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Imagine
having 3
million
descendants
and still have
time to
conquer a
large kingdom
and take many
captives
prisoner,
including one
St Patrick.
His family
were famous
soldiers in
Ireland and
all across
Europe
Up
to three
million men
around the
world could be
descended from
a prolific
medieval Irish
king,
according to a
new genetic
study. A
genealogical
goldmine for
those trying
to trace
family trees.
It
suggests that
the 5th-century
warlord known
as “Niall of
the Nine
Hostages”
may be the
ancestor of
about one in
12 Irishmen,
say
genealogical
and genetic
researchers at
Trinity
College
Dublin,
Ireland. Niall
established a
dynasty of
powerful
chieftains
that dominated
the country
for six
centuries.
In
a study of the
Y chromosome -
which is only
passed down
through the
male line -
scientists
found a
hotspot in
northwest
Ireland where
21.5% carry
Niall’s
genetic
fingerprint,
says Brian
McEvoy, one of
the team at
Trinity. This
was the main
power base of
the Ui Neills,
which
literally
translated
means
“descendants
of Niall”.
If you are
descended from
an Irish
person,
chances are
that your
family roots
may include
Niall in the
family tree.
McEvoy
says the Y
chromosome
appeared to
trace back to
one person.
“There are
certain
surnames that
seem to have
come from Ui
Neill. We
studied if
there was any
association
between those
surnames and
the genetic
profile. It is
his
(Niall’s)
family.”
The
O'Neill family
ruled over
Donegal and
Tyrone,
Fermanagh, up
to 1607, when
with other
defeated Irish
Gaelic
nobility had
to flee
Ireland, from
the onslaught
of
British
forces. Many
of the most
famous
O'Neills lived
in the 16th
Centaury. Owen
Roe O'Neill,
Phelim O'Neill
both who were
noted Irish
patriots and
died for their
country.
Continuing the
family's
tradition of
service to
Ireland, the
leading Fenian
John O'Neill,
who led the
fenian
invasion
of
Canada in
1867.
The
O'Neill family
are rooted in
Ireland, in
her history,
her legends,
her traditions
and thanks to
Niall of the
Nine hostages
in our
genealogical
records.
O'Neill:
Besides the
largest and
most famous
branch, the
O'Neills of
Ulster there
were branches
of the name in
Kildare,
Waterford,
Carlow. . The
family name is
still numerous
across Ireland
especially in
Tyrone and
Antrim.
Read
the full
article on:
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8600;
Journal
reference: American
Journal of
Human Genetics
(February
issue |
