The Irish DNA Atlas: providing a map of Irish genetics in and out of Ireland - Dr Edmund Gilbert

Imirce - Migration and Ireland through time
NATIONAL MONUMENTS SERVICE
6th ANNUAL ARCHAEOLOGY CONFERENCE
The Irish DNA Atlas: providing a map of Irish genetics in and out of Ireland
Genetic data from a population can help to contextualise historical records and evidence of that population’s history, provide evidence of that population’s size and the existence of communities within it, and inform us about the genetic legacy of past mixing of other populations resulting from migration. The Irish DNA Atlas is a DNA cohort of individuals with regional Irish ancestry; participants provide genealogical data on their eight great-grandparents who were born in the same region of Ireland along with genetic data. The project has successfully elucidated the genetic landscape of Ireland and provided an invaluable reference database of Irish genetics which has enabled national and international studies of Irish ancestry which has migrated from the island, covering Scotland, Iceland, Scandinavia and, most recently, Newfoundland and Labrador. These studies together provide important insights into the genetic legacy of a millennium and beyond of Irish diaspora, shedding light on history and identity.
Dr Edmund Gilbert is a Lecturer in the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences and researcher in the FutureNeuro SFI Research Centre at the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, Dublin. His research is focused on understanding the genetic footprints of human history.

[@hawkeyeproductions7235]

Thank you for making this public.

[@clearytheory8826]

Incredibly informative. Thanks so much for posting. A real public service. So well presented.

[@crazychicksheena]

My dad is celtic Silures from ennis ireland ❤😊i was born in Ireland too my mom white south african dad Irish and am happy this was here to" let Irish know" who they are Ennis county claire ❤🇮🇪☘️.

[@waynemcauliffe-fv5yf]

My Irish ancestors came to Australia. Cheers mate

[@acedagame6531]

Mine came to America

[@francesscully1071]

Hope you come to present in Newfoundland and Labrador. Great talk.

[@sue5158]

Excellent. Thanks for posting.

[@KyIeMcCIeIIan]

I'm descended from Scottish royalty; the story for us goes something like "the tribe of Hercules was scattered to the wind by the Huns and they became the royal houses of Europe." Scythia was completely overrun. Hercules was a Danite Hebrew named Samson... and we migrated to Ireland to be with the rest of the Tuatha de Danann.... AKA the tribe of Dan. What other predominately pork free pastoral culture do you think the Irish came from?

[@bethbartlett5692]

Tank you for sharing this. I look forward to watching., its a subject/information that I've been waiting for ... . Beth Bartlett Sociologist/Behavioralist and Historian

[@irishorigenes1]

Oh dear, massive blank spaces in the sampling from Scotland. It appears Wigtownshire, Dumfriesshire, and Roxburghshire is under represented. Much of Plantation settlement in Ireland originated from those areas.

[@awizenwoman]

Many of my autosomal DNA cousin matches show that their Scottish Stewart ancestors also migrated first to Donegal and the migrated t America or Counties Antrim and Down. I also have a very high amount of Scandinavian and European DNA that does not match my paper trail, so I am wondering is this ancient DNA migration at work.

[@danocinneide1885]

Did you sample any Irish emigrant communities scattered around the world?

[@michealferrell1677]

My Irish ancestor to America is Hubert Ferrell 1645-1676 , he was from county Longford

[@gilbertbloomer586]

Has any work on the Irish, English and Scottish in Australia been done in a similar way to that of Newfoundland?

[@Andrearinald11]

How much did continental celts influence Irish DNA?

[@BobbyTB425]

My last name before adoption was bailey

[@masada2828]

What about the Saxons (German)?

[@veronicajensen7690]

the Anglo-Saxon dna is very similar to modern day Danes and Dutch because they came from Denmark, Netherlands and the very northern part of Germany (northern German dna reads as Danish) but anyway they were Germanic tribes it cant be translated to Germans ,Germans are also Germanic , however everything north of the Roman Empire was called Germania

[@masada2828]

The Spanish were wrecked on the Irish coast but that was much later, 16th century AD, need to go back to 1200 BC.

[@erichamilton3373]

It would be interesting to know to what degree Ulster Catholics also may share this Scottish ancestry.

[@MiloManning05]

All Irish and Scottish people descend from Bronze Age bell beakers

[@gallowglass2630]

asking the wrong question,irish and highland scots are the same people,lowland scots are a different people not very different but distinct nonetheless therefore the question is how much mixing there was between lowland scots who came over in the plantations.

[@gary637]

The Bronze Age Rathlin Island Man genomes suggest his people's ancestral journey arrived in Northern Ireland from Scotland. With his ancestors arriving in Britain via coastal routes and waterways by making the journey through Doggerland, Denmark, Norway, Finland and originally the Baltic region. Most of these Bell Beaker people arrived in from Holland and travelled quite quickly up the east coast of Britain and as far west as Stranraer and the western Isles, then crossing over to Ulster. The Picts (Pechts) are descended from these people. The previous neolithic people had coastal communities between the north part of Ireland and Western Isles of Scotland. The Ulster - Scottish link is very ancient and they left the monuments to prove it.

[@MagicDreamweaver]

You missed the Spanish Armada. No they weren't all slaughtered.

[@jackieblue1267]

No they didn't and this has been commented on by Dr Dan Bradley who said they made no impact on the Irish. "Population geneticist, Dan Bradley of Trinity College Dublin carried out two genetic studies, to debunk the myth of the black irish, and he found little to no trace of Spanish in Irish DNA."

[@MagicDreamweaver]

@@jackieblue1267Where was the sample population for the study from? That is very important.

[@jackieblue1267]

@@MagicDreamweaver They have sampled thousands of Irish that have great grandparents born within a 50km radius. There have been quite a few studies published and there are 2 recent ones looking at the modern day Irish and some on the ancient Irish. The Irish basically descend from Bell Beakers that came approx 4,000 years ago. Earlier populations such as Farmers and Hunter Gatherers have left little impact on Irish today. These Bell Beakers were off shoots of Single Grave Corded Ware and are high in Steppe ancestry. If you want to look up about modern Irish a very interesting study is Insular Celtic population structure and genomic footprints of migration which Dr Dan Bradley was involved in. Irish today plot with British, Dutch and Scandinavian in Northwestern Europe.

[@MagicDreamweaver]

@@jackieblue1267 Interesting. I would say that genetic testing needs to be targeted in specific parts of Donegal if seeking the Black Irish. It is believed Donegal Amy (Amyloidosis) came in with the Armada.

[@jackieblue1267]

@@MagicDreamweaver Donegal has been tested. It is the most isolated area in Ireland and this shows in the genetics. Dr Ed Gilbert above was involved in that. "Populations in the Hebrides, the Highlands, Argyll, Donegal, and the Isle of Man show characteristics of isolation." "Beyond Scotland, we describe the genome-wide genetics of the Isle of Man, as well as capturing novel structure in the northwestern Irish county of Donegal. The Isle of Man is grouped with the southwestern Scottish individuals, and Donegal appears to be at the end of a genetic axis within Ireland."