RTE’s The Genealogy Roadshow is now an international hit series. PBS in America has already broadcast a US version of the show shot in Detroit, San Francisco, Nashville and Austin, Texas. Season 2 of the US show is on the way.
The original Irish programme returned to screens on 11 May with a brand new series full of amazing stories. Once again the people of Ireland are the stars of the show. The series will be presented again by Derek Mooney.
The Roadshow’s crack historical and genealogical team help people trace their family’s roots and discover surprising stories from the past. People from all four provinces got to know the truth about tragic events, infamous ancestors and famous cousins.
Thousands of people contacted the show with questions. Some wanted to know if they were related to someone famous. Others wanted to solve mysteries going back generations. Others had heart-breaking adoption stories and tales of families ravaged by war.
Our team set out to help these people fill in the blanks. The mission is to answer the questions, solve the riddles and uncover the truth. Some people get the news they want but not every tale has a happy ending. In this series, there are tears of pride and joy, as well as fantastic surprises.
The Genealogy Roadshow also sheds light on the people history has forgotten. We look at local and national events and ask who didn’t get the credit they deserve? We also take a look at people and events you think you know, but tell the stories you haven’t heard before.
This year the show has added technology to the bag of tricks. Historians and witnesses from around the world are able to beam in directly to the roadshow to give expert testimony and corroborate evidence.
Some of the stories involve Irish people in far flung places: Irish immigrants starting a new life in Argentina were part of an international crisis as thousands were scammed out of their life savings and left stranded in a strange land; An innocent Irish girl was gunned down in a Canadian frontier town, caught up in a local blood feud; A Wexford man was spared a terrible fate at Custer’s Last Stand, only to be forgotten by history, until now; A Longford woman went to America and became a notorious criminal in the era of Al Capone.
Some of the stories are closer to home: After years of listening to his father’s stories, a Dundalk man finds out once and for all if he is related to St. Oliver Plunkett; A Cork man discovers that his relatives were saved from the gallows by none other than Daniel O’Connell in a famous trial; We hear the tale of an Orangeman’s wife who kept her Catholic identity a secret, even from her family, for her whole life; And there’s even some myth-busting in this series as we delve into the mystery of ‘The Lost Village of Audleystown’ to see if there’s any evidence to back up the story of a village full of families who were forcibly migrated to the USA by a wicked land owner who levelled their homes.
The series concludes with episode three on Sunday, 25th May at 7.30pm on RTÉ One.
Episode Three
‘Derry Stories’
Irish Connections of Che Guevara
After hearing that South American revolutionary Che Guevara had Irish roots with the surname Lynch, Raymond Pollock from Portstewart hopes to prove that he has the revolutionary gene.
US Vice President’s Irish Roots
Historian Turtle Bunbury sets the students of Lumen Christi College the task of looking into local records to find a Derry connection to the Vice President of the United States Joe Biden, Barack Obama’s right hand man. What will these budding genealogists dig up?
The Lost Village of Audleystown
Stephen Myall from Swords goes in search of more knowledge about a local myth, the Lost Village of Audleystown. Legend says the villagers were forced off the land and the village levelled on the whim of a wicked landowner. The team investigate to separate fact from fiction.
The Notorious Chicago May
Helen Murphy visits the roaddshow with some relatives to find out whether they are all related to a notorious international criminal known as Chicago May. This Longford woman was a female Al Capone, known as the Queen of the Blackmailers. Does Helen really want to be part of the family?
Granny kept her identity a Secret
Michael Kenning from Mallow knows his family are all from Belfast. Many of the men were in the Orange Order. When his grandmother died, they found information that suggested she was a Catholic from Cork, rather than the protestant from Liverpool they thought she was. The expert team search for the truth.
Mum was in the Workhouse
Lucy Mullin from Tyrone and her sister Rose travel to the Roadshow in Derry to find information about their mother. Having heard a story that she had been evacuated to Omagh during The Blitz and ended up in a Workhouse, they are in search of the truth.
Blessed Oliver Plunkett
Brian Murphy, living in Knockbridge, Co. Louth, has a remarkable family tree that goes all the way back to 1750. Having been told a story that says he is related to Blessed Oliver Plunkett, the Roadshow team of experts investigate to see if they can make the family connection to the Saint.
Roadshow team of experts:
John Grenham
John came to professional genealogy in 1981. As in-house researcher for the Genealogical Office in 1990-91, he was instrumental in setting up the GO Consultation Service, the forerunner of the current Advisory Services in the National Library and National Archives.
Susan Chadwick
Susan is a genealogist who has been involved in family history research since 1997. With a background in teaching and IT, she became a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland in 2010.
Turtle Bunbury
Turtle Bunbury is a best-selling author, historian and TV presenter. His books include the award-winning Vanishing Ireland series, Sporting Legends of Ireland, The Irish Pub and Living in Sri Lanka. The fourth ‘Vanishing Ireland’ book will be published in 2013.