Trinity College in Dublin has released the results of a DNA study on Irish men, which found that a certain pattern of markers was common in northwest Ireland and in men with surnames associated with the O'Neill sept or clan. They postulate that this could be due to what's been dubbed "the Genghis Khan effect"-- where a powerful ruler or conqueror leaves a legacy of many thousands of descendants because of his many sons, some of whom retain power and have many sons of their own, for generation after generation. In this case, the legendary Fifth Century Irish high king Niall of the Nine Hostages may the progenitor of these millions of men.
The media picked up the story, with stories in the Sunday Times of Ireland and MSNBC.
Additionally, a SNP has been discovered that corresponds with this group. A little basic genetics: the numbers on our DNA project table are measurements of STRs, or short tandem repeats. An STR is a place on the Y-chromosome where a pattern of the nucleotides (the building blocks of DNA) is repeated numerous times; for example, at DYS 391 the 10 or 11 that our project members have is how many times the pattern TCTA is repeated. A SNP, short for single nucleotide polymorphism, is a specific location on the Y-chromosome where the nucleotide normally found at the location has been replaced by another, like a "G" replacing an "A" at a specific location. SNPs are what define haplogroups, the clustering of men based on their genetic background. The largest group of men with a western European background are haplogroup R1b, and having the SNP that corresponds to Trinity's "Niall" STR pattern puts them in the subgroup R1b1c7.
Anyone who's done much genealogy learns quickly to be skeptical of claims of descent from Charlemagne, John the Baptist, Adam and Eve, etc. And this study has stirred up a little debate amongst the geneticists and the Irish history scholars. The man with the first R1b1c7 mutation would be the haplogroup's founder, and all his male descendants would have that mutation. Likewise, the founder's pattern of STRs would be passed on to his male descendants; but as more and more generations go by, the faster mutating STRs would start to drift away from the founder's original pattern. By examining the diversity of STRs in men who share the same SNP, you can estimate how long ago that founder lived. The diversity of STRs among men who are R1b1c7 puts the founder back about 3,400 years ago, about twice as long ago as Niall of the Nine Hostages lived. So it's extremely unlikely that everyone with the Trinity "Niall" pattern is descended from the high king. Because of the high degree of correlation between surnames associated with O'Neill septs that the old histories declare descended from Niall and his family, it's very likely that he was a member of this R1b1c7 group, even if he wasn't its founder.
One family group in the Slaven DNA project is definitely a member of "Niall's" clan, and a two more are quite likely. Participant 6897 has been tested and is positive for the SNP defining the R1b1c7 haplogroup. Additionally, through tests at FamilyTreeDNA and DNA Heritage, members of "Group B" have been tested on 14 of the 17 markers in the Trinity study, and match Trinity's Niall haplotype on 13 of 14 markers. Also, participant MSCAQJ is just two markers off and will have the results of his SNP test soon.
"Group A" has been tested on 10 of the 17 markers and being just one marker off, i s very likely a part of the Niall group. If a member of Group A would have a haplogroup test, it could confirm membership in this group. It would also confirm a the tie with "Group B " several centuries ago.
A version of the Slaven Project results table is below, with the Niall haplotype at the top for reference. Mismatches have been highlighted. Note that the results for the DYS 389-1 and 389-2 markers are represented differently than on our project page. Marker 389-2 contains 389-1 and the Trinity study subtracted that count from 389-2, so the 14-30 for 389-1/389-2 on the main project page becomes 14-16 here, 13-29 becomes 13-16, 13-30 becomes 13-17, etc. Also, the way that DYS 461 is reported has changed since the start of the Trinity project; the "10" reported in the study is equivalent to the "12" in today's genealogy studies. As with the 389-1 and 2 markers, 461 is reported here as it appears in the Trinity study.
| DYS# | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kit | 3 9 3 | 3 9 0 | 1 9 | 3 9 1 | 3 8 8 | 4 3 9 | 3 8 9 | 1 | 3 9 2 | 3 8 9 | 2 | 4 3 7 | 4 3 8 | 4 6 0 | 4 6 1 | 4 6 2 | 4 3 4 | 4 3 5 | 4 3 6 |
|||||||||||
| Niall | 13 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 12 | |||||||||||
| Group A | 13 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||
| Group B | 13 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | ||||||||||||||
| Group C | 13 | 24 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 11/12 | ||||||||||||||
| MSCAQJ | 13 | 24 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 12 | |||||||||||
| 6972 | 13 | 24 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6964 | 13 | 24 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||
| N13683 | 13 | 24 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 17 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6901 | 14 | 25 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 15 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 43HDG6 | 13 | 23 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | ||||||||||||||
| 6965 | 13 | 23 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 17 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||
The following are the oldest known ancestor of the project participants. More complete descendancy can be found on the the main results page:
Group A - Oldest confirmed ancestors are John Slavin, born in Rowan County, North Carolina in 1757, died 1851 in Garrard County, Kentucky; Richard Slavey, pioneer resident of the Big South Fork of the Cumberland area of Kentucky; and Robert Slaven, who died about 1814 in Gibson County, Indiana.
Group B - Oldest confirmed ancestors are John Slavin, born ca. 1723 in County Tyrone, Ulster, and died 1788 (or 1802) in Highland County, Virginia; Jacob Slavens, born ca. 1818 in Tennessee, died April 14, 1882 in Morgan County, Illinois; and James Slavin, born in Ireland, date and place unknown.
Group C - Oldest confirmed ancestors are Tully Daniel Slevin, born in County Tyrone in 1774, emigrated from Ireland in 1811, settling in Ohio; and Oldest known ancestor: Michael Joseph Slaven, born ca. 1881-2, Glasgow, Scotland, emigrated to Canada in 1922 and settled in California.
ID MSCAQJ - Oldest suspected ancestor is Thomas F. Slavin, born ca. 1887 in Ireland.
ID 6972 - Oldest known ancestor: John Slavin, born about 1822 in Ireland (family tradition says County Tyrone), died July 12, 1885; buried in Oak Harbor, Ohio.
ID 6964 - Oldest known ancestor: Barnabas Slaven Sr., born ca. 1763 in County Antrim or Down, Ireland; came to America early 1790's, settling in Ohio.
ID N13683 - Oldest known ancestor: Michael Slevin, b. Ireland in 1825, d. Philadelphia in 1873.
ID 6901 - Oldest known ancestor: John H. Slaven born ca. 1846 in Louisiana and died after 1920 in Pike County, Mississippi.
ID 6965 - Oldest known ancestor: Amos Slavey. Parents, date, and place of birth for Amos Slavey, unknown.
Copyright © 2008 Larry Slavens. All rights reserved.