Several recent studies involving DNA indicate that the vast majority of Irish descend on both the male and female lines from the ancient inhabitants of Western Europe who moved into Scotland and Northern Ireland after the glaciers began to melt about 12,000 years ago. The first study conducted by Sykes of Oxford University in Great Britain about 1980 found seven separate locations for varying types of mitochondrial DNA which is only transmitted through the maternal line forming the basis of his book "The Seven Daughters of Eve". DNA also proves that all living homo sapiens descend form one original mother whom scientists call Eve from the Book of Genesis. The Irish inhabitants appear to be predominantly from two groups, the first being in the Iberian Peninsula probably the ancestors of modern day Basques, and the second being centered in Northern Italy and Southern France but havind settled there from Syria in the Middle East quite a bit later than the arrival of the first mesolithic hunting and food gathering culture who had previously crossed over from Western Norway into Scotland and Ireland. The second study conducted by Underwood of Standford University was done on Y chromosome DNA samples which are only passed down in the male line and identifies three separate locations for varying types of male DNA, one in the Iberian Peninsula, one in the the Balkan Peninsula, and one in the Ukraine region near the Black Sea. These three groups were separated from an inoriginal homogeneous population in Europe at the time of the Ice Age. The findings indicate that almost all modern day Irish descend from the ancient inhabitants of Spain who began to move northward as the glaciers began to melt, and spread into Norway, Scotland and Ireland in agreement with Sykes' findings. The area of Ireland with this type of DNA is in Galway where I believe it is roughly 98% prevalent. The areas with the most diversity are the Ulster and Leinster regions where there was substantial settlement from Britain. Still, the incidence of the earlier type is about 95% I believe. The group originating in the Ukraine area in both studies corresponds to the European ancestors of the kurgan culture which Marija Gimbutas formerly on the faculty of the University of California at Los Angeles identifies as being influenced by groups from southern Asia, the Ural Mountains region of Russia who became the Finno-Ugric culture, Semitic peoples who probably came from Iran, and others from the Caucasus region, all forming into the so-called Indo-European culture of which the early Celts belong. I more recent study using Y chromosome DNA has found that a disproportionately high percentage of Irish males in the Ui Neill areas particularly in Ulster trace back to a single 5th century ancestor whom it has been suggested was the Ard Ri Niall of the Nine Hostages. I would guess that if these findings are accurate, that Niall was descended paternally from the ancient mesolithic inhabitants of Ireland as are the vast majority of Irish males today. Although the genealogy of Niall points to a Gaelic Indo-European origin, it is likely that, as Gibbon suggests with regard to the English nobility, at some point in Niall's family tree there was illegitamacy of parentage which of course is incapable of proof. Michael O'Hearn --------------------------------- Cheap Talk? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.