Taylor Swift’s Irish ancestors’ love story beautifully brought to life by Wexford illustrator

Both aged 21, the couple embarked on a two-month journey to the States, arriving on August 20. It’s unclear if Susan and Francis departed together and went their separate ways, or if they stayed in touch. What is clear is that three years later, the pair married.

They went on to have six children; Ann, John, William, Francis, Joseph, and Mary. Sadly, five of those children predeceased Susan and Francis, but they were survived by daughter Mary Gwynn, who is Taylor Swift’s great-great-grandmother.

For Lauren O’Neill, who is from Castlebridge, Co Wexford, the project offered an opportunity to create a narrative based around Susan (a dressmaker) and Francis’s (a weaver) professions.

“The agency behind it contacted me, they had already done a lot of research into Taylor’s ancestry and knew she had some Irish heritage,” Lauren said. “And it turned out there was a strong narrative there, a love story from 1836 with a thread running through it and a real sense of intimacy.

“We wanted to tell their story chronologically as Taylor’s current tour is the ERAS tour; that gave me a structure to work from, to create an image for each part of Susan and Francis’s journey through life.”

Fiona Fitzsimons, Director at the Irish Family History Centre, situated at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, said, “The tale of Susan Davis and Francis Gwynn beautifully exemplifies the interconnectedness of family history and global narratives. Their journey is not just a personal love story, but a testament to the resilience and courage of countless Irish emigrants.”

For Lauren, who says she listened to Taylor’s music while working on the project, the hope now is that the multi-platinum selling artist will one day see this work.

“It will be sent to her, but obviously she receives a lot of gifts so there’s no way of knowing. Hopefully it might catch her eye and there may be something in there that her family didn’t know it. I am a fan of her music, and I was listening to it while working on this project, she has a great range in terms of her style, everything from pop to the more emotional stuff.”

Sadly, like so many other fans, Lauren did not manage to get a ticket for one of the upcoming shows, despite her connections.

“I’d love to see her live but unfortunately I don’t have a ticket for these shows, they’re like gold dust. But I did put the word out there when I was working on this project,” she added.

To learn more visit https://epicchq.com/taylor-swift-the-love-story-before-love-story/