Graham Norton
Norton in 2014, photo by Prphotos.com
Birth Name: Graham William Walker
Place of Birth: Clondalkin, Dublin, Ireland
Date of Birth: 4 April, 1963
Ethnicity: Irish, small amount of English
Graham Norton is an Irish television and radio presenter, comedian, actor, and author. He has hosted The Graham Norton Show since 2007, in the U.K.
He is the son of Rhoda and William “Billy” Walker, a sales representative for Guinness. His father’s family were from County Wicklow, while his mother was from Belfast. His family is Church of Ireland. Graham was raised in Tramore, Kilkenny, and then Bandon, County Cork. He is married to Scottish filmmaker Jonathan “Jono” McLeod.
Graham took part in the programme Who Do You Think You Are?, 2007, to trace his ancestry. He said he was comforted to find out that his family had resided in Ireland for generations. His Walker ancestors were planters from Wentworth, South Yorkshire, England, who were sent over in the 17th century to take over Irish land.
Graham’s paternal grandfather was named George Walker (the son of William Walker). George was sexton of the Protestant church in Carnew.
One of Graham’s great-grandmothers was Mary Dooey (the daughter of Fred Dooey).
Graham’s maternal grandfather was named John Graham.
Graham’s maternal grandmother was Ellen Reynolds (the daughter of James Reynolds and Mary Logan).
Sources: http://www.bbc.co.uk
Genealogy of Graham Norton – http://www.geni.com
“It was discovered that Norton’s Walker ancestors were originally planters from Wentworth, South Yorkshire, who were sent over from England in the 17th century to take over Irish land. Some members of his family fought for the British monarchy during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and took part in the Carnew massacre. Another member of his family was later killed in battle by the United Irishmen”.