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

My father's side of the , according to census, shows both Irish and Scottish descent. My maiden name is McGill. I would love to trace my history further but once I get to a certain point, it all becomes shady. I know that James McGill came from Scotland and settled in Ireland. Married an Irish woman, and had Bill McGill. That is where my family tree picks up, but anything before that is a complete mystery.

What an utterly inane offering by the poster naughtius. Well titled, though. Naught out of ten.

if we hadnt have been good at breeding we wouldnt be here now

MairreCeannt -- The * in your brother's Y-DNA results means the lab could distinguish whether he was an f1 or an f2. So, it leaves the door open.

I just love Irish mythology and folklore. Keep it coming

My family name is O'Neill. My grandfather, father and brother are Owen Roe O'Neill. I would love to think my family came from a great Irish King. My married name is O'Neil. Just couldn't get away from that wonderful name.

According to a DNA analysis service my brother used, called 23andMe, this O'Neill Y-chromosome haplotype is "R1b1b2a1a2f2". I don't know whether all the labs use the same designation. My brother's haplotype was reported as "R1b1b2a1a2f*". He wasn't sure of the significance of the asterisk (we both have considerable schooling in genetics). This info interested us because our surname translates in English to "Kent" yet we know the male line is 100% Irish. The DNA results tell us it's not English! Or Norman or Viking. But IRISH. However this science is in its infancy; more will be revealed.

You'll notice that they specified "male" descendants. This is because they are able to document men to within just a few generations. Women -- not so easy. Paternal DNA is passed directly father to son and they are able to read it and determine if you are 1 generation or 500 generations apart. Maternal DNA, although it is also passed directly through mother to daughter only gives them general information, such as,( if you are comparing 2 people) you both came from Syria about 50000 years ago - not very helpful Having a different surname means nothing, it's all about the blood, your surname could have been changed 1000 times thru the years. O'Niall probably translates to "son of Niall". It's probable that one of Niall's sons was named Byrne, which would make his son's son "? O'Byrne"-- surnames were not permanent in those days. So you could be related but you won't know unless one of your male relatives has his DNA tested.

Did he like to drink? That would explain a lot.

On my Mother's side of our family we are probably descendants. Her Father was an O'Neill whose family name was changed to Neill when they arrived in America.

The genetic marker more than likely originated in Souther Scotland or Northern England and was spread by gaelic chiefs when it arrived in ireland. Linking it to Niall is just giving a famous face to it.

Anyone not descended from Niall step forward.

I'd love to know how they prove something like this. My maiden name is O'Byrne so I doubt Niall had much to do with it.