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Archiver > DNA-R1B1C7 > 2010-09 > 1283438567


From: David Ewing <>
Subject: Re: [R-M222] Clann Lugach mac Laoghaire
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2010 08:42:47 -0600


John says, "...I'd like to know if anyone thinks that DNA supports the
genealogies linking surnames to different sons of Nial."

It seems to me that if we are literally talking about sons of Nial, the
theoretical possibility of distinguishing the lines descended from them on
the basis of Y-DNA is close to zero, because it is nearly certain that they
will have had identical Y-DNA to Nial himself.

The best we could do is to genetically distinguish lines descended from
individuals down each line at various removes in whom a mutation happened to
have occurred. Let us suppose that we are speculating about which of the
sons of Nial two present day families that we can distinguish genetically
may be descended from. How are we to know that these two families are not in
fact descended from the same son of Nial, but from different great great
great grandsons? Indeed, how are we to know on the basis of Y-DNA that one
of these families is not even descended from Nial at all, but rather from
his great great great grandfather (ie, from Nial's 4th cousin)?

David Ewing

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