Spies, sabotage, secret police and the time the Irish invaded Canada

It’s one of the most dramatic episodes in Canada’s early years, although it’s often neglected by our history lessons: Irish republicans attacked Canada from the south as part of a wild plan to win independence for Ireland. As we celebrate the Canada Day weekend, host Brian Lilley is joined by David Wilson, author of Canadian Spy Story: Irish Revolutionaries and the Secret Police. They discuss the stranger-than-fiction chapter in our history, which saw Canadian troops killed battling invading American Fenian armies and John A. Macdonald deploying secret police to infiltrate a fifth column that had surreptitiously operated at some of Canada’s highest levels. (Recorded June 22, 2023) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices