Sunday, March 17, 2019

Being Irish and Native American on St Patrick's Day

So - I was born, reared, live, and will die in Ireland. In my family tree at Ancestry, as far as I can tell - all of my traced ancestors are Irish. So I guess that makes me 100% Irish? While I certainly feel 100% Irish, apparently this is not the case!

Some years ago I got my DNA assessed by the National Geographic's Genographic Project. Clearly it is tracing my DNA back a long time and the results show a mixed ancestry reflecting a mixed heritage. I am 2% Native American according to my results!


While the figures are very general, it does point out that everyone in the world today is linked in some way. In fact, the common direct maternal ancestor to all women alive today was born in East Africa around 180,000 years ago, and that the common direct paternal ancestor of all men alive today was born in Africa around 140,000 years ago. Not quite Adam and Eve as they lived 40,000 years apart and they were not the only man and woman alive at those times. But only their direct ancestors survive today.

I hope that some of my Native American cousins will celebrate St Patrick's Day today - perhaps even with a pint of the black stuff (which I plan to have later)!

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