WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

Who Do You Think You Are - Samantha Power Image Name: Who Do You Think You Are - Samantha Power
Who Do You Think You Are - Samantha Power with mining expert Seamus Walsh at the site of the Castlecomer coal mines Image Name: Who Do You Think You Are - Samantha Power with mining expert Seamus Walsh at the site of the Castlecomer coal mines
Who Do You Think You Are - Samantha Power outside her great-grandfather John Duffy's house in Galway Image Name: Who Do You Think You Are - Samantha Power outside her great-grandfather John Duffy's house in Galway
Who Do You Think You Are - Samantha Power and Professor Eunan O'Halpin, Professor of Contemporary Irish History at Trinity Image Name: Who Do You Think You Are - Samantha Power and Professor Eunan O'Halpin, Professor of Contemporary Irish History at Trinity
Who Do You Think You Are - Samantha Power and historian Michael Kennedy Image Name: Who Do You Think You Are - Samantha Power and historian Michael Kennedy

Broadcast Details: Sunday 23rd September, 9.30pm

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power explores her ancestry, finding out more about her grandfather who was a secret military intelligence officer and a Communist on her mother's side who became the scourge of the local mine owners and the Catholic hierarchy.

Who Do You Think You Are? Episode 3 of 6, RTÉ One, Sunday, September 23rd at 9.30pm

Samantha’s journey starts as she learns more about the army life of her beloved grandfather James Power who was a secret military intelligence officer.  She discovers how he quietly assisted British and US operations during WWII, and guarded German spies attempting to collaborate with the IRA to invade Northern Ireland.

Some of Samantha’s maternal side of the family were born and raised among the coalfields of Castlecomer – she discovers that one of them became Ireland’s first Communist Trade Union leader, who visited Moscow and became the scourge of both the mine owners and the Catholic Hierarchy as he stood up for workers’ rights, and is a local legend to this day.

Finally,  she attempts to solve the mystery of why her Great Grandfather John Duffy, a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) was rumoured to have been given land by Michael Collins.  Just what was the nature of his relationship with the legendary revolutionary?

Series Overview

This brand new series of the genealogical series Who Do You Think You Are?  follows six very different Irish celebrities as they embark on a quest to uncover their own family history.  They trace their family tree often finding out previously unknown secrets and surprises from their past.

Comedian and actor Pat Shortt, presenter Laura Whitmore, singer Damien Dempsey, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, actor Adrian Dunbar and former US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power peel back the layers to find out the roles played by their relatives and ancestors in our history.  Incorporating murder, scandal and incredible hardship while journeying through major historical events like the 1916 Rising, the Spanish Civil War, the War of Independence and Civil War, each person’s family history touches on major moments in our own country’s past as well as telling us a lot about the social conditions they endured in their lifetimes.