She stunned Ireland and Europe with 'The Voice' when she won the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest.
But Eimear Quinn comes from some very humble beginnings.
The classically-trained soprano grew up in the Liberties in Dublin, one of the capital's oldest neighbourhoods, but it turns out her family has had ties there for a lot longer than that.
DNA firm MyHeritage has revealed that the international recording artist has a deep and colourful family connection to Ireland that can be traced back to the 1700s.
Using SuperSearch historical records and family tree data, as well as its own test results, the company found that Eimear's family played a vital role in the local Dublin economy.
Comprising of centuries of proud Dubliners, the singer's family were long-time members of the Liberties and worked as bakers, tobacco spinners, dress makers, silk weavers, tailors, shoemakers, brewery workers and market gardeners.
Her great-grandfather, Patrick Sharkey, was an instrumental part of the famous Guinness brewery. As the foreman of the cooperage department, he was in charge of 300 skilled workers.
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Opening in 1759, by 1894 when Patrick started working there at the age of 14, it was the largest brewery in world, exporting as far as New Zealand.
Strong connections to a workhouse called the South Dublin Union (SDU) meant the family was directly affected by the violent Easter Rising of 1916, which saw control seized of the SDU and its 3,272 residents as nationalists revolted against British rule in Ireland.
Eimear’s DNA test results revealed 96% Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ethnicity.
Perhaps less expected are the remaining results: she is 3.1% Ashkenazi Jewish, and 0.9% Middle Eastern.
In addition to four extended family members, Eimear has over 5,000 relatives from 29 different countries worldwide.
Over the next few months the likes of Dami Im, Lenny Kuhr, Izhar Cohen and Poli Genova will join Eimear Quinn and Netta Barzali by taking MyHeritage DNA tests, discovering their ethnic origins and uncovering stories about their family history.
You can read the full summary on Eimear’s family history on the MyHeritage blog.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 takes place from May 12 to 18.
