Taylor Swift’s Derry roots revealed in new research

Taylor Swift is a Derry girl, Irish Emigration Museum CEO Aileesh Carew has said.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1’s News at One, Ms Carew said the great-great-great-grandparents of the multiple Grammy Award winner left Ireland for the US in the 1830s.

“It’s well known that her great-great-grandfather George Findlay hails from Dublin.

“But we commissioned the Irish Family History Centre – our genealogy partners at EPIC – to delve a little bit more and see if they could find out any more about the Findlay family that wasn’t in the public domain.

“We were absolutely astounded to find out, in fact, that Taylor Swift is a Derry girl.”

Ms Carew explained that Susan Davis, a 21-year-old dressmaker and Francis Gwynn, a 21-year-old weaver, emigrated from Derry in 1836.

“They both left on that ship with groups of friends, groups of four and groups of five.

“We know that they met on the ship and three years later, they got married in Philadelphia and went on to have six children.”

Research shows that although five of those children predeceased Susan and Francis, they were survived by daughter Mary Gwynn, who is Taylor Swift’s great-great-grandmother.

It is thought Taylor Swift is unaware of her Irish heritage, Ms Carew said, as she explained that the Irish Emigration Museum hopes to be able to present an illustration of the chart-topping singer and songwriter’s Irish roots when she is in Ireland for her upcoming concerts.

“We commissioned illustrator Lauren O’Neill to do a beautiful illustration to document the love story.

“We have a beautiful print of this, and we will be sending that to Taylor Swift, because we’re pretty sure that she is unaware of this Irish heritage.”

Taylor Swift brings her Eras Tour to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 June.

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