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Genetic links to the Vikings sought by Irish genetic researchers

Scientists seek to learn more about the Irish and Viking history

KERRY O'SHEA,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Published Monday, October 8, 2012, 7:32 AM

Updated Wednesday, October 24, 2012, 3:45 PM

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Researcher look at the link between the Irish and the Vikings

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In hopes of proving a genetic link between Ireland’s oldest families and the Vikings, a team of researchers will be conducting DNA tests on people from Galway, Limerick, Wexford, and Tulsk in Roscommon.

The research will focus on males over the age of 18 who have an “established” Viking surname.

"Our primary focus is Wexford, Limerick and Galway, and the Tulsk people are our control group. We're hoping Vikings didn't make it that far," said Dr Catherine Swift, of Mary Immaculate College which is leading the research with help from the University of Leicester.

The research will only focus on males as the scientists are examining the Y-chromosome, unique to males.

“One side of the study is the theory that DNA doesn't mutate very much between father and son so it's easy to identify Vikings because the DNA has been handed down directly from father to son," Dr Swift told the Irish Independent.

Besides navigating the genetic link between the Irish and the Vikings, the scientists hope to examine the extent to which the Vikings in different parts of the country intermarried with the native Irish.

"There are Broders in Limerick and Brodericks in Galway. Both are Viking names and we want to know if they are related or not," said Dr Swift.

Dr Swift added, "Irish surnames have very clear ethnic diversity, whether they are Norse, Norman, English or Irish. We hope to see if the Vikings who settled in Ireland are directly from Norway or if they came via England or Normandy.”

The sampling, which involves only a simple cheek swab, will occur from October 20-22 and hopes to reach some conclusions to share in time for The Gathering 2013. For more information, see www.leicestersurnamesproject.org.uk or contact catherine.swift@mic.ul.ie.

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seanomelb | Oct 10, 2012, 06:17 PM EDT

I sailed on the Asgard does that make me a viking.

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Searlit | Oct 10, 2012, 12:04 AM EDT

One thing is very clear. Everyone wants to be Irish. It wasn't just a saying "There are the Irish and then there are those who wish they were Irish." It was very common to hear that said around St. Patrick's day.

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ellenfromcork | Oct 09, 2012, 07:16 PM EDT

There's going to be many surprises in many families w/ all this genetic testing!!

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DrTBowes | Oct 09, 2012, 04:08 AM EDT

You can determine if your ancestors were of Viking origin with a simple commercial Y DNA test. What you get with that test are the names of people with whom you share a common male ancestor, if your closer genetic matches are to Irish surnames then your recent ancestry is associated with Ireland. If your more distant genetic matches are to Scandinavian surnames then your recent Irish ancestors were of Viking origin. It really is that simple. What is truly remarkable is that you can take it a step further and pinpoint precisely (to within a 5 mile radius) where they settled in Ireland!

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WoundedKnee | Oct 09, 2012, 02:45 AM EDT

rpbrown: What you write is ignorant nonsense. There have NOT been successive "waves of immigration" into Ireland. The last such wave was 400 years ago, and created the Plantation of Ulster. See how well Ireland is still dealing with that--it provoked a near civil war four centuries after it happened! Of course the "wave" of immigration that brought the Plantation of Ulster was actually numerically less than the current torrents of Mass Immigration. The Irish didn't get to vote on whether or not they wanted the Plantation of Ulster. And guess what--the Irish didn't get to vote on whether or not they wanted the current tsunami--not wave--of foreign settlers! I can't understand why you post on this site--you must hate Irish nationality. You want to see the Irish homeland replaced with something alien and ersatz.

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rpbrown | Oct 08, 2012, 07:25 PM EDT

Erm there's no such think as an "authentic" gael or celt. Ireland has had successive waves of immigration and emigration for about every 800 years for 10,000 years. There is a culture and a history, but that too always changes.

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seanomelb | Oct 08, 2012, 06:22 PM EDT

Wounded Brain will castigate the Brodericks as un-Irish as they are foreigners.

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aloistmartin | Oct 08, 2012, 04:21 PM EDT

When I. was a Kid, there was this tall stately, voluptuous, Malt Skinned, Blond Haired, Welsh/Irish/Scots Woman, who we called the Green Dragon, because she had these Big Oriental Emerald Green Eyes. I. always said she probably had rich grandparents, one of whom may have been of Immigrant Persian or Chinese Ancestry ? My Mom told me my Dads Great Grandmother ( Who was Welsh/Irish/Scots as well ) had lots of Relatives who looked like that, and that it probably had something to do with the Romans and the Awful Weather :):):)

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WoundedKnee | Oct 08, 2012, 03:21 PM EDT

It's good that they are doing these genetic tests now. In a generation it will no longer be possible to speak of an Irish genetic make-up, as there will be so many Poles, Pakistanis and Pilipinos in the country as to make all such studies impossible. I trust they will preserve the Irish genes for the future, so at some distant time, when the Gael is long forgotten and no longer to be seen on the banks of Corrib or Shannon, some researcher may say: "These were the Irish. I wonder what they were like." Ní fheicfear ár leithéid arís.

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CitizenWhy | Oct 08, 2012, 09:50 AM EDT

From my mother's large family in Clare only she and one brother came to the US. He was platinum blond, with ice blue eyes. She was very light skinned but with the black hair you'd see in a native American, with a sight purple tone, the eyes almost black. Both had very high cheekbones. Except for the coloring, they looked like twins. This area of Ireland, even though genetically Irish Type III, has a very mixed ancestry. When young, with my mother's features, I was often taken for Native American by Native Americans, and for Euro-Mexican by Mexicans. My brother, when living in Mexico, was taken to be Mexican.

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