Joe Duffy uncovers his Athlone roots on RTE documentary

When growing up in Ballyfermot, RTE presenter Joe Duffy said one of the curious things about his family was that - with his mother and father both from the centre of Dublin - he seemed to have no relatives outside of the capital. It is for this reason that the "Liveline" host was particularly surprised to recently discover that he had important family roots in Athlone and Knockcroghery. The discoveries were made by Mr Duffy during the making of an RTE documentary, Who Do You Think You Are?" which is to be aired next Monday, September 22, at 9.35pm. 'I was gobsmacked by what we found out when we were making the programme,' Joe told the Westmeath Independent yesterday (Tuesday). 'We discovered that my great great grandfather was from Knockcroghery, which was a real find. His family were shoemakers just outside Knockcroghery. My great grandfather, Joe Ganlys, left Knockcroghery in 1874 and went into Athlone to join the Connaught Rangers. In order to do that he had to lie about his age - he was 17 at the time but he said he was 18. 'He was based in Custume Barracks in Athlone and he married Elizabeth Dowling from Strand Street in the town. She became pregnant shortly afterwards but he was sent to India with the Connaught Rangers. She had a child named Jack and followed him to India four years later, which was when he got to see the child for the first time.' Joe visited India during the making of the programme, which was where his great grandparents, from Knockcroghery and Athlone, lived for several years and had a number of children including his grandmother. He he stated that it was a fascinating experience to see where his grandmother had been born. 'It was incredible to go to India at this stage in my life and see the place where my granny had been born and where her birth was registered. It was a complete revelation, as far as I"m concerned. As we found during the programme, a lot of things fell into place from then on.' "Joe Duffy: Who Do You Think You Are?" will be shown on RTE One on Monday, September 22, at 9.35pm.