Group 5 of the Farrell DNA Project currently consists of 16 participants. Questions relating to this group include:
- where did they come from?
- did they arise from a specific clan?
- what was the Irish version of their surname?
- what is the branching structure of their "genetic family tree"?
- 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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) ...
[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
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