O'NEILL PROJECT - Family Project Website

O'NEILL PROJECT

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Group Administrator: Ed O'Neill Vix3205@cox.net

Project Surnames:

O'Neal	O'Neil	O'Neill

Project Background:

This is a study into the DNA of surnames O'Neill, O'Neil, O'Neal, O'Neall and related surnames. It is intended to provide a tool to assist in determining if two or more males with the "O'Neill" surnames are related and, if so, approximately how far back they must go to find a common ancestor. This is a promising new field for genealogical research and will be combined with known Irish O'Neill history to help determine relationships with branches and septs of the O'Neill Clan.

To join the O'Neill Project, click the "JOIN THIS GROUP" button on the left.

A minimum of the 25-Marker Y-DNA test is recommended but 12-Marker tests are accepted.

Anyone with a O'Neal or Neal surname should consider joining the Neal-O'Neal Project as a second project, in addition to this one.

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Project Background, Goals, Results and News are copyright of the specific Surname Project

Project Goals:

For O'Neills, O'Neils, O'Neals and O'Nealls:
1. Bring together persons seeking more information on their O'Neill ancestry.
2. Combine DNA evidence with other paper trails to assist O'Neills in genealogical research.
3. Identify O'Neills, and others, who are related and the approximate time frames for their Most Recent Common Ancestors.
4. Assist in determining the specific location where participants' ancestors lived.
5. Assist the Administrator in determining where in Ireland his ancestors lived.

Project News:

As of today, using all available databases, there are many "O'Neills" with Y-DNA measurements available. They are shown at:
http://members.cox.net/eoneill/

Three groupings are identified: The O'Neill Variety, the Ui Neill Variety, the Munster Variety (Atlantic Modal Haplotype Variety) and the O'Neills of Magh da Chonn. There are other small "clusters" where O'Neill Project members closely match one another.

Project Results:

Updated April 14, 2008.

This project was started on August 5, 2005. Members to date have roots in Counties Cork, Kilkenny, Louth, Antrim, Galway, Carlow, Tyrone, Armagh, Down, Donegal, Mayo, Kerry and Wicklow. Also from Scotland, Spain and Puerto Rico. Other members do not know where their ancestors lived in Ireland or elsewhere or trace their ancestry back only to the US, Australia or Canada.

The O'Neills were kings or rulers of all or part of Ireland for about 650 years and might be the oldest traceable surname in Western Europe, the name going back about 1,050 years. Many branches to the O'Neill clan emerged over the years (Tyrone, Clannaboy, Ivowen, Fews, etc.). In addition, other separate septs of O'Neills developed over the years, including the O'Neills of Magh da Chonn. This project will use the well-documented Irish O'Neill history to assist in the interpretation of DNA evidence.

The Results section groups project members' Y-DNA signatures into several groups plus some not assigned to a group.

DNA Test Results (mtDNA) for Project Members