In a bid to uncover the lesser known stories concerning Ireland’s mythical heroes and the birth of our nation, Irish RTÉ journalist, John Creedon, in his new four-part series Creedon’s Epic East available on RTÉ Player International, has unearthed a story of Irish emigration to the US with an unexpected plot twist.

Watch the preview here

It was on a visit to the small fishing village of Clogherhead, in County Louth, that John happened upon the story of a young teenager by the name of Albert JD Cashier who left his home in 1860 to fight in the American Civil War. Following five years of service, Cashier was granted honourable discharge and returned to civilian life in the US. In episode 1 of Creedon’s Epic East, John meets Albert’s grand-nephew, Paddy Hodgins where he reveals that Albert JD Cashier was born Jenny Hodgins in 1843. The young teenage boy fighting in the American Civil War was really a young girl using the military as her ticket to a new life on American soil.

This is just one of the many fascinating stories that John Creedon unearths in Creedon’s Epic East, which sees John travel the new tourist route, Ireland’s Ancient East, stretching from Louth to Cork and from Cavan to Wexford, with his faithful VW campervan, his ‘Sean Van Bhocht’. Here, he investigates what it truly means to be Irish and his mission sparks a voyage of self discovery, as he calls in the experts to research his family tree and test his DNA and asks is there such a thing as an Irish gene?

The first episode of Creedon’s Epic East, available to watch internationally for subscribers of the RTÉ Player International iOS app, sees John travel to Meath, Monaghan and Louth revealing the east coast and midlands of Ireland like you have never seen them before.

Watch @johncreedon’s new series #CreedonsEpicEast on @rteplayerinternational and discover @IrelandsAncientEast.