Finding my Father

Summary

An elderly individual discovers their Irish heritage and connects with their biological father's family through a DNA match on Ancestry.com, finding a sense of belonging and understanding their ancestral calling.

Abstract

At the age of seventy, the author sent their DNA to Ancestry.com and a year later received a life-changing match: a first cousin from Ireland, revealing the author's biological father to be a man named Kilpatrick who led a troubled life and passed away young. The author, who had always felt an inexplicable draw to Ireland, had visited the country multiple times, sensing a connection to the land and its culture. Upon learning of their Irish roots, the author realized that their father, who had a history with the law and died in prison, shared a rebellious streak with them. Despite the distance and the global impact of Covid-19, the author has since formed a bond with their Irish family in Clondalkin, near Dublin, and looks forward to meeting them in person. St. Patrick's Day has taken on a new significance for the author, symbolizing not just a cultural celebration but a personal connection to their heritage and family.

Opinions

The author views their father's troubled past not as a mark of inherent badness but as a sign of being misunderstood, which brings them closer to his memory.
The author had previously dismissed their attraction to Ireland as a love for its legends, scenery, and romance, but now recognizes it as a call of heritage.
St. Patrick's Day has transformed from a day when everyone claims Irish heritage to a deeply personal holiday that strengthens the author's bond with their Irish family.
The author expresses empathy for people worldwide who are suffering, particularly poignant in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and their own inability to meet their newfound family due to travel restrictions.

I was seventy years of age when I sent my DNA to Ancestry. com A year later I received an answer to a question never before asked.

Image: Author’s biological father

Who was my father?

The answer came from a beautiful Irish woman whose DNA was a hard match with mine, that of a 1st cousin. My family name is Kilpatrick. Everything points to my father being a troubled young man who died too young.

St. Patrick’s Day was never a big day on the holiday calendar for me. It was a fun day, a day when everyone thought of themselves as Irish. I’d been to Ireland several time in my life, every time felt a strange calling, setting foot in Dublin, and winding my way down to Cork, and County Derry.

That calling, back those many years ago, was never answered. I never thought it might be the call of heritage. I thought it was more to do with legends, scenery, romance…yes, that’s it…the romance, because the beauty of those places still echoes deep inside.

I was living in California when I learned that my father was Irish. It further made sense that as a young man, he wasn’t the most upstanding citizen. He had issues with the law and died in prison. I, too, have been a troublemaker in my time.

It doesn’t make him someone bad, but someone misunderstood, and that made me feel all the closer.

Today, my family, those I’ve come to know, and communicate with, live in Clondalkin, near Dublin. Due to matters of Covid in the world, we have yet to meet, something we will do this year.

St. Patrick’s Day is no longer just a holiday when everyone boasts of an Irish connection. It is a day when I feel closer to my family, when I realize that Ireland is also my home.

With loving thoughts to people all over the world suffering.