Note: None of these writings on this page are mine. They are all publicly available on the internet. I have just added them to this page as a helpful service to anyone looking into SINNOTT genealogy, or history in general. As with all information on the internet, I cannot say if everything here is 100% accurate, but it is a helpful start which may prove beneficial to anyone taking the necessary time to prove its veracity.
Blood of the Irish: What DNA Tells Us About the Ancestry of People in Ireland
All the writings on this page by Marie McKeown
Blood of the Irish
The blood in Irish veins is Celtic, right? Well, not exactly. Although the history that used to be taught at school said the Irish were simply a Celtic people, related to the central European Celts, the truth is much more complicated, and much more interesting than that.
Research done into the DNA of the Irish has shown that our old understanding of where the population of Ireland originated may have been misguided. Although the modern Irish have been shown to share many genetic similarities with Scottish and Welsh populations, and to differ somewhat from the English, due to repeated waves of migration to the island they also have close genetic relations with people further afield. In fact, some of the Irish's closest DNA links are with regions further afield!
This article is based upon the latest research sequencing the genomes of the remains of ancient Irish people, published at the end of 2015.
Medieval map of Ireland, showing Irish tribes.
Early Origins of Irish DNA
The earliest settlers came to Ireland during the Stone Age, around 10,000 years ago. There are still remnants of their presence scattered across the island. Mountsandel in Coleraine in the North of Ireland is the oldest known site of settlement in Ireland—remains of woven huts, stone tools and food such as berries and hazelnuts were discovered at the site in 1972.
Where Did the Early Irish Come From?
For a long time the myth of Irish history has been that the Irish are Celts. Many people still refer to Irish, Scottish, and Welsh as Celtic culture. The assumption has been that they were Celts who migrated from central Europe around 500BCE.
Keltoi was the name given by the Ancient Greeks to a 'barbaric' (in their eyes) people who lived to the north of them in central Europe. While early Irish art shows some similarities of style to central European art of the Keltoi, historians have also recognized many significant differences between the two cultures.
Recent research into Irish DNA at the beginning of the twenty-first century suggests that the early inhabitants of Ireland were not directly descended from the Keltoi of central Europe. Genome sequencing performed on remains of early settlers in Ireland by researchers at Trinity University in Dublin and Queens University has revealed at least two waves of migration to the island in past millennia. Analysis of the remains of a 5,200 year-old Irish farmer suggested that the population of Ireland at that time was closely genetically related to the modern-day populations of southern Europe, especially Spain and Sardinia. Her ancestors, however, originally migrated from the Middle East, the cradle of agriculture.
Meanwhile, the research team also examined the remains of three 4,000 year-old men from the Bronze Age and revealed that another wave of migration to Ireland had taken place, this time from the edges of Eastern Europe. One third of their ancestry came from the Steppe region of Russia and Ukraine, so their ancestors must have gradually spread west across Europe. These remains, found on Rathlin Island also shared a close genetic affinity with the Scottish, Welsh, and modern Irish, unlike the earlier farmer. This suggests that many people living in Ireland today have genetic links to people who were living on the island at least 4,000 years ago.
Irish Origin Myths Confirmed by Scientific Evidence?
One of the oldest texts composed in Ireland is the Leabhar Gabhla, the Book of Invasions. It tells a semi-mythical history of the waves of people who settled in Ireland in earliest times. It says the first settlers to arrive in Ireland were a small dark people called the Fir Bolg, followed by a magical super-race called the Tuatha de Danaan (the people of the goddess Dana).
Most interestingly, the book says that the group which then came to Ireland and fully established itself as rulers of the island were the Milesians—the sons of Mil, a soldier from Spain. Modern DNA research has actually suggested that the Irish are close genetic relatives of the people of northern Spain.
What we do know is that the modern Irish are descended from a number of waves of migration with some ancestors coming from as far away as the Middle East and the Russian Steppes. Although it might seem surprising, it is worth remembering that in ancient times the sea was one of the fastest and easiest ways to travel. When the land was covered in thick forest, coastal settlements were common and people travelleled around the seaboard of Europe quite freely.
Are the Basques the Closest Genetic Relatives of the Irish?
Today, people living the north of Spain in the region known as the Basque Country share many DNA traits with the Irish. However, the Irish also share their DNA to a large extent with the people of Britain, especially the Scottish and Welsh.
DNA testing through the male Y chromosome has shown that Irish males have the highest incidence of the haplogroup 1 (or Rb1) gene in Europe. While other parts of Europe have integrated continuous waves of new settlers from Asia, Ireland's remote geographical position has meant that the Irish gene-pool has been less susceptible to change. The same genes have been passed down from parents to children for thousands of years. The other region with very high levels of this male chromosome is the Basque region.
This is mirrored in genetic studies which have compared DNA analysis with Irish surnames. Many surnames in Irish are Gaelic surnames, suggesting that the holder of the surname is a descendant of people who lived in Ireland long before the English conquests of the Middle Ages. Men with Gaelic surnames, showed the highest incidences of Haplogroup 1 (or Rb1) gene. This means that those Irish whose ancestors pre-date English conquest of the island are descendants (in the male line) of people who probably migrated west across Europe, as far as Ireland in the north and Spain in the south.
Some scholars even argue that the Iberian peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal) was once heavily populated by Celtiberians who spoke at now-extinct Celtic language. They believe some of these people moved northwards along the Atlantic coast bringing Celtic language and culture to Ireland and Britain, as well as France. Although the evidence in not conclusive, the findings on the similarities between Irish and Iberian DNA provides some support for this theory.
The Kingdom of Dalriada c 500 AD is marked in green. Pictish areas marked yellow.
Irish and British DNA: A Comparison
I live in Northern Ireland and in this small country the differences between the Irish and the British can still seem very important. Blood has been spilt over the question of national identity.
However, research into both British and Irish DNA suggests that people on the two islands have much genetically in common. Males in both islands have a strong predominance of the Haplogroup 1 gene, meaning that most of us in the British Isles are descended from the same stone age settlers.
The main difference is the degree to which later migrations of people to the islands affected the population's DNA. Parts of Ireland (most notably the western seaboard) have been almost untouched by outside genetic influence since early times. Men there with traditional Irish surnames have the highest incidence of the Haplogroup 1 gene - over 99%.
At the same time London, for example, has been a mutli-ethnic city for hundreds of years. Furthermore, England has seen more arrivals of new people from Europe - Anglo-Saxons and Normans - than Ireland. Therefore while the earliest English ancestors were very similar in DNA and culture to the tribes of Ireland, later arrivals to England have created more diversity between the two groups.
Irish and Scottish people share very similar DNA. The obvious similarities of culture, pale skin, tendency to red hair have historically been prescribed to the two people's sharing a common Celtic ancestry. Actually, in my opinion, it seems much more likely that the similarity results from the movement of people from the north of Ireland into Scotland in the centuries 400 - 800 AD. At this time the kingdom of Dalriada, based near Ballymoney in County Antrim extended far into Scotland. The Irish invaders brought Gaelic language and culture, and they also brought their genes.
Irish Characteristics and DNA
The MC1R gene has been identified by researchers as the gene responsible for red hair as well as the accompanying fair skin and tendency towards freckles. According to genetic research, genes for red hair first appeared in human beings about 40,000 to 50,000 years ago.
These genes were then brought to the British Isles by the original settlers, men and women who would have been relatively tall, with little body fat, athletic, fair-skinned and who would have had red hair. So red-heads may well be descended from the earliest ancestors of the Irish and British.
Who Are the "Black Irish"?
The origin of the term "Black Irish" and the people it describes are debated (see the comments below!). The phrase is ambiguous and is mainly used outside of Ireland to describe dark-haired people of Irish origin.
The ambiguity comes in when trying to determine whether dark-haired Irish people are genetically distinct from Irish with lighter coloring. Dark hair is common in Ireland, while dark complexions are more rare.
One theory about the origins of the term is that it describes Irish people who descend from survivors of the Spanish Armada. There are other hypotheses, mostly placing Irish ancestors on the Iberian peninsula or among the traders that sailed back and forth between Spain, North Africa, and Ireland, particularly around the Connemara region.
Some "Black Irish" are of Irish-African descent, tracing their ancestry back to the slave trade. Many of these people live on Barbados and Montserrat.
Some readers, writing below, with typical Black Irish coloring have had genetic testing done to confirm that they have Spanish, Portuguese, and Canary Island heritage.
A Brief History of Ireland's First People
Updated on October 12, 2016
Who Were the First People in Ireland?
The earliest known site of human habitation in Ireland is at Mountsandel, near Coleraine in Northern Ireland. The site was discovered in the 1970s when an archaeologist found evidence of dwellings and hunting activity which date back around 10,000 years ago.
So, we know people have lived in Ireland since at least 8,000 BCE – but where did they come from before that? Most experts think that the first people migrated to Ireland from Britain at the end of the last ice age. They would have arrived in simple boats, crossing from Scotland which is only 12 miles away from the north of Ireland.
The early people at Mountsandel lived as hunter-gatherers. They fished in the River Bann, and gathered nuts and fruits from the surrounding landscape. They constructed dwellings woven from sticks. They were able to make simple tools such as arrows or axes.
Indeed, the nearby site of Whitepark Bay was a major production point for flint axes in the Stone Age. Axe-heads from Whitepark Bay have been discovered as far away as northern France and southern England. From this evidence, we know that the first people of Ireland were involved in trading with people across Europe.
Inside the chamber at Newgrange.
Early Settlement Sites in Ireland
Apart from Mountsandel, there are a couple of other sites associated with the first people to live in Ireland. These sites date from later, and are particularly impressive because they were made out of stone and so the structures are still visible today.
The Ceide fields in Western Ireland (County Mayo) are over 5,500 years old. This makes them the oldest known system of fields in the world today. The remains today are a patchwork of stone walls which suggest there was once a highly-developed farming community living there. Evidence has shown that the people who farmed there even used cattle to pull ploughs.
Newgrange is one of a series of mounds in the Boyne Valley. These mounds have been discovered to contain stone passage tombs, with carefully constructed corbelled roofs. Newgrange is the most famous of the passage tombs, as it is known for the beautiful light which fills the central chamber once a year on the winter equinox (21 Dec). The tomb took a lot of engineering knowledge, a detailed understanding of astrology and it also suggests a sophisticated religion based on the notion of death and re-birth.
The Poulnabrone Dolmen. | Source
Stone Monuments: Evidence of the First People in Ireland
The early peoples of Ireland mostly built in wood, so there is not much evidence of their existence today. However, as the stone age progressed, the people of Ireland began to mark important and sacred places with stone monuments. Many of these reminders of our early ancestors can be seen in Ireland today, monuments such as:
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Dolmens are three stones (two supporting the third on top) which are thought to mark important burial sites. They often appear in ancient legends as places where immortals could cross over into the human world – and vice versa.
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Stone circles are also quite common in Ireland, if you know where to look. Although there are no stone circles on the same scale as Stonehenge, there are quite a few smaller stone circles scattered about Ireland. Some are well-cared for, while others are on farms and have become over-grown and neglected due to lack of interest in our ancient past.
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Ogham stones are standing stones with Ogham inscriptions carved onto them. Ogham is an ancient system of writing which was indigenous to Ireland. It consists of a series of straight marks – a runic system which can be used to record information. Ogham stones usually mark the life and death of a local king, and were probably used as a form of early gravestone.
Our family comes from theCounty Wexford area
click for an article regarding my
SINNOTT dna type: R1b1b1 E-M35
David W Sinnott
David M Sinnott; son of David W
I bet you thought that you were 100% related to your full biological siblings.
Wrong.
Siblings share, on average, about half their DNA. The reality is, however, we can actually be anywhere from 0 – 100% genetically related to our siblings! When looking at DNA test results, you could, theoretically, be totally unrelated to a sibling, though the percentage usually falls in the 50% range.
To confuse you more, your ethnicity results in an Autosomal DNA (atDNA) test can be quite different from sibling to sibling, as we each inherit unique combinations of DNA from our parents that present different parts of our genetic history.
DNA recombination from parents to their children. Photo credit- www.genetics.thetech.org
This stems from how DNA is passed from one generation to the next for the majority of our genome. You are unique, having received 50% your DNA from each of your parents. Your parents received 50% from each of their parents, and so on. The 50% passed to you from each of your parents was a shuffled combination of genetics so, unless you and a sibling are identical twins, you can expect your results to be different than your siblings. Recombination is purely random, so one sibling could inherit substantial chunks of DNA that the other sibling did not inherit—or vice versa. Sometimes, the differences in results can be surprising.
My brother and I each tested with AncestryDNA, a company that offers the Autosomal DNA SNP test (we have also tested with competitive companies, which offer different types of tests and differing abilities to analyze resulting data). A genealogical DNA test studies a person’s genome at specific locations, and several different types of tests are available. The Autosomal test utilizes DNA from the 22 matched pairs of autosomal chromosomes we all have, or “autosomes.” For the record, you actually have 23 pairs of chromosomes. The remaining pair, called the sex chromosome, determines your gender, male or female. An Autosomal DNA test may be taken by either a male or female, and is often used to search for relatives (on either side of the family tree), called “DNA cousin matches,” up to a maximum of 6 – 8 generations back.
The Ancestry test also provides participants a colorful pie chart, which gives you a percentage breakdown of your ethnicity by region. It is called an Ethnicity Estimate or an admixture test. Ancestry, the company, divides the world into about 25 modern reference populations, or regions, and the approximate percentage of DNA inherited from each is provided. Sections of your DNA are identified that best match the reference databases. However, the reliability of the results is dependent on a number of variables, such as comparative population size (which can be limited), the number of markers tested, and the degree of admixture in the person tested. Distinguishing between populations within continents can be difficult; as well, genetic ancestry does not respect country borders, which change often, or the migration of ancestors long ago. A person with “known” German ancestry may find zero German DNA in his/her results. This issue, most likely, is that at some point in history the ancestors of this family, who did not originate in Germany, moved to Germany and “became” German. But that does not make them genetically German.
Fortunately, as science and technology improves accuracy of the ethnicity reports continues to improve and to provide greater depth of detail. For example, results previously defined as Western European are now being broken down into subgroups such as English and French or Irish, German, etc. Results only defined as African previously are starting to break down into specific countries. Southern Europe is broken off from the Iberian Peninsula. As new algorithms are developed providing more accurate results, these improved results will show up in your account at no additional charge.
The test results for my brother and me state that we are “immediate family”—in other words, full bio brother and sister. That’s good to know! But then the results follow different paths. My brother’s DNA test results provided the following Ethnicity Estimates:
91% Great Britain; 5% Ireland; 3% Trace Regions (Italy/Greece)
According to the current AncestryDNA algorithms, my ethnicity admixture results are:
My Ethnicity Estimate from AncestryDNA
37% Great Britain; 29% Ireland; 21% Europe West; 8% Italy/Greece
Since I now know that I’m 24% more Irish than my brother, I will celebrate a bit harder at St. Patrick’s Day this year!
My admixture notes a 21% Europe West contribution, which doesn’t show up in my brother’s estimates at all. Europe West is defined as primarily Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein. On our maternal side, we have three lines that trace back to France and two lines tracing back to Germany. Somehow, more of our maternal line DNA was passed to me versus my brother. I guess random genetics at work.
The bottom line of those results: Ethnicity estimations remain a science that are still a bit fuzzy. Humans have moved too far over too many thousands of years for it to be reliable history of where ancestors originated. And as each parent may pass a different and variable percentage of an ethnicity down to their children, results can be surprising. So, be open minded to the results received. As well, get as many of your siblings tested as possible. Doing so opens up new insights into your full ethnicity story, as well as the possibilities of finding additional cousins.
Understanding Patterns of Inheritance: Where Did My DNA Come From? (And Why It Matters.)
