Discovering roots gave me connection to Ireland

Comedian and presenter Paddy McGuinness has said discovering more about his Irish ancestors and their links to Joe Biden’s forefathers has given him a “real spiritual connection” with the country.

The Bolton-born star, whose surname is common in the Irish diaspora, said before being asked on to the BBC’s ancestry show Who Do You Think You Are?, he had always felt “ignorant” when visiting due to lack of knowledge about his roots.

He said one of his highlights had been find out his great-great-grandparents lived “on the same street” in Mayo as the US president’s ancestor.

He also said he had found out about his grandfather’s service in World War Two, which had included a “Spitfire connection”.

The former Top Gear and A Question of Sport presenter traces his roots to the west coast of the Irish Republic in the show, which will be broadcast on 22 August.

While there, he discovered that his great-grandmother, Bridget McGuinness, had been born in the county to Mark McGuinness and Winifred Molloy, who were neighbours of Mr Biden’s ancestor Edward Blewitt in Ballina.

During a visit in 2023, Mr Biden visited Mayo and was presented with a 200-year-old brick recovered from the site of his family’s ancestral home in the town.

The then-Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar told those gathered in Ballina at the time Mr Biden was “the most Irish of all American presidents”, before the president addressed the crowd in front of St Muredach’s Cathedral, a building Mr Blewitt helped to supply bricks for.

McGuinness said the show had allowed him to “feel a real spiritual connection” to his Irish ancestry”.

Standing on a Mayo beach, he said it was “absolutely beautiful here on the west coast of Ireland” and “quite a romantic thought” that his great-great-grandparents “could have been playing on here as kids, walking up and down here”.

“It’s just been one of them where there’s so many lovely little surprises,” he said.

“My grandad on my mum’s side with the Spitfire connection, my ancestors over here in Ballina who lived on the same street as Joe Biden’s ancestors.”

However, he said the “biggest highlight” had been “actually seeing my granddad’s war medal”.

“That, for me, was a real moment where I felt like I was holding a piece of history in my hand,” he said.

Who Do You Think You Are? starring Paddy McGuinness will air at 21:00 BST on 22 August on BBC One.