Sitting in an Irish Tucson pub, enjoying a few tunes by Round the House while sipping a cold draft beer, is David Bedell Jr. While some may not notice the Irish persona, Bedell,53,is an Irish American who can trace his family heritage in the U.S. back to the 1860s.

On his mother’s side, Bedell's grandfather several generations back, John McCabb, came over to the U.S. during the Civil War. McCabb was a blacksmith and because of his profession, was able to start a new life in the country without having to enlist for money, a temptation that many Irish could not resist.

Around 1900, Bedell’s father’s side of the family came across the Atlantic from County Cork, where they were descendents of the Angolan Bishop, William Bedell. Bedell still has some bottles of beer that his grandfather, a junk dealer, distilled on the side.

Bedell’s father was also in Pearl Harbor when it was bombed. He later married his high school sweetheart.

Bedell is proud to carry on his Irish heritage, by passing it on to his daughters, telling his family story, and especially in carrying on the Irish tradition of teaching. He is a high school English literature teacher and is a strong proponent of reading the classics as well as works by great authors.