Maura Derrane and Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh found out that they are fourth cousins on The Late Late Show last night.
Maura appeared on last night’s show alongside Eamon Dunphy, Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae and comedian Jason Byrne, and took part in a number of DNA tests with Ancestry.ie to discover their heritage.
Ancestry.ie’s Mike Mulligan revealed that he found an Irish cousin for Maura – and it’s her former co-host Bláthnaid!
“We found an Irish cousin for you too,” Mike told Maura.
“And here’s the interesting thing: you know her… She’s a fourth cousin.”
Ryan Tubridy chimed in saying, “In fact, not only do you know her, we all know her.
“Could you hazard a guess of somebody that’s possibly in the same business, who might, eh, ‘speak-ah the lingo’?”
After audience members attempted to guess the identity of her famous cousin, it was revealed that Bláthnaid is her fourth cousin.
“With Connemara cousins, it can be complicated. We haven’t been able to tie it down, but we think it might be on the Connolly line [Maura’s mother’s side of the family],” Mike said.
“But a Connolly in Galway, I mean… It means you probably share a great, great, great grandparent.”
