
Jeremy Irons
Celebrities trace their ancestry. Jeremy Irons, an Irish resident and married to an Irishwoman, wants to know if the affinity he feels with Ireland has a genetic link.
Jeremy Irons is largely perceived as the quintessential English gentleman, but he feels a strong connection to Ireland. He has a house in Ireland, an Irish wife, Sinead Cusack, and is sure that there's Irish blood somewhere in his family history. So he embarks on a quest to find his Irish roots, a journey that takes him from Yorkshire to Dublin, on to Northern Ireland, and finally to County Cork.
Jeremy also explores a family myth that one of his ancestors, his great-great grandfather Thomas Irons, rode into Westminster on a donkey to deliver a petition on behalf of the Chartists. Jeremy traces the extraordinary life of Thomas, unearthing some fascinating history from the origins of the Metropolitan police to conditions in Victorian prisons.