Murph writes: < I like most cannot spend the time learning DNA testing so it is nice to have someone who knows history AND the DNA to comment on this stuff and I urge you to continue, or perhaps you know of or have web sites where it is spelled out a bit more (without the jargon of scientists, unless absolutel necessary).> I'm not aware of a lot of sites, and don't know whether you can randomly access info at FamilyTree DNA (FTDNA), unless you 've been tested through them. Because my cousin was part of a "surname project" he received a "group discount" and took a 25 marker test, which I believe was only available within the "project". I'd suggest that you look for a "Murphy Surname DNA Project" With FTDNA, one can update at any time to a 37 or 67 marker test. The advice that FT gives, is for one to start with the least number of markers, and upgrade if your needs change. With the 25 marker test, our earliest common ancestor was traced to a European area, and we were provided with the latitude and longitude markers! Talk about precision! This ancestor was so far back that he was believe to be part of a community that didn't die out, while other communities within the same area did! However, from this info, we WERE NOT able to determine our Ireland location. Recently, my cousin had a match with 25 of his 25 marker test with a man who does NOT share our surname! This result, opens up the probability that our most recent common ancestor was within 3-13 generations. And fortunately for us, this other line descended from a man whose appearance in Ireland is well-documented. Both my cousin and his match have requested an upgrade to their markers from 25 to 37. Not only will this narrow down where in the "gene pool" our lines crossed, but it might put us into the town from which our GrGf migrated in 1830. Unfortunately, our relatives who came to the USA were illiterate, so we have no written family history. By the way, I'm not employed or otherwise associated with Family Tree, other than to have read through all their explanations for my cousin's test results. I found them easy to follow, though at times, a little too much to think about in one sitting. So, I kept coming back over the course of a week. Patricia