About us
We are classified as being in Haplogroup R1b which is called Clan Oisin (pronounced O'Sheen) so named by Professor Bryan Sykes after an Irish hero. This Haplogroup is shared by the Stuart Kings of England and Scotland and Ireland beginning with James I (1566-1625), Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh and the current male heirs of the United Kingdom, the former Greek Royal House beginning with George I (1845-1913), the Norwegian Royal House beginning with Haakon VII, the former Imperial Russian House of Romanov beginning with Paul I (1754-1801), and all the Kings of the Danish Royal House beginning with Christian I who reigned in 1448. United States Founding Father John Adams (1735-1826) was a member of this Haplogroup. It is believed that it was also carried by the fair-haired Caucasian mummies of Xinjiang in China where it is still found among their Tocharian descendants today, and is considered to be the primary component of the ancient Hittite population of Anatolia. It has been found in burials in Lichtenstein Cave in Lower Saxony dating from 3000 years ago, burials in the Basque Aldaieta Cemetery dating to the 6th and 7th centuries, burials in Ergolding in Bavaria dated to the 7th century, and burials in the Canary Islands dating to before 1360 AD. It is found in such diverse places as Jersey Island, Cameroon, Siberia, Afghanistan, the Dead Sea in Jordan, and Nepal. It is also found in Guinea-Bissau but that is believed to derive from Europeans during the Slave Trade.
We are further classified by the Oxford Genetic Atlas Project (OGAP) as having the Haplotype defined as OGAP2. This is said to be "widespread" in the British Isles slightly favoring Ireland, but the actual data suggests it does have a defined region. It is CLEARLY found at highest incidence in Ireland followed by the Isle of Man and then by North England, Northern Isles, Grampian, Hebrides, and Argyll. Our Haplotype is also found on the Continent of Europe in smaller numbers.
The latest studies indicate that the subclade R1b1b2 originated only about 9500 years ago in the Middle East and expanded out of Anatolia in the Neolithic or Bronze Age. One theory suggests that certain subclades produced a preponderance of males which was responsible for the success and expansion of the Haplogroup in Europe.
Our branch of the R1b tree descends from R1b-P310 also known as R1b1b2a1 which originated about 6000 years ago. This appears to be the subclade of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. DNA testing of Kings Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, and Tutankhamun place them as unquestionably R1b (100% probability with 17 markers). Haplotype examination and matching identifies it further as R1b1b2 and almost certainly further to R1b1b2a1. This places this Royal Dynasty as part of the same male tree as the Lippert family. Our MRCA in the direct male line would have lived sometime in the last 5300-6000 years.
Our subclade is R1b-P312 also known as R1b1b2a1b* as confirmed by SNP testing with FTDNA and EA. It is estimated to have an origin about 5300 years ago and is defined as Italo-Celtic because it is associated with the Italics and Celts who descend from it. It is an ancestral branch of several Celtic subclades including the branch associated with Niall Noigiallach, 5th century High King of Ireland.
We are further classified by the Oxford Genetic Atlas Project (OGAP) as having the Haplotype defined as OGAP2. This is said to be "widespread" in the British Isles slightly favoring Ireland, but the actual data suggests it does have a defined region. It is CLEARLY found at highest incidence in Ireland followed by the Isle of Man and then by North England, Northern Isles, Grampian, Hebrides, and Argyll. Our Haplotype is also found on the Continent of Europe in smaller numbers.
The latest studies indicate that the subclade R1b1b2 originated only about 9500 years ago in the Middle East and expanded out of Anatolia in the Neolithic or Bronze Age. One theory suggests that certain subclades produced a preponderance of males which was responsible for the success and expansion of the Haplogroup in Europe.
Our branch of the R1b tree descends from R1b-P310 also known as R1b1b2a1 which originated about 6000 years ago. This appears to be the subclade of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt. DNA testing of Kings Amenhotep III, Akhenaten, and Tutankhamun place them as unquestionably R1b (100% probability with 17 markers). Haplotype examination and matching identifies it further as R1b1b2 and almost certainly further to R1b1b2a1. This places this Royal Dynasty as part of the same male tree as the Lippert family. Our MRCA in the direct male line would have lived sometime in the last 5300-6000 years.
Our subclade is R1b-P312 also known as R1b1b2a1b* as confirmed by SNP testing with FTDNA and EA. It is estimated to have an origin about 5300 years ago and is defined as Italo-Celtic because it is associated with the Italics and Celts who descend from it. It is an ancestral branch of several Celtic subclades including the branch associated with Niall Noigiallach, 5th century High King of Ireland.