Aisling Bea Unearths Her Family's 'Shameful' Secrets on "Who Do You Think You Are?"

Aisling Bea has acknowledged feeling 'embarrassed' about a portion of her family background.

The comedian and actress took a journey through her great-grandfather’s history and discovered stories of female resilience in her family’s past on the latest episode of the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are?

She similarly stumbled upon authentic connections within her family history when she uncovered kinfolk who battled for Irish freedom and heritage.

Nevertheless, historian Dr Richard McMahon shared a somewhat grimmer aspect of her family history with Aisling.

The historian conversed with the Kildare-based comedian regarding her great-grandmother, Martha Sheehy, who resided in Ireland during the period of the famine.

Aisling found out that by the time the famine ended, Martha’s property had increased from 40 acres to 115.

Richard clarified: "By the end of the famine, the family owned a bigger farm than what they had before the Irish Famine."

This led Aisling to inquire: “During this catastrophic era in Irish history, which left an enduring and grim aftermath for everyone involved, how could one acquire additional property through ownership rather than leasing shortly following the famine?”

Richard responded, "Throughout the famine, landlords forcibly removed hundreds of thousands of individuals from their lands. Once these people were displaced, farmers such as your forebear Martha took over those properties."

As Aisling attempted to comprehend this, she remarked, “Although she may not be removing them, she could be seizing this as a timely opportunity.”

Richard responded by saying how many people ‘got larger farms on the back of people getting moved off the land’.

Followning this, Aisling could be seen getting upset, before she said: ‘That is hard to hear. I’ll be honest.

‘Having spent all our childhood learning about the Irish famine in our history classes, anyone who, any terrible situation profited.

'Frankly, it makes me feel somewhat ashamed. I don't enjoy it. It doesn't bring about any sense of pride within me.'

Nevertheless, in that particular episode, Aisling felt a great sense of pride upon learning about an ancestor who was a dedicated Irish republican.

The newest season of Who Do You Think You Are features actors like Andrew Garfield, Diane Morgan, Mooshal Hussein, and Ross Kemp delving into their ancestral pasts.

Last week, Layton Williams was overcome with emotion and shed tears. As he discovered information about his ancestors who were enslaved.

The 30-year-old actor and theater star became the most recent celebrity to feature on the cherished genealogy program, uncovering details about their family history that traces back to both London and Jamaica.

At the conclusion of the episode, Layton shed tears upon discovering that his forebears had been enslaved, with several being forcefully transferred from Africa to Jamaica.

“I am proud to be from ancestors who endured those hardships but emerged victorious,” he said, his voice choked with emotion.

‘It’s really beautiful and it’s important that we don’t forget, because it’s real and it happened and it was sad, and I’m sure it was awful, but we’ve made it here.

'I will surely reflect on this experience and feel truly happiness and pride knowing about the family that preceded me.'

Who Do You Think You Are? is streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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