Meryl Streep wants to further research her Irish roots

"I want more time in Ireland " says Oscar star

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Meryl Streep is seeking to research her Irish great-grandmother and to spend more time in Ireland.

The acclaimed actress says that Grace Strain, her great-grandmother born 1865 in Donegal, is someone she wants to find out far more about.

Her daughter Grace is named after her Irish ancestor:

 "I want more time in Ireland. I feel the need to do real scientific work on her ancestry,” she said.

She first became aware of her Irish connection when filming "Dancing at Lughnasa," the Hollywood adaptation of Brian Friel's stage play of the same name.

In that movie, she plays a Donegal-born older woman who is watching her life ebb by in a small Donegal backwater.

Streep went back to Donegal for a showing of the movie and talked about her ancestor who is from Creeslough, also home of Irish country and western star Daniel O'Donnell.

Her Irish roots are not far from where Matthew Broderick, whose grandfather hailed from the area, and Sarah Jessica Parker regularly vacation.

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