Summary of Timothy Egan's The Immortal Irishman is a biography of Thomas Meagher: Irish revolutionary, convict, and Civil War general. The book also offers a broad portrait of the experiences of the Irish during the period, both at home and abroad.

Meagher was born in 1823 into a prominent and wealthy Catholic family. This gave him advantages of education and standing. At the same time, Catholics in Ireland were brutally oppressed, with limits on landholding, political representation, and religion. Meagher was an outspoken opponent of British oppression and British rule, and became known for his stirring and fiery oratory.

Meagher became even more radicalized by the Irish Potato Famine that began in 1845. The famine was caused by a potato blight which destroyed half or more of the crop in Ireland for a number of years. The famine was exacerbated by British refusal to provide aid to the Irish...