When Ireland was deep in the throes of the Great Famine in 1847, the international call for aid for the starving Irish was heard by the Choctaw, a Native American tribe in the United States.

Martin Doyle profiles Ireland's troubadour, Percy French, the prolific Irish songwriter, poet and painter whose life is celebrated in an international summer school in County Roscommon in July.

At 73, she finally walked through the door of her great-grandfather's cottage in County Roscommon, Ireland — a home her family has maintained for over 200 years.