Meet Ireland's most prolific high king - you may be descended from him

As I mentioned previously Nial or Niall as we call him was the Genghis Kahn of Ireland and the Isles? Sure DNA can be mutated BUT signficant markers in the DNA study prove that there was ONE male that profliferated. And Niall was the MAN. I am M-222 and you could be too. DNA breaks down the stone walls of paper trails. It proves, as in saving people from false life sentences. But there are many other uses as in Family Research. We need more males with the name Toher, Tougher to give blood samples in Ballinrobe, Conty Mayo or/and Headford, County Galway. You could help others connect to their history through DNA. Gratias.

Almost as nice as James O'Neill O'Brien! O'Briain Abu!

Brian O'Neill...what a nice name!

Citizenwhy, Brian Boru was a clare manand High King and after his death in 1014 alot of his clan were killed fighting the Flattertys of Galway.Not really that many descended from his blood. Mostly in Clare ,Limerick and west Tipp area.

Yeah, don't worry about the Castle though, too late, they just put the M3 motorway though it..

As great as it is to go back,I'd rather look forward to see what will be,not what was!!!

My Grandpa, Bernard Thomas McShane from Balls Mill, County Armagh was a descendant of Shane O'Neill, King of Ulster.

My family the McLaughlin's were Inter married with, and fought the O’Neil’s. In the end the O’Neil’s won.

for some time now, I have suspected Nial of being overly modest. Apparently there were more than nine hostages.

Seems the folks leaving comments here have serious personal problems, for one thing, slave trading was common in virtually ALL societies at that time, saying also that kings raped any woman they pleased, please make yourself familiar with IRISH history, but then some please despise history or may you just despise Ireland!

Perhaps we go back a bit further to the long forgotten race and Lugh The Shining One-the Sidhe- people of Peace. That is before the Celts came plundering and raping the women, murdering the children and enslaving the people of Danu. But I suppose no one wants to believe that we were once slave traders.

Thank you, but I refer my ancestor, Brian Boru, the king who, had he survived longer, would have put Ireland on a modern basis of government (beyond petty clans), imposing taxes (Boru) on all of Ireland. He was also descended from King Dagobert II, last of the Merovingian kings of what is now France. Probably everyone, or nearly everyone, in Ireland, Scotland and England is descended from Brian Boru. So no big deal.

Niall of the nine hostages, what's in a name, eh? So, did he hold and ransom said hostages? Given that the Irish kings of that period held for themselves the right to force themselves on a young woman before she was to marry, I'm sure he raped his way into having lot's of sires on the wrong side of the blanket. As to Henry Louis Gates, You should mention how that came to be, is this known? If so, is that because the connection reveals that an earlier descendent of Niall was a slave owner? Frankly, all this "descended from the kings of Ireland" stuff is pure bunk. It's rather like those pathetic lunatics who claim they were Napoleon or Cleopatra in previous lives. Spend less times pretending to a noble past, and actually start cultivating real nobility in your lives and culture. Here's a hint, I'm talking about a quality of elevation of mind and exaltation of character or ideals or conduct, if you can wrap little you have around that concept.