The Irishness of a Princess: Exploring Grace Kelly’s Irish Heritage

Three Enchanting Ladies

When I published my article on Grace Kelly and Jean Simmons’s Olympic champion fathers last February, I discovered an interest in doing that kind of genealogy research. However, it implies a lot of time and organization. Via that article, we learned that Grace Kelly had German ancestors (via her mother, Margaret Majer) and Irish ones (via her father, John B. Kelly Sr.). As we recently celebrated St. Patrick, I thought it would be a good occasion to explore the subject of Grace’s Irish heritage. I was initially supposed to publish that article on St. Patrick’s Day, but the research took more time than I would have thought. But, better late than never!

***

A Brief History of the Irish Immigration in the 19th Century

Grace, like her father, was born in Philadelphia, a place of importance for the Irish immigration heritage and the name Kelly. It is, however, a…

View original post2,951 more words