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From: "Ed O'Neill" <>
Subject: RE: Y-chromosomes and the extent of patrilineal ancestry in Irish surnames
Date: Sun, 5 Mar 2006 12:11:39 -0500


John,

Another quote in the text of this paper says "Many, specifically Ryan, O'Sullivan, O'Neill, Byrne and Kennedy, show one predominant Y-chromosome, which forms the ancestral haplotype of a broader diversified lineage. Such phylogenics are consistent with one major eponymous ancestor to these surnames, a conclusion that is in general agreement with expectations from historical accounts (MacLysaght 1985a,b)."

It's hard for me to know what is meant by "...broader diversified lineage" in this context. In the case of O'Neills, I believe it says first that there is a predominant haplotype (DYS signature). My analysis shows at least 26 of the 80 O'Neills had DYS values identical or very close to one another so I presume this is their "predominant haplotype" for O'Neills. The fact that about 54 of the 80 O'Neills did not have this DYS signature seems in line with the quote that "None examined showed more than about half of current bearers still descended from one original founder...".

In the O'Neills the difficulty still remains that the "predominant haplotype" of 26 O'Neills is not the NW Irish Variety/IMH, only 7 of the 80 falling into that category. And, since history/tradition/myth suggests that the O'Neills are descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, what does all this mean?

Ed

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