TV star discovers Mayo ancestry and Biden links

TV presenter Paddy McGuinness has discovered he has Mayo ancestors who were neighbours with a forebearer of US President Joe Biden.

During an appearance on Who Do You Think You Are?, a BBC programme in which celebrities discover their family history, McGuinness visited Mayo and said he felt “a connection” to the county.

However, the former Top Gear presenter, who has a popular Irish surname, said he always felt “ignorant” when visiting due to lack of knowledge around his ancestry. On the show the TV star from Lancashire learned that his great-grandmother, Bridget McGuinness, had been baptised in a parish in Mayo to parents (McGuinness’s great-great-grandmother and grandfather) Mark McGuinness and Winifred Molloy, who lived near Mr Biden’s ancestor Edward Blewitt in Ballina.

At the end of the programme, McGuinness, while standing on a beach, said: “I do feel a real spiritual connection, even on this beach today, it’s absolutely beautiful here on the west coast of Ireland. They could have been playing on here as kids walking up and down here, who knows," said McGuinness

He discovered his grandfather's war medal during the trip.

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

“My dad would have loved to find more out about our Irish ancestors, and it had been nice to bring him out to Ballina and what have you, but I’ll have a pint of the black stuff for him," he added.