Captain Janeway Is Irish And Kate Mulgrew Too. Co-incidence?
She may be 15 generations further along the line but Captain Kathryn Janeway has Irish roots. Virgin is running episodes of Voyager daily and today’s episode saw Janeway reflect back on the woman who inspired her scientific curiosity and ultimately her journey into space, her ancestor Shannon O’Donnell, who met and married Henry Janeway in 1999. And so began the Janeway line in the Captain’s ancestry!
The O’Donnell’s are an ancient Irish family who ruled the territory of Tirconnell for thirteen generations. So there you have it. The clue was also in Janeway’s choice of dog, Molly the Irish setter. You have to wonder just how much input Kate Mulgrew has on these small details in story lines such as character names and choice of dog.
On landing the role of Janeway, (after Geneviève Bujold quit, or was sacked … you guess!) Kate Mulgrew did request that the Captain’s name be changed from the original choice of Nicole to Kathryn. The Captain also fell in love with an Irishman, Michael Sullivan, in the episode, Fair Haven, in which Tom Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill, also with Irish connections) created a holodeck program set in an Irish village. Janeway even killed off the wife Tom gave the character and considered the ethical dilemma of falling in love with a hologram!! I can’t believe I haven’t see this episode yet … another excuse to buy the boxset!
It’s well known that Kate Mulgrew is proud of her Irish heritage. In an interview with Matthew Lombardo back in 2002, when asked if she had been to Ireland she replied,
Certainly I have! Many times and this is for all of you Irish people: my husband’s and my dream is to retire on the west coast of Ireland. There is no more beautiful place in the entire world.
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