A genealogist boldly went where no other genealogist has gone before and proved the famous actor who played Scotty in the original the series was Irish.
“Beam me up Scotty” became a famous slogan in the series when Chief Engineer Scotty (James Doohan) was commissioned by Captain James T Kirk (William Shatner) to bring him back aboard the Starship Enterprise.
Doohan spoke with a very strong Scottish accent in his role as Scotty. He claimed to have based it on an Aberdeen accent he had heard before and it was convincing. However, he had no Scottish ancestry.
The eminent Irish genealogist and historian Jim Herlihy discovered that although Doohan was born in Canada in 1920, “his ancestry was 100% Irish.”
Doohan’s two grandfathers were from Co Mayo. One, Thomas Doohan, served with the RIC. Herlihy has written numerous books on the RIC and this connection has proven to be essential in his search for the actor’s roots.
Herlihy discovered that part of the Doohan family later moved to Belfast. The actor’s father, William Patrick Doohan, became a pharmacist and moved to Bangor, County Down, where he married Sarah Frances Montgomery, whose father was a ship captain.
The wedding took place at Holycross Catholic Church, Ardoyne, Belfast. Doohan’s first three siblings were born in Bangor before emigrating to Canada.
“In his passenger declaration form, William states that the purpose of his emigration to Canada was to ‘practice my profession as a pharmacist’ and that his intended destination was British Columbia, where his sister-in-law, Isobel (Montgomery) Coburn and her husband Herbert Coburn had emigrated, ”Herlihy said.
“They first settled in Vancouver and eventually moved to Sarnia, Ontario, and their fourth child, actor James Montgomery Doohan, was born there on March 3, 1920,” he added.
Prior to his acting career, Doohan served in the 14th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. He also served as a pilot. He saw fighting in Europe during WWII, including the D-Day landing in Normandy, in which he was wounded, apparently by friendly fire.
After the war he gained extensive experience in radio and television, which led him to play the role of Scotty.
The actor died on July 20, 2005 in Redmond, a suburb of Washington State in the United States. His twin sons, Christopher and Montgomery Doohan are both actors.