Damien Dempsey explores the life of his grandfather Thomas, who was born in America. Why did his mother bring him home to Ireland, but without his older brother, or her husband? It’s a story that leads Damien to 19th century Fall River Massachusetts to find out about the lives of his ancestors who worked there in the cotton mill industry and right through to Letterfrack in Connemara where he discovers the harsh realities of what life was like for his grandfather who was incarcerated in its notorious industrial school. Also on his father’s side, Damien learns about the heroics of his great grand aunt Jenny Shanahan who fought in Dublin Castle with James Connolly’s Irish Citizen Army in the 1916 Rising. He reflects on the hardship of her life as she struggled to receive her military pension and died at a young age. On his mother’s side, the uncommon surname of Bridgeman opens up a window into an aspect of 19th Century Dublin that Damien had no knowledge of: his ancestor was a respected Freeman of the City – one of few Catholics afforded the privilege – who ends up being accused of treason and rebellion in the era of the Young Irelanders and was incarcerated in the same prison as one of Ireland’s greatest civil rights campaigners Daniel O’Connell.