Niall is said to have had 12 sons!! Not all people with the names mentioned will be related to Niall. My own family relationship has come about through DNA, I was not even looking in that area. Robyn ----- Original Message ----- From: "Don Kelly" <ocollaugh@comcast.net> To: <IRL-TIPPERARY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, January 21, 2006 1:07 PM Subject: Re: [TIP] DNA - Ireland >I have followed this report with interest. > > Too bad that Niall himself, according to history, was childless. > > He did however have 11 brothers and dozens of cousins. > > That record in reality would have to go to Niall's ancestors. > > One never knows for sure what they can believe in can they. > > My only relative in that bunch was O'Donnell, and that relationship was by > marriage. > > Not even close. > > Don > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Christina Hunt" <filidh@carolina.rr.com> > To: <IRL-TIPPERARY-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Friday, January 20, 2006 10:45 AM > Subject: [TIP] DNA - Ireland > > >>I thought this was interesting... >> Scientists discover most fertile Irish male >> DUBLIN (Reuters) - Scientists in Ireland may have found the country's >> most fertile male, >> with more than 3 million men worldwide among his offspring. >> >> >> The scientists, from Trinity College Dublin, have discovered that as many >> as one in twelve >> Irishmen could be descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, a >> 5th-century warlord who was >> head of the most powerful dynasty in ancient Ireland. >> His genetic legacy is almost as impressive as Genghis Khan, the Mongol >> emperor who >> conquered most of Asia in the 13th century and has nearly 16 million >> descendants, said Dan >> Bradley, who supervised the research. >> "It's another link between profligacy and power," Bradley told Reuters. >> "We're the first >> generation on the planet where if you're successful you don't (always) >> have more >> children." >> The research was carried out by Ph.D. student Laoise Moore, at the >> Smurfit Institute of >> Genetics at Trinity. Moore, testing the Y chromosome which is passed on >> from fathers to >> sons, examined DNA samples from 800 males across Ireland. >> The results - which have been published in the American Journal of Human >> Genetics - showed >> the highest concentration of related males in northwest Ireland, where >> one in five males >> had the same Y chromosome. >> Bradley said the results reminded the team of a similar study in central >> Asia, where >> scientists found 8 percent of men with the same Y chromosome. Subsequent >> studies found >> they shared the same chromosome as the dynasty linked to Genghis Khan. >> "It made us wonder if there could be some sort of Genghis Khan effect in >> Ireland and the >> best candidate for it was Niall," Bradley said. >> His team then consulted with genealogical experts who provided them with >> a contemporary >> list of people with surnames that are genealogically linked to the last >> known relative of >> the "Ui Neill" dynasty, which literally means descendants of Niall. >> The results showed the new group had the same chromosome as those in the >> original sample, >> proving a link between them and the Niall descendents. >> "The frequency (of the Y chromosome) was significantly higher in that >> genealogical group >> than any other group we tested," said Bradley, whose surname is also >> linked to the >> medieval warlord. >> Other modern surnames tracing their ancestry to Niall include Gallagher, >> Boyle, O'Donnell >> and O'Doherty. >> http://www.thedailyjournalonline.com/article.asp?ArticleId=218242&CategoryId=13003 >> >> >> Chris >> >> >> >> >> >> ==== IRL-TIPPERARY Mailing List ==== >> IGP County Tipperary Message Board: >> http://pub14.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=1200795777 >> >> > > > ==== IRL-TIPPERARY Mailing List ==== > Reminder! Remove (<snip>) as much of the Original Message as > possible when replying to a List Posting. Include just the part of > the original message important to your reply. > >