Irish Canadians Trace Their Roots, Ireland 1985

A group of Newfoundlanders are in Ireland to visit the birthplace of their ancestors. Confluence 85, a project to bring the descendants of Irish emigrants to Canada back to Ireland, has resulted in field trips like this one where a group from Newfoundland visited counties Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny. The visitors meet the local people and hear talks from academics Jack Burtchaell and William Smyth about the kind of lives people left in Ireland before departing for Canada. Many Newfoundlanders to this day speak with accents very similar to those of the south-east of Ireland where their ancestors came from. An RTÉ News report from 28 June 1985. The reporter is Michael Ryan.