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Sunday World
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Aisling Bea stunned to find family links to 1916 rebellion on her dad's side
can't bea-lieve it | 'To discover my great grandfather was a leader in the Easter Rising has blown my mind' Aisling (41), who grew up in Co Kildare and is now an award-winning actor, screenwriter and comedian, traces her family's roots for the popular British TV show and zones in on both the paternal and maternal sides of her family. Now living in London with her producer husband Jack Freeman and their nine-month-old daughter, Aisling returned while heavily pregnant to Ireland to get help from her mother and aunt to trace her family tree. She reveals her real name is Aisling O'Sullivan and says she gets her stage name 'Bea' from her father called Brian, who tragically died when she was just three years old. 'For my dad's side of the family. I know a lot of anecdotes and things swirling around the sort of War of Independence and the Irish fight for freedom and self-determination, so I'd love to know more about that time in history and their place in it,' she says. Aisling dug out old photos for her episode of the show Aisling remembers going on family trips to her dad's home area of Ballyferriter in Co Kerry. It was there she learns that her paternal great grandfather Pádraic Ó Briain and his wife Ellen, had three young children, Sean, Maureen and Aisling's grandmother Eileen. Pádraic, who also used the name Paddy O'Brien, was a schoolteacher, but it also emerges he was the Secretary of the Irish Volunteers in Ballyferriter at the time of the outbreak of World War I. At the time of the Easter Rising in Kerry in 1916, 300 men would gather at the Volunteers' headquarters in Tralee to take part in the rebellion, including what has been documented as 'men from Ballyferriter and Dingle, led by Paddy O'Brien, a national school teacher'. Historian Dr Daithí Ó Corráin has more information for Aisling. 'They expected to take part in an armed rebellion against British rule in Ireland and Pádraic is right at the heart of what is the most pivotal moment in 20th century Irish history,' he explains. Aisling was pregnant at the time the show was made News in 90 Seconds - May 18th 'Pádraic and his men march through the night in terrible weather conditions 40 miles over a mountain pass [Conor Pass] to be on time on Easter Sunday, awaiting instructions.' Aisling is flabbergasted. 'I can't even imagine what it must have been like for those men marching all the way to Tralee, 40 miles at night, getting ready to stage a revolution against one of the biggest powers in the world at the time. 'There were probably so many thoughts in my great grandfather's head, but a deep belief in what he was going to be potentially fighting for. 'I'd be someone I suppose that would try and stand by what I believe in and that's very important to me, but this is a lot more life or death. It brings chills without a doubt,' she says. The Kerry Volunteers had been waiting for a German ship, the Aud, to offload 20,000 rifles and one million rounds of ammunition. But miscommunication led to the ship's discovery by the British. The guns and ammunition were meant to arm volunteers from not only Kerry, but also Limerick, Clare and Galway, leading to the abandonment of the Easter Rising in that region, with just Dublin staging the rebellion the following Monday. Aisling discovered that Pádraic's wife, Ellen, her great granny, died of TB at the age of 33 in 1920, leaving her great granddad to bring up three small children. She also finds out that Pádraic was a member of the Gaelic League, which promoted Irish language and culture, and was a passionate Gaelgeoir right until he died at the age of 78 in 1965. It also emerges that Ellen's mother, Aine O'Donoghue, was the first teacher on the Blasket Islands, when at the age of 19 she travelled there in 1864 to teach English. 'When I was at school and I used to study the 1916 Rising, you think of it as a massive part of our Irish history, and that eventually everyone was involved,' she reflects. Read more 'But really a very small amount of people were involved. Most people weren't revolutionary, most people weren't about to give up their lives for the cause, but there were also a small amount of people like my great grandfather, who were absolutely willing to take up arms and fight for what they believed in and lost their lives for what they believed in. He was part of the Easter Rising, even if they didn't make it to that Monday. 'And it does make me really proud that he was part of that small group of people. 'I wish I could go back in time and tell him that your great granddaughter is not only going to love the language but is going to come back to where he is from with a British crew for a British TV show to study his life and his influence while she's pregnant with a little girl, whom I'm calling Saoirse, which is the Irish for freedom, in our language, and the idea of that genetic line has blown my mind a lot.' The comedian also tracks down her maternal side. Her mother Helen's maiden name is Moloney. 'My mother's side of the family are this big gang of very vocal alpha females, and that's probably the bit of my upbringing I've probably brought into every part of my work and life,' she says. 'On my mother's side, everything revolved around my grandmother, in particular. My grandmother was this sort of formidable pillar. "I remember Mammy being like 'oh she was one of the first women in the town to wear trousers', and then my mother was one of the first female professional flat-race jockeys of her era, and those small moments of like shunning the idea of what people think you should do — I'd love to know going back where did that come from.' She travels to Co Limerick, and traces her maternal lineage back to pre-Famine times, where she discovers that her great, great granddad James Sheehy was married to Martha Fitzgerald. Local historian Dr Richard McMahon reveals that in February 1841 the family home was broken into by a gang, who looted the house for guns and seriously injured James, leading to his death from the wounds inflicted on him. Martha was left to bring up five kids on the family farm of 40 acres, which they rented at the time. 'Martha has a fight on her hands now, she has lost her husband, she has five children, most farm holders are male, most farmers are male, so if you're a widow it's a very difficult situation,' stresses Dr McMahon. When the Famine started in 1845 not only did a million people starve and a million emigrate, but tenants were thrown off their farms as they could not pay rent. Aisling is taken aback to learn Martha's farm holding increased to 115 acres. 'That is hard to hear, I'll be honest, because having spent all of our childhood learning about the Irish famine in our history classes, you feel like anyone who, for many terrible situations, profited... It does make me feel a little bit shameful to be honest,' she admits. But Dr McMahon is more reassuring. 'It's a difficult one. There's elements of Martha which I think are very admirable, like her husband has been killed, she herself has gone through traumatic experience, so there's that sense of her as a fighter,' he tells her.
Extra.ie
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Extra.ie
Aisling Bea's family history: A brave freedom fighter... and a brutal, fatal assault
Comedian Aisling Bea has discovered a brutal killing – and a brave freedom fighter – in her family's past in the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? In the series, she learns that one of her male ancestors was among the volunteers prepared to fight in the Easter Rising, while another male relative was violently attacked on his farm a few years before the Famine, later dying from his injuries. Sitting in the West Kerry Museum in Ballyferriter, she learns her schoolteacher great-grandfather, Pádraig Ó Briain, played a key role in the Irish Volunteers by keeping the Ballyferriter branch trained ahead of the 1916 Rising. Aisling Bea's paternal great grandfather and his three children Eibhlin, Sean and Mairin. Pic: BBC/Wall to Wall/Breda O'Sullivan 'He has a very pivotal role to play, not just in keeping the company together, communicating with headquarters, organising military drills and training – and at the same time he's juggling his teaching role', says historian Dr. Daithí Ó Corráin. The Bafta-winning actress, who grew up in Co. Kildare with her mother, Helen, and sister, Sinéad, after her father, Brian, died when she was three, filmed an episode of the hugely popular series around Ireland when she was expecting her first child. Growing up surrounded by strong women, her maternal grandmother was one of the first females in her town to wear trousers, while her mother was one of the few female professional flat-race jockeys of her era. Aisling Bea with her father Brian O'Sullivan. Pic: BBC/Wall to Wall/Máire Ní Shuilleabhain Documents from the Bureau of Military History reveal her father's grandfather Pádraig led Ballyferriter and Dingle men on a night march across the Conor Pass to Tralee, aiming to join the Easter Sunday rebellion. Reading about his involvement, Aisling says: 'I'm pretty sure my granduncle Seán was born in 1916. He couldn't be more than a couple of months old at this stage,' referring to the brother of her grandmother, Eibhlín Ó Briain. 'The idea of my great-grandmother at home with a baby – it just shows you how committed, even as a family, they must have been to the ideal of freedom for Ireland.' When the Aud, a ship carrying arms, was intercepted off Kerry that weekend, the planned rebellion in the county was called off, although the Rising went ahead in Dublin on Easter Monday. Aisling says: 'He was part of the Easter Rising, even if they didn't make it to that Monday. And it does make me really proud that he was part of that small group of people.' Eibhlín Ó Briain. Pic: BBC/Wall to Wall/Máire Ní Shuilleabhain Aisling traces her maternal ancestry to a farm near Adare, Co. Limerick. She learns that her three-times great-grandfather, James Sheehy, was attacked by a mob in February 1841 and later died of his injuries. A police report described 20 to 30 armed men breaking into his home at midnight and destroying his threshing machine. It reveals how the farmer, who had a relatively large farm of 40 acres compared to the one- and two-acre holdings of most farmers, was robbed of an old gun, a case of pistols, and two swords. Historian Dr. Richard McMahon explains violent incidents against landlords, agents and wealthier farmers were common. 'The threshing machine that they destroyed suggests they're a bit angry about new machinery being brought in, taking away work from them. There is a lot of anger about the commercialism of farming,' he says. Aisling Bea. Pic: BBC/Wall to Wall/Justin Evans James later died of his injuries, leaving his widow, Martha, to raise five children alone. Aisling is taken aback to learn that, after the Famine, Martha grew the family farm in Ballycannon to 115 acres. 'During the Famine, landlords would have evicted hundreds of thousands of people,' says Dr McMahon. 'And when they're moved off the land, that land has been taken over by farmers like your great-great-great-grandmother.' He adds: 'Some people got larger farms on the back of people being moved off the land.' Aisling sighs and says, 'That does make me feel a little bit shameful to be honest.' But Dr McMahon says: 'There are elements of Martha which I think are very admirable. Her husband has been killed. She herself has gone through a traumatic experience. So there's that sense of her as a fighter.' Aisling later reflects: 'I suppose when we look back at history, we're judging it by our current standards and what we think we might have done, but it's almost like judging people for their actions during wars or terrible situations, as if they had more choice than they had.' news@ ? Who Do You Think You Are? will be shown on BBC One on Tuesday, May 20.
Irish Independent
27-04-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
See pictures from Easter Rising commemoration in Enniscorthy
108 years ago, the tricolour was raised on the Athenaeum as local units of the Irish Volunteers took over the town – a position they would hold until they received confirmation in person from Pádraig Pearse himself at Arbour Hill Prison that they were to lay down their arms and surrender. Enniscorthy was the last area to surrender in the country after the Easter Rising of 1916. Following a mass held in St Aidan's Cathedral, a colour party from the reserve defence forces led the way to Market Squares to listen to some speeches and play the national anthem. The party was joined by St Coleman's Pipe Band and the Enniscorthy Re-Enactment Society. Pat Nolan also gave an animated rendition of 'The Last Post' and Judy Heffernan read the Proclamation out loud across the crowd. To pay their respects, both Cathaoirelach of Enniscorthy Aidan Browne and Minister James Browne left wreaths on the Seamus Rafter Monument in the square.
