Irish Origenes

18/05/2026

Fantastic map detailing the area between Tandragee (far left) and Newry (far right) along the modern border of Armagh and Down passing through Poyntzpass which appears to have been swampland (long drained). If you zoom in you'll see surnames of the various Planter families and the occasional Gael (McGuinness opposite Drumbanagher Estate). This is the McGuinness clan that would give us the famous Brewing Family. You can visit PRONI in Belfast and view the original maps! Well worth a visit!

17/05/2026

🔬🇮🇪 Your Irish Origin Can Now Be Pinpointed With Stunning Precision
We’re living in an extraordinary moment for Irish genealogy.
Today, a commercially revealed Y‑DNA SNP combined with your Irish surname can pinpoint your exact Irish origin with remarkable accuracy.

In this case, the test subject’s terminal SNP is I‑Y32297.
When mapped onto my Y‑DNA SNP Map of Britain & Ireland, it traces a violet lineage branching from I‑P37 — leading directly to a SNP with a pinpointed origin in southwest County Clare.

And the timing fits perfectly: around 1000 AD, when hereditary surnames first became widespread in Ireland.

Your Y‑DNA carries the story of where your paternal ancestors stood when surnames were born.

👉 Want to discover where your Irish DNA leads?
👉 Curious what your surname reveals about your medieval ancestors?

Get in touch and start your journey.

16/05/2026

Updating the NEW I-M170 Haplogroup tree which covers the 3 main Neolithic Y-DNA Haplogroups in Ireland and Britain (I-P37, I-M223, and I-S2599). While I-P37 dominates Ireland (shaded green left hand side attached image), I-M223 dominates in Scotland, and I've only detected I-S2599 in England (to date). Maybe 1.5% of Irish males carry I-P37 and have an unbroken paternal line that has been in Ireland since around 4,000BC (the oldest). Their descendants concentrate in the west of Ireland particularly along the River Shannon. To date, Ancient human remains that test positive for I-P37 have been recovered from Clare, Tipperary, and Limerick (all of which border the Shannon).

Do you test positive for I-P37? Post your surname in the comments! What will your DNA reveal?

Where will your DNA take YOU? Email Irish Origenes for a FREE CONSULTATION [email protected] I'll put all the UPDATED HAPLOGROUP trees online at www.origenesmaps.com later in the year! In the meantime you can still browse the originals!

15/05/2026

About 15% of Irish surnames are unique to a single location within Ireland. One such surname is the rare 'Cronogue' surname which is also unique in that it's one of the handful of 'locational' Irish surnames that literally translates as 'Inhabitant of the artificial island.' The nearest Crannóg (artificial island) to the Cronogues of County Leitrim is situated in Annaghearly Lough (2.5km to the northwest) and remarkable it may mark the birthplace of this unique surname! What will your DNA reveal? Email Dr Tyrone Bowes for a FREE CONSULTATION [email protected] Explore the Origenes maps for FREE at www.origenesmaps.com simply select a map and place the cursor over the area you want to magnify!

15/05/2026

Pinpointing an Irish MATERNAL Origin
(A Viking–Norman Maternal Line Hidden in a Family Tree)

Pinpointing a maternal Eve using commercial mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test results is far trickier than tracing a paternal Y‑DNA line — surnames and land rarely pass through the maternal side. So you must examine every clue the mtDNA reveals.

My customer’s maternal haplogroup I4a is strongly Scandinavian, and her closest ancient DNA matches come from Viking burials (see top part of accompanying image). But the real breakthrough came when I examined where her living mtDNA relatives recorded their earliest origins. A clear pattern emerged — one that mirrors Norman settlement in Ireland after 1169 AD (see middle part of accompanying image).

And where did the Normans first land?
📍 Bannow Bay, County Wexford — still the area with the highest density of Norman surnames in Ireland.

When I zoomed in on that region, one surname stood out: Warren.
That just happens to be the married name of this customer’s earliest known maternal ancestor (see bottom part of accompanying image).

Taken together, the evidence points to something remarkable:

✨ Her most recent Irish maternal ancestor who married a Warren almost certainly came from southern Wexford (she would have carried a surname from the surrounding area).
✨ Her deeper maternal line — her “founding Eve” — was Viking‑Norman, a woman whose descendants settled in southeast Ireland after the Norman invasion of 1169 AD.

It’s a perfect example of how mtDNA + surname geography + medieval history can reveal the hidden journeys of our ancestors.

If you’d like to explore the hidden origins in your own mtDNA, Y‑DNA, or Autosomal DNA, get in touch for a FREE CONSULTATION — every test has a story waiting to be uncovered.
📧 [email protected]

Where will your DNA take you

10/05/2026

🇮🇪🔥 I’ve just identified the MOST IRISH place in Ireland… and the results are wild. 🔥🇮🇪
After analysing thousands of Irish Y‑DNA results, one area stands out as the most genetically Irish part of Ireland — the place where the population has remained least changed since the Bronze Age.

That means:

Minimal Viking impact

Minimal Norman influence

Barely touched by the Plantations

Just pure, uninterrupted Native Irish ancestry.

And yes… it’s the region where the R‑M222 marker absolutely dominates.

Think you know where it is?

👉 What will YOUR DNA reveal?
👉 Where will your Irish DNA take you?

Get a free consultation on your DNA results:
📧 [email protected]

Explore the Irish & Scottish Origenes Maps and the Y‑DNA Haplogroup Trees for FREE:
🌍 www.origenesmaps.com
(Select a map and hover over any area to zoom in.)

10/05/2026

Horrible Histories by the BBC did a great cover of this

One of the most audacious rogues in English history was Colonel Blood, known as 'the man who stole the Crown Jewels'....

05/05/2026

The people of Ireland and Britain! A slide from my latest talk summarising the findings from hundreds of Irish, Scottish, English, and occasionally Welsh Y-DNA Case Studies. 15 years of research! Watch the full talk on YouTube https://youtu.be/3NA51YDvjIc What will your DNA reveal? contact Irish Origenes for a FREE CONSULTATION Email: [email protected] Explore digital copies of the Irish Y-DNA Haplogroup trees for free online at www.origenesmaps.com

04/05/2026

16th Century 'Spheres of Influence within Ireland.' In 1259AD the first mercenary warrior Norse Gaels (Gallowglass) from the Highlands and Islands of Western Scotland arrived on Irish shores. Their initial role was to assist the Irish chieftains in rolling back the Norman advance that had begun almost 100 years earlier! In time, the Scots MacDonalds would colonise Antrim in an effort to control this lucrative trade in mercenary Scots, while other Gallowglass would also carve out their own territories throughout Ireland. In time, Irish chieftains, Norman lords, and even the English Government in Dublin would employ Gallowglass. Prior to the 16th Century Tudor Conquest of Ireland, stalemate had been reached with 'Spheres of influence' of Norman, Gaelic, Scots, and Gallowglass Ireland (bottom right panel). Will your DNA reveal Gaelic Irish, Norman, Scots or Gallowglass links? Contact Irish Origenes for a FREE CONSULTATION Email: [email protected]