Hello I'm Kirstie Young and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1987 and the presenter was Michael Parkinson. A castaway today could best be described as a bit of an all-rounder.

The sporting flavor of that definition is appropriate for someone who was from 1972 to 1980,

the President of the International Olympic Committee. He's also had a career embracing journalism, the army, filmmaking and business.

As an author, he's written many books and his latest entitled My Island is a loving impression of his homeland.

He is Lord Killanin.

Lord Killanin, what kind of family background did you come from?

And how far back do you go?

My family come from Galway, where we were merchants in Norman origin and we never really left

Grawy City except when my family married in the 17th century into the Eflatties and we got three acres of land.

It's always said to me whatever things I did wrong in Ireland, I'd never be shot for my land.

Everyone thinks that I have a title that I come from behind a big wall.

Well, that's right, I would have done too, so why didn't you? Why don't you have more lunch?

Well, because I happen to be a papish and during penal times. We weren't allowed to have land.

And my family, who were mayors of Galway for 200 years vanished until my grandfather became

Attorney General, the first Catholic Attorney General, and eventually he was made a Lord of Appeal

and ordinary. In the last year of his life

he has made Kilanin. I'm very proud of being one of the first 20th century peers

because I was not actually the New Year's honors, but he's created, I think, in June 1900.

And that is the reason that I have this prefix to my name, which I miss a bit I've always found

slightly embarrassing.

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