Farrell DNA Project update 2026 - can Big Y take us back via 49 generations of named ancestors to 500 AD?

The Farrell Clan Gathering 2026 was recently held in Longford and I have to congratulate the organising committee for such a well-organised series of events. It was wonderful to meet old friends and make new ones. And it was truly an international event with local Farrells joined by people from the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and Argentina. I was even able to practice my Spanish! 

The parade of country flags through the streets of Longford stopped the traffic and drew a huge amount of interest from local people - everyone had their iPhone raised taking videos. And, to the delight of the local children, the Brooklyn crew handed out free beaded necklaces to everyone along the way! It was great to be part of such an open declaration of cultural pride.

Another high point for me was the inauguration of our new chieftain, Charlotte Farrell. We all watched on the huge video screen as Charlotte and a group of celebrants climbed up to the top of the Granard motte (The Hill of the Sun). Modern archaeological scholarship considers Granard the most likely inauguration site of the Ó Fearghail Bán, the northern branch of the O'Farrell dynasty that ruled Annaly. The inaugaration took place in the shadow of the statue of St Patrick, thus bringing our rich Celtic and Christian heritage together.

Several of the events during the week gave us a rich insight into the past. The visits to Castlecor House and Strokestown Park House allowed us a hands on experience of life in Longford in the 1800s and in particular during the years of the Great Famine (1845-1848). The visit to  Corlea Trackway took us back over 2000 years to a time when our ancestors were building roads with wood. The trackway (in Irish, togher) is the largest of its kind to have been uncovered in Europe.

To see the pedigrees on the wall for the genealogy evening on Wednesday was particularly gratifying. My thanks to Susan Farrall who did a fantastic job coordinating this. Several people made possible connections on reviewing these pedigrees and conversations stretched well past everyone's bedtime.

The Ambassadors Reception on the last day was hugely motivating. It was great to hear what the various ambassadors (there are 15 of them) are doing in their respective countries and all the positive feedback that was directed toward them and the organising committee in Longford was especially inspiring. As the Gathering is only held in Longford every 4 years, I suggested that the ambassadors could consider hosting a similar Gathering in their own countries during the 4 year interval between Gatherings in Ireland. I for one would love to travel to every country that was represented at the Gathering.

On the Wednesday evening (July 22nd) I gave a presentation on genealogy, including an update on the Farrell DNA Project, focussing on Group 2. You can see it here or by clicking on the image below. 

The key question addressed by the presentation is: can DNA take your Farrell ancestry back 1,500 years? This presentation explores how to get started with your Farrell family tree, make the best use of historical records, and combine them with DNA evidence to overcome even the toughest genealogical brick walls. I describe how the Farrell DNA Project has uncovered the Y-DNA signature of the Farrells of Annaly (County Longford) and how, as the project expands, it may enable participants to connect with documented medieval pedigrees. The final portion of the presentation showed how it was possible for a select number of people in the DNA project to potentially extend their Farrell pedigree from 5 generations (i.e. stuck at 1800) to 49 generations (c.500 AD) with a gap between 1800 and 1600 bridged by the Big Y test. There were audible gasps from the audience and a couple of "wows". 

I had negotiated special discounts on DNA tests for the Farrell Clan Gathering and altogether 11 people bought DNA tests at the discounted prices. Several others were interested in getting cousins tested or upgrading their results to the Big Y test.

The good news is that the FTDNA Summer sale has just started (31st July) and the same discounts that we had at the Gathering are now available for everyone. So now is a perfect time to take advantage of the discount on the Big Y upgrade (which would save you up to US$70). Here are the key discounts available but you can find out more on the FTDNA website.

There are several people who should consider upgrading to the BigY test:

1. anyone in Group 2 (The Farrells of Annaly)
2. anyone with an extensive pedigree that stretches into the 1700s or beyond
3. anyone with a known or suspected connection to the O'Farrell Bawn or the O'Farrell Bwee
4. anyone with a known or suspected connection to some of the late medieval genealogies, which include the following:
• the O'Farrell Bawn or the O'Farrell Bwee as mentioned above
• the O'Farrell families of Rathline, Ballinalee, Edgeworthstown, Longford town, Granard, Magh Treagha, Caltragh & Corlea, and Clanhugh

I will post these late medieval genealogies on this blog in subsequent articles.

I have also divided the video of my presentation into chapters and you can go straight to any particular chapter by clicking the relevant link (on the timestamps below). 

YouTube Chapters (click any timestamp below to go to that specific chapter)

00:00 – Introduction & Welcome

An introduction to the Farrell Clan Gathering, the aims of the presentation, and how DNA is transforming Irish family history research.

02:40 – Building Your Farrell Family Tree

Learn how to get started with your family tree using Ancestry, WikiTree and free Irish genealogy resources, with practical tips on subscriptions, AI tools, and overcoming common research challenges.

14:55 – DNA Testing Explained: Y-DNA, mtDNA & Autosomal DNA

An easy-to-understand overview of the three main types of DNA tests, what each one can tell you, and which tests are most useful for Irish genealogy.

17:55 – Case Study: Breaking thru a Brick Wall with Autosomal DNA

A real-life example showing how shared DNA matches, family trees and collaborative research uncovered seven previously unknown generations of ancestors, adding a total of 23 additional ancestors beyond the Brick Wall.

25:44 – Using Autosomal DNA Clusters to Break Thru Your Farrell Brick Wall

Discover how clustering shared DNA matches can identify unknown common ancestors, organise distant cousin matches, and provide new clues when documentary records have run out.

34:30 – Using Y-DNA37 to Find Your Farrell Genetic Group

An introduction to the Farrell DNA Project, how Y-DNA follows the direct paternal line, and how it can determine which of the major Farrell genetic groups your family belongs to.

38:45 – Big Y Testing and the Farrells of Annaly (Group 2)

See how Big Y testing is reconstructing the genetic family tree of the medieval O'Farrell dynasty, identifying branches of the Farrells of Annaly and linking modern families to their historic origins.

58:10 – CAST vs DAST: the Big Y helps validate the Medieval Genealogies

Discover how comparisons between Clan Associated Surname Trees (CAST) and DNA Associated Surname Trees (DAST) provide strong evidence supporting the accuracy of the medieval O'Farrell genealogies and their related clans.

1:01:10 – Future Directions: Connecting Your Farrell Line to 500 AD

Explore how combining documentary genealogy, autosomal DNA, Y-DNA and Big Y testing could eventually bridge the gap between your family tree and the medieval O'Farrell pedigrees - potentially tracing your paternal ancestry back to the arrival of literacy in Ireland around 500 AD. That would give you 49 generations of Farrell ancestors, with a gap of some 3-6 generations where DNA markers substitute for named ancestors.

Maurice Gleeson
July 2026

Project update 2024 - presentation & video

At a recent webinar, organised by the Farrell Clan Association, I gave an update on the Farrell DNA Project and you can see the video here.

Links associated with the presentation are included below.

The project currently has 665 members and you can see the Results Page here. There are 21 groups currently in the project and the presentation focuses on the largest three groups:

• Group 5 has 15 members. The dominant surnames are Farley & Farrelly and they appear to have origins in Cavan / Meath. Woulfe's surname dictionary gives a brief description of a "distinguished ecclesiastical family" from Drumlane, county Cavan, who may have been ancestors of this group. They were "coarbs of St Mogue" and "erenaghs of Drumlane". Coarbs and erenaghs were like lay abbots and helped with the running of the monastery - see here (p23). Genetically, the common ancestor for the current members of the group was born about 1050 AD, which is within the time period of the emergence of surnames in Ireland (roughly 900-1200 AD).
• Group 4 has 16 members, divided into two main branches. In one branch the Farrell name predominates and dates back to the 1580s. Sam Hanna has done extensive research on this branch and has written a book about his research. This branch is probably descended from Scottish settlers who arrived in the early 1600s as part of the Plantation of Ulster. The second branch is dominated by the surname Farris (and variants), and this group shares a common ancestor who lived about 1400 AD, probably in Scotland. The overarching ancestor for both branches probably lived some time in the 1300s in Scotland. As more Scottish men called Farris do the Big Y test, this date could be pushed back further.
• Group 2 has 68 members and represents the Farrell's of Annaly (Longford). Genetically, their common ancestor was born about 950 AD, which is within the timeframe when surnames were introduced in Ireland. Woulfe describes how the clan split into the O'Farrell Bawn (in North Annaly, which roughly corresponds with the barony of Granard in northeast county Longford), and the O'Farrell Bwee (in South Annaly, a much larger territory which roughly corresponds with the remaining more southerly portion of county Longford, extending slightly into the neighbouring counties of Westmeath and Roscommon). In addition, O Hart describes an additional 8 branches of the wider Farrell Clan - it would be great to have representatives from each of these branches in the project, so if you know of any, get them on board! Most of these branches link up with the ancient medieval genealogies, which in turn go far back into the distant past, so having Y-DNA from their descendants would be an essential part of the project moving forwards.

The 10 documented branches of the O'Farrell's of Annaly
- which branch do you belong to?

This 2024 update emphasised the Triangular Interplay between Surnames, Geography & DNA. And in order to figure out which genetic branch is which, people are encouraged to include their ancetor's townland of origin (if known) and whether they are O'Farrell Bwee or O'Farrell Bawn.

We also explored the link between the Farrell's of Group 2 and the medieval genealogies of the Conmaicne Mara (from whom they are supposed to originate). By constructing a CAST (Clan-Associated Surnames Tree) from the genealogies, and a DAST (DNA-Associated Surnames Tree) from the DNA, we were able to see where the two trees (one genealogical, the other genetic) were consistent with each other, and where they were not. Strong genetic connections to the Reynolds & Shanley surname, as well as (currently) less substantial connections to the surnames Mulvey, Brogan, Christie & McGarrell, provided convincing evidence that this portion of the Irish medieval genealogies appears to be broadly accurate.

CAST vs DAST comparison - Conmaicne Mara
(click to enlarge)

Next Steps & further testing

We continue to look for descendants of Farrell families with extensive pedigrees. If you are related to one of the 8 Farrell families with extensive pedigrees that were mentioned above, please get in touch with me (mauricegleeson AT doctors.org.uk). We may be able to sponsor a test for you (if we have enough donations in the General Fund).

If you want to do the Y-DNA test and see where you fit into the project, start with the Y-DNA37 test and upgrade to the Big Y test if necessary. You can buy the Y-DNA37 test here. This link also automatically joins you to the project where I will be able to provide support.

We need more people in general to do the Big-Y test. Even if you don’t have an extensive pedigree, your Big-Y results can add a lot to the project. They may identify additional sub-branches, and they will help refine the age estimates for all the existing branching points. Take advantage of the Black Friday Sales (29th Nov 2024) where you will get discounts in the price of upgrades to the Big-Y test. 

Lastly, here are three things that all test-takers should make sure they have done:

1. If you don't see your name on our Results Page or the Time Tree, you need to adjust your settings in order to allow display of your anonymized results. Instructions here (item 7).
2. If you haven’t done so already, post your pedigree on our Pedigrees Page (or send it to me and I will do it for you - mauricegleeson AT doctors.org.uk).  
3. If you don't see your EKA (Earliest Known Ancestor) on the Results Page, you need to adjust your settings to include him in your profile. And remember to include his townland (if you know it). Instructions here (item 3).

 
Happy Thanksgiving! 

Maurice Gleeson

Nov 2024

Update on Group 5 - Farley & Farrelly

Group 5 of the Farrell DNA Project currently consists of 16 participants. Questions relating to this group include:

1. where did they come from?
2. did they arise from a specific clan?
3. what was the Irish version of their surname?
4. what is the branching structure of their "genetic family tree"?
5. how closely related are group members to each other?

The dominant surname variant is Farley (7 members), followed by Farrelly (4 members), and Farrell (2). There are individual instances of Brazaitis, Roche & Walsh. 

Current participants in Group 5 of the Farrell DNA Project

Most participants have not supplied information about the birth location of their Most Distant Known Ancestor (MDKA), but those that have include the following information:

• Co. Leitrim (x1 participant)
• Co. Meath (x2 participants)
• Kildallan, Co. Cavan, Ireland (x2 participants)
• Drogheda, Co. Louth, Ireland  (x1 participant) 

From the above, it is possible that the progenitor of Group 5 lived in the northern part of Ireland, somewhere between Sligo and Drogheda. It would help if other participants entered their MDKA information.

Birth locations of MDKAs (Most Distant Known Ancestors)

Surname Distribution Maps from the mid-1800s show that there was a heavy concentration of men called Farley & Farrelly in the same general area.

Surname Distribution Maps
(based on Griffiths Valuation of the mid-1800s. From https://www.johngrenham.com/)

Five people within the group have undertaken the Big Y-700 test. This test assesses over 700 STR markers and over 200,000 SNP markers. The results show that the members of Group 5 sit on a branch of the Tree of Mankind characterised by the SNP Marker FT168526. This DNA marker is about 1000 years old, which roughly corresponds with the time when surnames started emerging in Ireland. There are several branches below this branch, and their approximate ages, surnames of test-takers, and surnames & locations of MDKA are detailed in the diagram below.

Time Tree showing surname of test-taker, surname of MDKA, & birth location of MDKA

From the information above, it seems highly likely that the Farley / Farrelly surname arose in Ireland some 1000 years ago. An early branch (characterised by the SNP marker R-M310) diverged about 1050 AD (some of the descendants had ancestors from Cavan), and further branches emerged about 1250 AD (S4097) and 1400 AD (FTB32490). Some descendants of the latter branch lived in Meath.

Farley, Farrell & Farrelly are probably all variants of the same original surname. Further information on these surnames and their Irish precursors can be found here (Farrell) and here (Farrelly). The latter article contains the following references which may be of particular relevance:

Farrell surname variants in Woulfe (1923)

[1] Ó FAIRCHEALLAIGH—I—O Ferrally, O'Farrelly, Farrelly, Farley, &c.; 'descendant of Faircheallach' (super-war); the name of a distinguished ecclesiastical family who, until the suppression of the monastery, were coarbs* of St. Mogue, or erenaghs* of Drumlane, in Co. Cavan, and are now very numerous throughout the county. There was another family of the name in the neighbourhood of Duntryleague, in the east of Co. Limerick, but it has long since disappeared from that district and is probably extinct. (p520) ...

http://www.libraryireland.com/names/of/o-faircheallaigh.php

[3] Ó FEARGHUIS, Ó FEARGHUSA—I—O Farguise, O Farris, O Ferris, O Farrissa, Fergus, Ferris, Farris, Farrissy, &c.; 'descendant of Fearghus' (super-choice); the name (1) of a medical family in West Connacht who were hereditary physicians to the O'Malleys; and (2) of an ecclesiastical family in Co. Leitrim who were coarbs* of St. Mogue, or erenaghs of Rossinver. At the end of the 16th century, the name was very scattered. (p524) ... http://www.libraryireland.com/names/of/o-fearghuis.php

Farrell surname variants in MacLysaght (1985-1996)

Surnames of Ireland (1991) lists the following surname variants:

[12] Farley A common English name used as a synonym of Farrelly especially in Co. Cavan.

[13] (O) Farrelly Wolfe gives Ó Faircheallaigh but Ó Fearghaile, a variant of Ó Fearghail – see previous entry – is acceptable as an alternative. An important co–arb family. People of this sept are still numerous in its homeland as Map, not elsewhere. IF Map Cavan.

Irish Families (1985) includes an entry for (O) Farrelly:

[20] (O)FARRELLY, Farley, O'Farrelly - Ó Faircheallaigh in Irish - is the name of a Breffny sept associated in both early and modern times principally with Counties Cavan and Meath. Their leading family were erenaghs of Drumlane, Co. Cavan, and were also coarbs of St Mogue until the suppression of the monastries in the sixteenth century. The Gaelic poet Feardorcha O'Farrelly (d. 1746) was born in Co. Cavan.

The O'Farrelly sept seated at Knockainy, Co. Limerick, mentioned as such by O'Heerin in his fourteenth century "Topographical Poem" and still numerous in Co. Limerick when the 1659 census was compiled are no longer to be found there: even a century ago O'Donovan commented on the fact that they had disappeared.

In parts of Ulster Farley is used as a synonym of Farrelly, which leads to confusion since Farley is a common English name. Cardinal Farley (1842–1918), Archbishop of New York, who was born in Co. Armagh, is an example of the use of this synonym.

So from the above information, it seems plausible that the members of Group 5 are descendants of the O'Farrelly clan from counties Cavan & Meath. The original Irish form of the surname may have been either Ó Faircheallaigh or Ó Fearghaile, which would have been pronounced similarly to modern-day O'Farrelly. Farley appears to be an anglicised version of Farrelly.

It would be helpful if members of Group 5 could include the geographic origins of their MDKA. To do this simply log in to your FTDNA account, click on your name (top right), then Account Settings, then Genealogy, and then Earliest Known Ancestors. The details of the birth location of the MDKA can be included in both the section entitled "Paternal Ancestral Location" and the section above that under "Name and Birth/Death date" (the latter only allows a maximum of 50 characters).

As more people do the Big Y test, the finer detail of the branching structure for Group 5 will become apparent, and we will have a better picture of which people within the group are more closely related to each other.

Maurice Gleeson

May 2024

New study to explore Conmaicne group of Clans

In July 2023, I was approached by Dominic Gagnon about involving Group 2 Farrells (the Farrell’s of Annaly, Longford) in a study that aims to explore the connection between several supposedly related clans, namely those with the surname Farrell, Reynolds, Shanley, and Mulvey, among others. Iain McDonald will be involved in calculating TMRCA estimates using his comprehensive methodology (1) which will hopefully give more accurate estimates than those provided by FTDNA. Both Dominic and Iain have recently been made temporary co-administrators of the Farrell DNA Project to help facilitate the study. Below, Dominic and Iain give a description of the study, what it hopes to achieve, and how you can get involved. And at the end of this post is a diagram illustrating how the various Conmaicne families/clans are reportedly related. 

Maurice Gleeson

Oct 2023

 

 

Since 2018, I have been a project administrator for the Quebec yDNA and French Heritage projects. During this time, we were able to confirm several French Canadian pionneer's Y-DNA and mtDNA back to the late 1500s and early 1600s, thanks to the extensive Canadian Catholic indexed-archives. (2)

 

In late 2020, I came into contact with a man called Daniel Girard who wanted to trace his French-Canadian paternal line back to France, and find out where in France it originated. We both were completely surprised when the results came back; Daniel Girard’s Y-DNA did not go back to France, it went back to Ireland, and was a match to men called Reynolds. We then understood that the pioneer's father, Cornelius Renelle, based in St-Germain en Laye (near Paris), was one of the Wild Geese - a Reynolds refugee from 1690. The original surname had switched to Girard in the mid-1700s in Montreal. (3) 

 

This is how I first got interested in the deeper origins of the Reynolds surname, and its relation to the Mulvey, Shanley and Farrell clans, since those names all came up as matches in our Girard/Renelle BigY results. 

 

I was put in contact with Ray Murta from the R-Z253 project and he explained to me how the Reynolds and Farrell surnames originated from the same Conmaicne group of clans, in and around counties Leitrim and Longford. He could see that the genetics were pointing to a close relation, as told in 19h century genealogical works from Richard F. Cronnelly and John O'Hart. (4,5)

 

A survey of this literature, with some medieval Annals, (6) helped me to organize this common origin into a basic family tree and I contacted Iain McDonald to see if he was interested in applying his combined formula (using data from SNPs, STRs, genealogies & ancient DNA), as we had done together in the Verdun/Haviland study in 2021. (7) The goal would be to get better estimates so as to define the true relation in time, between the Reynolds and Farrell. This genetic family tree (with optimal TMRCA estimates) could then be compared against the genealogical family tree (based on the medieval genealogies) to explore consistencies and inconsistencies in the structure of both trees and the various branching points within them.

 

I assembled 23 volunteers from among Reynolds, Mulvey and Shanley project members in the Quebec yDNA project and so far I have received consent from 13 of them to use the VCF files associated with their Big Y results (the format we need in order to apply the combined analysis using Iain’s methodology).

 

Maurice Gleeson and Bart Jaski also agreed to get involved. Maurice is administrator of the Farrell DNA Project and Bart is one of the foremost experts on the ancient Irish genealogies. (8) Bart’s expertise will be invaluable when we come to writing up the study for publication in a scientific journal. 

 

I am excited to work on this study with members of the Farrell DNA Project and I am more than happy to answer any questions (either via email or in the comments section below).

 

Dominic Gagnon

Oct 2023

 

Since 2013, I have been working on estimating the TMRCAs that Dominic mentions above. In that time, we have seen testing move from Y-STRs to BigY and now BigY-700, and there have been improvements and complications to go with these TMRCA estimates that have been part and parcel of that.

In 2020, I got the opportunity to work directly with Family Tree DNA on TMRCA estimation. The result of that visit can now be seen in Family Tree DNA’s Discover project. However, this is not the best we can do with TMRCAs.

In 2021, I published a new method to more accurately assess TMRCAs (1), which is similar to Family Tree DNA’s implementation, but makes a few improvements, such as individual treatment of Y-STRs. The most important factor it can take into account, however, are genealogies. This allows us not only to prove long genealogical trees by using TMRCAs from Y-DNA testing, but also use confirmed genealogies to more closely estimate the age of haplogroups much further back in the tree. It’s my hope that, by being involved in this and similar works with Dominic and Maurice, we can produce a much more accurate picture of what happened in the days before the existence of the Farrell family.

To perform this more accurate assessment, I need data from the project and its members. This comes both in the form of genealogies, and the raw data from BigY tests (in VCF format). This allows me to look at quality data for individual mutations and the coverage of each test, which are necessary input parameters for an accurate TMRCA assessment. The more of you are happy to share this data, the more accurate and precise the result will be.

 

Iain McDonald

Oct 2023

A simplified "family tree" showing how Conmaicne surnames are reported to be related

Sources & Links

 

1. McDonald, I. Improved Models of Coalescence Ages of Y-DNA Haplogroups. Genes 2021, 12, 862. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12060862

2. See the Catalogue des Signatures ADN/DNA Signatures Catalogue, https://www.francogene.com/triangulation/

3. See https://www.nosorigines.qc.ca/genealogie-personal-info.aspx?pid=112644&information=Jacques%20Girard

4. Richard Francis Cronnelly (1864). Irish Family History (Parts I & II). Available from https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Irish_Family_History_being_an_historical/ZLFXAAAAcAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

5. John O Hart (1892). Irish Pedigrees; or The Origin and Stem of the Irish Nation. Available from https://www.libraryireland.com/Pedigrees1/index.php

6. For the genealogy of the Conmaicne, see how Muintir Eolais is said to be at the head of the MacRannalls (Bibhsach), compared to Emin (father of Angaile and Farrell), in the Book of Fenagh p. 385 https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/Hennessy_and_Kelly_1875 

For a definition of Muintir:  p. 552 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/t4xg9w70d&view=1up&seq=552&q1=Eolus 

Note: The Book of Fenagh (1516) took from earlier Annals the Conmaicne genealogy. Earlier genealogies are found in the Annals of Connacht and Ulster. See tables 74 and 75 from Bart Jaski: Genealogical tables of medieval Irish royal dynasties | Bart Jaski - Academia.edu. The Book of Fenagh is still important because it follows closely the Mag Raghnaill lordship down to the 1500s, and how contending neighbouring powers (O’Rourke, O’Donnell) “involved themselves” in the Leitrim/Muintir Eolais politics. The way the Mag Raghnaill lordship faded by the 15th century is important in order to understand how its genealogy might have split into different sub-branches afterwards (one leaving Longford); Making the Book of Fenagh: Context and text. Edited by Raymond Gillespie, Salvador Ryan and Brendan Scott, Cumann Seanchais Bhreifne, 2016

7. The Common Norman Ancestor to the Verdun, Haviland and Battaglia Families, Gagnon D. et al., Foundations (2022) 15: 64-85 ... see https://fmg.ac/publications/journal/vol-15

8. Bart’s bibliography is available at https://uu.academia.edu/BartJaski

 

NEW Group Time Tree feature reveals branching pattern within Group 2 (the Farrell's of Annaly, Longford)

FTDNA recently introduced a new feature that Project Administrators have been asking for for quite some time. It is called the Group Time Tree and (like Alex Williamson's Big Tree), this one has surnames of all Big-Y-tested individuals, together with their MDKA (Most Distant Known Ancestor), and the specific downstream branch of the Tree of Mankind on which they sit. But in addition, it includes the most advanced TMRCA estimates (Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor) for each branch in the Tree. In other words, it has a user-friendly Timeline. And this is something that has been missing from other versions of the Tree of Mankind.

This new feature allows us to see how closely any two groups within the project are related to each other. And indeed it can show how all the groups in the project are related to each other - see the diagram here, which shows (not surprisingly) that everyone within the project shares a common ancestor who passed down the SNP marker M168 and lived about 63,000 years ago (around the time when the ancestors of present-day non-Africans first emerged from the African continent).

But it really begins to provide potentially-useful genealogical data when we start looking at the branching structure WITHIN a particular group, and seeing how individual group members are related to each other within the last 1000 years (i.e roughly since the advent of surnames).

Group 2 - the Farrell's of Annaly (Longford)

This is the largest group within the project, currently boasting 72 members. Of these, over 30 of them have done the Big Y test. Previous analyses (here and here) suggest that this group are the descendants of the Farrell clan of Annaly in Co. Longford. 

The overarching SNP marker for Group 2 appears to be BY28646 because all the men in Group 2 named Farrell fall under this branch. In addition, TMRCA estimates indicate that the common ancestor who passed on this SNP marker to all the people in Group 2 would have lived about 974 AD (95%CI 664-1219) - see here. This date of 974 AD is consistent with the approximate timescale for the emergence of surnames in Ireland (roughly 900-1250 AD).

Figure 1: Group 2 - the Farrell's of Longford ... see the full diagram here
(click to enlarge)

However, there is also a clear branching structure within the group, since 974 AD, and this may correlate with known genealogical information about the various branches of the Farrell Clan of Annaly.

Four major branches below BY28646 have been identified so far (see the diagram above) ... and more branches will likely emerge as more people do the Big Y test. The largest of these 4 branches is BY93145 and most of the Big-Y-tested members of Group 2 sit on this branch. The common ancestor of people on this branch lived about 1121 AD (95%CI 831-1349). This branch in turn has two major divisions:

• the BY126923 branch (common ancestor c.1424 AD)
• the BY176936 branch (common ancestor c.1227 AD)

By the 1400s, the O'Farrell clan had divided into two major sub-clans, the O'Farrell Bán (Bane) ruling North Annaly and the O'Farrell Buí (Boy) ruling South Annaly. There is a good account of the clan history on the Longford.ie website here.

The two downstream branches mentioned above could potentially represent the two major sub-clans - the question is: which is which? Big-Y testing of O'Farrell descendants with a family history of descent from one or other of the sub-clans could help answer this question.

Maurice Gleeson

Jan 2023

Group 19 - a new group of Farrell's with origins in Africa

With the arrival of a new Farrell to the DNA Project, a new genetic group has been formed with origins in western Africa.

The group consists of three members - one Farrell & 2 Ferrell's. Although all three participants are not close matches (they each have a Genetic Distances of 4/37 to each other), they are close enough to warrant grouping together. As a result I have placed them together in a new genetic group (Group 19). You can see this on the Results Page here … https://www.familytreedna.com/public/FARRELL%20DNA%20Project?iframe=ycolorized

This latest group of Farrell's belongs to Haplogroup E, sub-group M132 - we know this because one of the three participants did some SNP testing (many years ago). This group sits on a particularly isolated branch of the Tree of Mankind and you can see it below and here … https://www.familytreedna.com/public/y-dna-haplotree/E;name=E-M13 .

This E-M132 branch is 48,800 years old, so it is quite far “upstream” on the Tree of Mankind. In the diagram below you can see that there are 44 branches below it. We could get further information on which downstream branch the group members all sit if two or more of them were to do the Big Y test.

This branch has probable origins in western Africa. In fact, you can see in the diagram above that the top countries in which it is found are Ghana (10), Mali (8), Gambia (7) & Senegal (3). Only 2 people on this branch report Irish origins. More information about the genetic origins of this particular branch can be found here … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haplogroup_E-M132

Looking at the matches for these three group members, ancestral locations for their matches include, Tennessee, South Carolina, & Virginia, so the common ancestor for Group 19 probably comes from somewhere in southern USA.

As a general recommendation, all project members should join any relevant Haplogroup or Geographic Projects. There are several reasons for this:

1. the Admins of these projects have a wider overview of neighbouring branches of the Tree of Mankind and may have some specific insights that would benefit our project members in their family tree research.
2. adding your data to these projects helps the Admins with their analysis. I work closely with a lot of these Admins and they often provide very useful insights to the Farrell DNA Project, including recommendations on further testing for specific subgroups.

Thus, all three members of Group 19 should join the following projects and ask the Admins for any insights or recommendations they may have:

• E1a Project … https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/haplogroup-e-1and-e/about
• E-M96 > M44 Project … https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/e-1a-1/about/background … they may not qualify for this particular project as their marker values for dys391 & dys392 are 10 & 11, whereas the project is focussed on those with 9 & 12 … but there is no harm in asking the Admin for advice in this regard.

There are also some useful Facebook groups that may be helpful, in particular DNA Tested African Descendants at https://www.facebook.com/groups/DNAAfricans/. This is a great place for asking questions, sharing information, and helping others.

The group members should also swap genealogical information with each other and see if they can spot any clues as to their possible common ancestor (perhaps a common location).

Maurice Gleeson

April 2020

Getting the most from your New Big Y-700 Results

The Big Y test changed to a completely new technology earlier this year. It now covers 50% more of the Y chromosome than previously. And so it is anticipated that the new test will discover additional SNP markers that the old technology did not detect. Furthermore, the new SNPs should be able to more accurately date the various branching points on the Tree of Mankind.

It also gives us approximately 700 STR markers whereas the previous test only gave approximately 500 STRs. As a result, the old test is called the Big Y-500 and the new one is called the Big Y-700. Going forward, all new Big Y orders will use this new technology.

For those who did the old test, it is possible to upgrade from the Big Y-500 to the Big Y-700. But for everyone who does the new test, or upgrades from the old version to the new version, it is essential that you upload a copy of your results to the Big Tree so that we can get some essential additional analyses. You will find instructions for doing so on the Big Tree website here and on the Y-DNA Data Warehouse website here but I include a briefer summary below.


What do you get from your Results?

Your results should be analysed within a week or two and you can check them by navigating to your particular portion of the Big Tree. For members of Ryan Group 2 (for example), their Terminal SNP is M756 and you will find this branch on the Big Tree here (see screenshot below). The diagram nicely illustrates their placement on the Tree of Mankind and the surnames of the people sitting on neighbouring branches to their own. This information can be very useful for determining the geographic origins of your particular direct male line and for determining if your name is associated with an Ancient Irish Clan.

Project Administrators can use programmes like the SAPP tool to generate Mutation History Trees and determine the likely branching structure of your particular "genetic family" from the time of surname origins up to the present day. This process can also help identify which Ryan's (for example) are more closely related to each other and which are more distantly related. It is also possible to date the branching points within the Mutation History Tree using SNP data as well as STR data. This process is likely to become more accurate with the advent of the new Big Y-700 data and the identification of new SNPs. It is anticipated that the new data will reduce the number of "years per SNP" from about 130 to about 80 years per SNP. You can read more about this here.

You can also click on your surname above your kit number for an analysis of your Unique / Private SNPs. These may prove useful in the future for defining new downstream branches in the Mutation History Tree and for dating new branching points. But this very much depends on new people joining the project and undertaking Big Y-700 testing (so that we can compare apples with apples). And as this is a new test, it is likely that we will have to wait some time before we begin to see real benefits from it.

Creating a Link to your Big Y results

In order to create a downloadable link to your Big Y results, first log in to your FTDNA account and go to your Big Y Results page ...



Then click on the blue Download Raw Data button ...

Then you need to create a link to two separate files - your VCF file and your BAM file. The VCF file is used for placing you on The Big Tree. The BAM file is used for high-end technical analysis by the folks at the Y-DNA Data Warehouse. You can see some of the results so far on their Coverage Page here (and if you like you can search for kits by surname, including your own).

1) to create a link to your VCF file, right click on the green Download VCF button, and then click on "Copy link" from the drop-down menu. You will later paste this link into the the "Download URL" box on the Submission Form.

Alternatively you can simply (left) click on the green Download VCF button and this downloads a 10 MB file to your computer. This can then be directly uploaded via the Submission Form below. However it is preferable (and less problematic) to generate a link instead.

2) to create a link to your BAM file, click on the green Generate BAM button. You will then get a message that "Your Big Y BAM file is currently being generated" (see below). This generates a very large BAM file ... but it takes several days to prepare so you will have to come back to this page in a few days time! Put a reminder in your diary / calendar!

Uploading your VCF file

Having created the first link (to your VCF file) and copied it, click here to go to the Y-DNA Data Warehouse and fill in the form with your standard information - email, kit number, surname of your paternal MDKA (Most Distant Known Ancestor), and (most importantly) the link to your file - you do this by pasting the link you copied earlier into the "Download URL" box underneath the heading "Raw Data Upload" at the bottom of the page.

If you want to upload the actual file itself (rather than a link), click on the blue Direct tab under "Raw Data Upload" and then click on the "Choose File" button and attach the file from where you downloaded it onto your computer (on my laptop, the "Choose File" button appears to be slightly hidden under some text but it works if you click on the start of the text). 

Don't forget to tick the checkbox to confirm you agree with the Data Policy and then click the blue Submit button.

Uploading your BAM file

Several days later, come back to this same place to get a link to your newly generated BAM file. So, navigate to your Big Y Results page, and after clicking on the blue Download Raw Data button, you will find that the BAM file has been generated. DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT - you don't need to and it is way too big. Instead, click on the green Share BAM button and then the green Copy button in order to copy a link to your BAM file. You will share this link in the next step.

Then go to the Y-DNA Data Warehouse and fill in the same form as before BUT ...

1. select Other for the Testing Lab
2. enter your Kit ID Number 
3. leave everything else on its default setting
4. paste the link to the BAM file in the "Download URL" box underneath the heading "Raw Data Upload"
5. tick the checkbox to confirm you agree with the Data Policy and then click the blue Submit button

Maurice Gleeson

Aug 2019