"A Y-Chromosome Signature of Hegemony in Gaelic Ireland" - Smurfit Institute of Genetics and School of Histories and Humanities, Trinity College, Dublin - Seventeen-marker simple tandem repeat genetic analysis of Irish Y chromosomes reveals a previously unnoted modal haplotype that peaks in frequency in the northwestern part of the island. It shows a significant association with surnames purported to have descended from the most important and enduring dynasty of early medieval Ireland, the Ui Neill...................

"Y-chromosomes and the extent of patrilineal ancestry in Irish surnames" - Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland - Ireland has one of the oldest systems of patrilineal hereditary surnames in the world. Using the paternal co-inheritance of Y-chromosome DNA and Irish surnames, we examined the extent to which modern surname groups share a common male-line ancestor and the general applicability of Y-chromosomes in uncovering Irish surname origins and histories..........................

"The Longue Duree of Genetic Ancestry: Multiple Genetic Marker Systems and Celtic Origins on the Atlantic Facade of Europe" - Department of Genetics, Trinity College, Dublin; Schools of Biology and Computing, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom; and The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom - Celtic languages are now spoken only on the Atlantic facade of Europe, mainly in Britain and Ireland, but were spoken more widely in western and central Europe until the collapse of the Roman Empire in the first millennium A.D. It has been common to couple archaeological evidence for the expansion of Iron Age elites in central Europe with the dispersal of these languages and of Celtic ethnicity and to posit a central European “homeland” for the Celtic peoples. More recently, however, archaeologists have questioned this “migrationist” view of Celtic ethnogenesis. The proposition of a central European ancestry should be testable by examining the distribution of genetic markers; however, although Y-chromosome patterns in Atlantic Europe show little evidence of central European influence, there has hitherto been insufficient data to confirm this by use of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).....................................

Data relating to this study Molecular Population Genetics TCD website - McEvoy B, Richards M, Forster P, Bradley DG. The Longue Duree of genetic ancestry: multiple genetic marker systems and Celtic origins on the Atlantic facade of Europe. http://www.gen.tcd.ie/molpopgen/resources.php

"In the name of the father: surnames and genetics" - Mark A. Jobling Dept of Genetics, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, UK LE1 7RH - Hereditary surnames contain information about relatedness within populations. They have been used as crude indicators of population structure and migration events, and to subdivide samples for epidemiological purposes. In societies that use patrilineal surnames, a surname should correlate with a type of Y chromosome, provided certain assumptions are met. Recent studies involving Y-chromosomal haplotyping and surname analysis are promising and indicate that genealogists of the future could be turning to records written in DNA, as well as in paper archives, to solve their problems.

Y-chromosome variation and Irish origins Department of Genetics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland - A pre-neolithic gene gradation starts in the near East and culminates in western Ireland. - Ireland’s position on the western edge of Europe suggests that the genetics of its population should have been relatively undisturbed by the demographic movements that have shaped variation on the mainland. We have typed 221 Y chromosomes from Irish males for seven (slowly evolving) biallelic and six (quickly evolving) simple tandem-repeat markers. When these samples are partitioned by surname, we find significant differences in genetic frequency between those of Irish Gaelic and of foreign origin, and also between those of eastern and western Irish origin. Connaught, the westernmost Irish province, lies at the geographical and genetic extreme of a Europe-wide cline.....................

THE HUMAN Y CHROMOSOME AN EVOLUTIONARY MARKER COMES OF AGE - Mark A. Jobling* and Chris Tyler-Smith - Dept of Genetics, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, UK LE1 7RH - Until recently, the Y chromosome seemed to fulfil the role of juvenile delinquent among human chromosomes — rich in junk, poor in useful attributes, reluctant to socialize with its neighbours and with an inescapable tendency to degenerate. The availability of the near-complete chromosome sequence, plus many new polymorphisms, a highly resolved phylogeny and insights into its mutation processes, now provide new avenues for investigating human evolution. Y-chromosome research is growing up..................

Important Observations on Irish R1b1b2a2g (R1b1b2h*) (R1b1c10) - Glenn Nolen - Origins of the Irish and Scottish: Corca Luighe (Corca Laoidhe) and Dál Riada (Dál Riata) - Rb1b2a2g (R1b1b2h*) (R1b1c10) - DYS #385a and 385b at 11 and 17: A Corca Luighe (Corca Laoidhe) Ossory (Osraighe) and Dál Riada (Dál Riata) Uladh Haplotype in Co. Donegal, Ulster, Ireland, 1600s.

Dr John McEwan's analysis on R1b Haplotypes and clustering in Ireland and Scotland: http://www.geocities.com/mcewanjc/

http://www.worldfamilies.net/y-haplogroups.htm This website lists many DNA papers including the recent one "A Y-Chromosome Signature of Hegemony in Gaelic Ireland"

Emily Aulicino
Margaret Jordan
Austin Rock
Barra McCain