Devin Griffin on ‘incredibly emotional’ first assembly with father’s household
D
evin Griffin was “a little bit apprehensive” earlier than an “incredibly emotional” assembly together with his father’s household – when he noticed them for the primary time.
The Radio 1 DJ and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant travelled to Ireland and Jamaica as he explored his household’s roots for an episode of Who Do You Think You Are?
Griffin mentioned he had solely made one journey to Jamaica earlier than assembly his father’s household as a result of “no one wants to go somewhere where you feel a bit unsure of yourself”.
I’ve tried to begin establishing companies and stuff in Jamaica. It is someplace I’d be very eager about retiring to sooner or later
He additionally mentioned he didn’t wish to be reminded of one thing he was “on the outside of growing up”.
Griffin mentioned: “I was a little bit apprehensive going into it because I thought, ‘This is such a personal moment for me’.
“I don’t know if I want to have this all documented and have cameras in my face and that sort of thing but it actually ended up being a really beautiful experience and something that I almost certainly would never have done had it not been as part of this process.
“It was incredibly emotional. My dad is not somebody who I know that well.”
He added: “This was like… blowing the dust off of a lot of things that I felt like I had buried deep and answered a lot of questions for me, and certainly gave me a lot of a lot of peace as well with things that I’ve maybe struggled with before.”
During the programme, the 38-year-old additionally came upon that his Irish household was concerned with the battle for independence from the UK, together with his great-grandfather’s brother Patrick Weafer participating within the 1916 Easter Rising.
“So the thing I was most shocked about was a lot of it was down to my own ignorance,” Griffin mentioned.
“There’s a lot about British and Irish history that I just have no idea about, or if I did, my sense of it was that it happened 500 years ago or wherever but this is… very recent history as well.
“So things like the fact that the British had used artillery in Ireland was something to me that was so shocking… it made me think about a lot of the British history that I’ve not been taught about.
“I’m a very proud British person but when I think about any of the history that I read about or found out about in school, it was all stuff that framed us as the heroes or made us look look really good, but there’s a lot that I still have to read up on Irish history and as fascinating as it is, it is also quite sad and quite tragic.”
Griffin needs to return to Jamaica to go to household he nonetheless has not met and is planning a visit together with his sisters via Maynooth in County Kildare, Dublin and Kilkee in County Clare.
When he arrived in Kilkee for the present he “instantly felt connected” to “one of the most beautiful places” he has visited.
In a reference to Avengers: Endgame, when supervillain Thanos hunts gems that give their holder powers, Griffin added: “It almost like something out of a Marvel film – you get too close to the infinity stones and something like that and you start glowing.
“That is what it felt like arriving in a place like that.”
Griffin has additionally donated a number of the charge he acquired for doing the present to a charity his aunt works for, The Griffin Trust Jamaica, which it has used to purchase a faculty bus.
He added: “I’ve tried to start setting up businesses and stuff in Jamaica. It is somewhere I’d be very interested in retiring to at some point.”
The Who Do You Think You Are? episode with Griffin will air on BBC One on July 13.