s “heroic struggle” through cited speeches and writing while analyzing his rationale for committing to causes that often left him alienated even amongst close associates and family. This nuanced analysis is critical to inform readers who are less knowledgeable on Irish and Irish-American perspectives during this time period. In term of storytelling flow, due to Meagher’s near-constant actions to advance the Irish cause, there are few dull moments apart from Meagher’s captivity in Van Diemen’s Land, where the author remarks on daily life in the penal colony. Overall, the effective narrative and near-constant actions of a unique historical figure help make this biography a tremendously engaging read.

Unique and Balanced Perspective

Egan furthers the work of other historians who analyzed the life of Thomas Francis Meagher. Most notably, author Paul Wylie wrote a similar biography that was published in 2011 (The Irish General). Egan consulted with Wylie and furthered his work by examining the mysterious death of Meagher and the most recent evidence that suggests that political opponents including Wilbur F. Sanders could have hatched a plot leading to his death. Therefore, the bulk of the author’s original research came from contextualizing the major events that Meagher participated in alongside the opinions of his contemporaries. In terms of bias, there are some facets of Meagher’s life that the author exaggerates to embellish his hero status in the face of evil. These facets include marking The Great Hunger as a “genocide” to frame the British as an empire of evil vs. an empire of incompetence leading to a tragic outcome and likely overstating his effectiveness leading The Irish Brigade. While the hero story is appealing to broader audiences, there are some components of this biography that overstate the “good guys” vs. “bad guys” dynamic in an effort to bolster Meagher’s cause.