Every Irish person has about 14,000 cousins (yes, really)

Every Irish person has an average of 14,000 cousins, according to genealogy experts...and you should try contacting some of them!
The study traced back Irish family trees for up to 200 years, and found that each one of us shares thousands of relatives based on the number of genetic eighth or closer cousins we have from one common ancestor.
More than 5,300 Irish people had their DNA examined as part of the study.
Ireland has a long history of emigration, which grew rapidly in the years after the famine, and that has seen the number of distant relatives we share run into the thousands.
One famous comedy duo are living proof of the 14,000 cousins theory. TV presenters Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly were both brought up in the North East of England and had no idea that they had Irish ancestry until they took part in the ITV programme, Ant and Dec’s DNA journey.
They soon discovered that they both had relatives from Ireland and all over the world including America.
But the real showstopper surprise came when the DNA tests showed that not only did they have Irish heritage, they had a much closer connection than they ever imagined.
Which just goes to show, when it comes to DNA and ancestry, it really is a small world, especially if you’re Irish.
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Let us know if you've traced any of your 'Irish cousins' or whether you'd like to meet long lost relatives in Ireland.
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