With a name like Farrell, the reader could be forgiven for believing that our forebears were all of Irish stock, whereas in fact only one branch of the tree hailed from the Emerald Isle, with the majority of the others having roots in South East England. Being predominantly Anglo Saxon our DNA would probably indicate mainly Germanic, Flemmish and Norman genetic fingerprinting, not forgetting that the Normans also invaded and occupied Ireland. Tracing Irish roots can be a frustrating process, because many of the country's records were destroyed by fire during "The Troubles". We have been fortunate, however, to identify my Gt x 3 Grandfather Patrick Farrell, who was a successful Dublin business man during the first half of the 19th century. Regrettably his business seemed not to have survived his death and the family then fell on hard times. Little is known of his son's (also Patrick) generation and the story resurfaces when his grandson was compelled to leave home and join the British Royal Navy as a Boy Sailor.