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Who Do You Think You Are?: Apr 3

Kerry O'Brien learns his family can be traced back to our colonial, convict origins.

This week on Who Do You Think You Are? ABC’s Kerry O’Brien learns his family can be traced back to our colonial, convict origins.

Television journalist Kerry O’Brien was born in Brisbane into a working class, Catholic family. He embarks on a journey to find the first of the O’Brien’s to come to Australia and to test the validity of some old family myths. He discovers ancestors fleeing from the terrible potato famine in Ireland in 1850; taking the perilous voyage on a disease ravaged ship to their new homeland. Kerry’s great, great grandfather, Charles goes on to become a businessman and hotelier. But as Kerry delves deeper, he discovers that Charles’ fortunes slide just as fast as they have risen.

Having always thought that his grandmother’s heritage was English, Kerry is surprised to find more Irish roots on her side of the family. Not only Irish, but convicts to boot. His great, great grandparents, Patrick and Hannah, were both sent to the colony for livestock theft. Kerry follows their trail to Sydney, where, it seems, their criminal pasts catch up with them.

7:30pm Tuesday on SBS ONE.

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