I've been poking around on ancestry.com, and found that they have some tools to make preliminary tree-filling really fast by letting you borrow and build upon what others have already found. I know that I still have to verify, but it gives me direction and makes the whole task seem less daunting. So anyway. I found a hypothetical paternal line starting with my mum's pop back to 1634...

In Edinburgh. Scotland.
Not Ireland.

My illusions from growing up have been shattered! Why have we always been told we were Irish? Why was my Great Grandpa Max called "Pat" if he wasn't Irish?! So many questions! But that's half the fun of genealogy, right?

At least now I guess I'm officially more "entitled" to wear the kilt than I had been before!