PROLOGUE

I have a confession to make. For over 40 years, I’ve been dealing with an obsession. In medical circles, obsessions are often labelled as persistent or recurring unwanted thoughts which intrude into daily life and cause significant distress. In contrast, my personal obsession, while time-consuming, has been a source of pleasure and joy over many years. It’s called genealogy: the study of family history.

Let me tell you why it’s so important in my life and how it all started.

In February 1981, my wife, Maggie, and I – along with our newborn son, Stephen – were living in a beautiful, 100-year-old cottage on the outskirts of Wexford. The cottage boasted three-feet-thick stone walls and lovely views of the lush green surrounding countryside. I was employed as a young doctor in the local hospital. Our lives were very happy – and very busy.

When our home phone rang one evening, I anticipated that the call would be from the hospital or from one of Stephen’s proud grandparents. I was wrong, on both counts. A lovely lady introduced herself as Olive Dawson née Kennedy. She lived in Wexford with her husband, Barry, and five children. She told me that she was my second cousin. I was ashamed to admit to her that I barely knew all my Kennedy aunts and uncles (there are 10 of them), only some of my first cousins (31 in total, I now know) and none of my second cousins. Olive finished the call by saying that she would help me to learn more. She was true to her word.

A week later, we visited her home for a delightful dinner. We were joined by her aunt, Sr Barbara Kennedy, a Catholic nun in Bunclody, Co. Wexford and an expert in the family history of my Kennedy clan. She entertained us with lots of stories of her childhood growing up in Eglish, a rural townland near the town of Borrisokane in north Co. Tipperary. Near the end of dinner, Sr Barbara presented me with a beautifully hand-drawn family tree, along with the names of my great-grandparents and a depiction of many of their descendants.

I was determined to know more and so began researching. Soon I learned that the original Kennedy (Cinnéide in Irish) was the father of Brian Boru, the famous High King of Ireland who defeated Viking invaders in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. This and many other discoveries were pleasing and exciting to me. Many of the skills involved in family research were also appealing. For example, I had always enjoyed working out puzzles, ever since my father had taught me how to do cryptic crosswords as a boy. In school, I had loved learning about history and studying maps. In medicine, I enjoyed the art of differential diagnosis – that is, considering multiple possibilities and carefully analysing data to arrive at the right conclusion. These talents, it seemed to me, were at the heart of genealogy. As a result, I was hooked.

We emigrated