That is exacly my understanding as set out in my earlier message. Regards, Patsy Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 7:49 AM Subject: Re: [CO CORK] DNA question you would have to find a male relative on your mum's side that has her maiden name as his surname to track back on that line. the mother can take an mtdna which tracks back on all the females going further back. correct me anybody if im wrong. john in ireland Sent: Tuesday, 25 August, 2009 20:16:36 Subject: Re: [CO CORK] DNA question This is not my understanding of how the DNA line works. I understood that the mother can not pass down the Y-DNA. So my sons do not carry the Y-DNA of my father, just as my mother could not pass down the Y-DNA of her line. [The carrying of the surname (not by marriage) can be a useful pointer.] For example, after making enquiries, it seems that to get any useful DNA tests for my Irish roots on my mother's side, I would need to find a male descendant from one of my uncles and have them do the test. I may be mistaken but this needs to be clarified as it could lead to false hopes and people being surprised and upset by results of testing. Regards, Patsy - New Zealand Sent: Wednesday, August 26, 2009 6:26 AM Subject: Re: [CO CORK] DNA question > As long as the male line is unbroken then her sons would have the same > Y-DNA > as that of her great grandfather; however, if a male from another family > is > the father of her 2 sons then they would have different Y-DNA.