Derry Mayor invites Taylor Swift to her ancestral city, declaring - 'We are proud to call you a Derry girl'
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Cllr Lilian Seenoi-Barr said she was delighted to find out Taylor was a Derry Girl.
The Lord Mayor of Derry has said she has sent an invitation to Taylor Swift to visit the city when she arrives in Ireland next week. It comes after genealogy experts revealed Taylor was in fact a Derry girl after tracing her family’s Irish heritage.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Cllr Lilian Seenoi-Barr revealed she has officially written to the Grammy-award winning singer inviting her to Derry after she plays three sold out nights next weekend at Dublin’s Aviva stadium on June 28, 29 and 30 as part of her Eras Tour.
She told us she was not one bit surprised to hear that Taylor Swift’s roots may have ancestral links to the city, saying “everyone wants to be a Derry girl”.
She said: “Everyone wants to be a Derry girl - it’s the most privileged accolade there is!! Anyone who follows Taylor Swift’s success story will not be surprised that she may have Derry roots - she is a talented songwriter, singer and performer with a genuine down to earth personality - all the traits of a Derry girl!
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“This is such exciting news for the city ahead of her three-night sell out shows in Dublin when she will perform to tens of thousands of music lovers from across the island.”
Cllr Seenoi-Barr said it was “amazing to read” about her Irish links this week by genealogy experts at the Irish Emigration Museum.
She said: “It’s amazing to read that over 170 years before the release of her latest album of love songs, two of her ancestors emigrated from Ireland via Derry to the USA for a new life. We are extremely proud to add Taylor Swift to our hall of fame and would love to have her come visit and trace her Derry roots. The fact that she is an activist for gender rights and for more women representation in leadership further confirms her traits as a true Derry girl!”
Mayor Barr added that she hopes Taylor Swift’s Derry ancestry will further increase the profile of the city to her huge following that includes 105million monthly listeners on Spotify; 283m followers on Instagram; 32.8m followers on TikTok, and 95.2m followers on X.
“Who knows we may see Taylor Swift popping up in a future Derry Girls movie!! How amazing would that be.”
Sharing the letter, Cllr Barr has extended "a heartfelt invitation" to visit "our beloved city".
It reads: "I hope this letter finds you well. As Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council I am honoured and delighted to share the exciting news that you have Irish ancestry and that over 170 years ago your great great grandparents left the shores of the city of Derry in the north of Ireland, on board a ship called the 'Amy' to travel to Philadelphia in the United States in search of a better life.
"The exciting discovery of your ancestral ties to Derry, dating back to 1836, has stirred a wave of joy and curiosity among our residents and I would therefore like to extend a heartfelt invitation to you to visit our beloved city. We are extremely proud to call you a Derry girl and are hugely excited to extend this invitation to you to come visit and allow us to help you trace your ancestral journey and explore the places and stories that form part of your heritage."
She continued that the people of Derry have followed her journey and are supportive of the singer's "strong values around community" and how she have become a "beacon for inclusivity, creativity, and progressive spirit".
Cllr Barr continued: "The city of Derry has undergone a significant transformation over the years. We have become a city that embraces diversity and champions innovation, while holding a deep respect for our rich cultural heritage.
"As someone who has inspired millions with your music and philanthropy, we believe that your visit would be a poignant and inspiring homecoming, bridging past and present in a celebration of your roots.
"We would be thrilled if you could time out of your busy schedule to come see for yourself our vibrant city and explore its historic walls, its lively arts scene that pulses through our streets and experience its unique blend of the old and the new, much like your own illustrious career.
"Your presence here would not only honour your ancestors but also inspire a new generation of Derry's youth to pursue their dreams with the same passion and determination that you have shown throughout your life.
"As the first ever Black person to be elected to the Mayoral Office in the vibrant and progressive city of Derry, it would be a privilege for me to host you and to share with you our community's warmth and hospitality and to show you how your story continues to inspire and shape our city.
"Thank you for considering this invitation. We hope that you will visit us and allow us to celebrate your incredible journey and deep connection to Derry."
Earlier this week, Irish Emigration Museum CEO Aileesh Carew told RTÉ Radio 1's News at One that the great-great-great-grandparents of the multiple Grammy Award winner left Ireland for the US in the 1830s.
"It's well known that her great-great-grandfather George Findlay hails from Dublin. But we commissioned the Irish Family History Centre - our genealogy partners at EPIC - to delve a little bit more and see if they could find out any more about the Findlay family that wasn't in the public domain. We were absolutely astounded to find out, in fact, that Taylor Swift is a Derry girl."
Ms Carew explained that Susan Davis, a 21-year-old dressmaker and Francis Gwynn, a 21-year-old weaver, emigrated from Derry in 1836.
"They both left on that ship with groups of friends, groups of four and groups of five. We know that they met on the ship and three years later, they got married in Philadelphia and went on to have six children."
Research shows that although five of those children predeceased Susan and Francis, they were survived by daughter Mary Gwynn, who is Taylor Swift's great-great-grandmother.
It is thought Taylor Swift is unaware of her Irish heritage, Ms Carew said, as she explained that the Irish Emigration Museum hopes to be able to present an illustration of the chart-topping singer and songwriter's Irish roots when she is in Ireland next week.
"We commissioned illustrator Lauren O'Neill to do a beautiful illustration to document the love story. We have a beautiful print of this, and we will be sending that to Taylor Swift, because we're pretty sure that she is unaware of this Irish heritage."
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