Until now, the only genealogy television program in Ireland has been Who Do You Think You Are?, a programme that concentrates on celebrities and their ancestors. A new spin-off, the Genealogy Roadshow, hopes to change all that by focusing on "ordinary folk" and their ancestors.
Big Mountain Productions, the company behind RTE's Traffic Cops, is filming the pilot show next month in Kildare in the hope the show "will do for genealogy what The Antiques Roadshow has done for antiques". The programme will be presented by Derek Mooney.
On Sunday, January 16, a team of genealogy experts will be on hand at Carton House, in Maynooth, to help solve family mysteries and discover celebrated ancestors. Big Mountain Productions is especially looking for descendants of two of Kildare's most famous sons, Arthur Guinness and the explorer Ernest Shackleton. They will also be seeking connections to Dublin-born rebel leader Theobald Wolfe Tone, who used to live in Sallins, Co Kildare.
You can read more at http://www.kildare.ie/community/notices/heritage/free_genealogy_services_at_car.asp
