About us
The Clan Donald DNA Project began before FTDNA existed, prompted by results on the Jewish diaspora and on the Clan leaders by Brian Sykes. It was started by Mark MacDonald and a web stand-alone website developed
by Doug McDonald. This was later added to the first version of the Clan Donald site. In 2024
by Doug McDonald. This was later added to the first version of the Clan Donald site. In 2024
that site was discontinued and results enabled at FTDNA.
Welcome to the genetic / historical study of Clan Donald USA.
If you are mostly interested in getting a new DNA test, go to our testing page. If you do not understand how DNA works to help genealogy, read the material here at FamilytreeDNA, that of the ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy) or Wikipedia.
If you are mostly interested in getting a new DNA test, go to our testing page. If you do not understand how DNA works to help genealogy, read the material here at FamilytreeDNA, that of the ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy) or Wikipedia.
Our Project
Clan Donald’s DNA project, now 25 years old, is among the largest family-based genetic genealogy project in the world. It has now reached more than 3600 total participants.
Originally it began as a search for a way to identify male-line descendants of Somerled, ancestor to many MacDonalds, MacDougalls, and MacAllisters, including our Clan Chiefs. Somerled was an important figure in the history of the western highlands of Scotland. He died in battle in 1164 while attacking Glasgow with 160 ships. His descendants controlled much of the west coast of Scotland and the Hebrides for more than 500 years. This website now identifies a definitive DNA signature of Somerled and, with the express permission of our chiefs, shows the mutation of various key lines within the worldwide leadership of Clan Donald.
The project is currently administered by Professor J. Douglas McDonald, of the University of Illinois.. The project originator and co-author of this webpage is Mark MacDonald, former National Historian for Clan Donald USA.
Mark initially conceived this project in the summer of 1999 when reading a Wall Street Journal article in which Y-chromosome markers were being used to trace the ancestry of the priestly class of Israel. Since Clan Donald in Scotland and Ireland had its own diaspora in which our ancestors emigrated around the world, he wanted to create a project which could both help individual clan members who could trace to the waters edge 200 to 350 years ago but could not cross the water, and provide a means for testing the accuracy of various parts of the history of Clan Donald, the clan’s descent from Somerled, its relationship to the Scottish kingdom of Dalriada founded before 500AD, its relationship to Colla Uais, High King of Ireland circa 330 A.D. and its relationship to both the O’Neills high kings of Ireland and their O’Donnell cousins. He had the original testing ... for only 11 Y-STR markers ... done by an academic reseacher in Belgium. During this time frame Bryan Sykes of England also tested several of the Clan Donald chieftains and found that they all matched, and were clearly not Celtic.
We now have found clear proof of markers, of three types, for both Somerled and his 3rd great grandson John, 1st Lord of the Isles in the official British nobility. John was the progenitor of most of the Chiefly lines. Somerled was of a "Haplogroup" R-YP326. See DNA Explained for an explanation of the terminology. To see how we deduced Somerled's DNA profile see After Somerled.
When we began this project, there was great hope that we would be able to tell from DNA what Clan subgroup a participant is from, for example, Sleat or Glengarry. This has proven to be impossible for almost all people. DNA technology improvements, especially the "BigY" test introduced by FamilyTreeDNA have now produced new markers that indeed do identify Clan subgroups and family groups within our "Somerled" related people. These markers are definitive. They have also shown with 100% certainty that Lord John's male line is of Norse ancestry, and with 95% certainty that Somerled himself was of that line. Historically these lines were considered to be of ancient Dalriadic or Irish ancestry. Dalriada was the ancestor realm of medieval Scotland. There is a purely paper, and earlier oral, line of Somerled's ancestors. Somewhere in this line is clearly a mistake.
Clan Donald has historically associated itself with Clan Colla in Ireland named for the three Colla brothers who allegedly conquered Ulster in 330 A.D. and whose descendants had created a kingdom called Oriel with holdings spread throughout Ulster from Derry through Cavan and Fermanagh in Ireland. Research by Moore et. al. at Trinity College Dublin [Moore 2006] identified a signature claimed to be of Neill (Niall) of the Nine Hostages who was considered to be a paternal line cousin of Colla Uais. Subsequent data shows that he was very likely of that heritage, but not the progenitor of large numbers of present bearers. Despite early claims of specific signatures of individual progenitors, R-L21 for Colla and R-M222 for Niall, it is now known that these are markers for ancestry of a large fraction of men in Scotland and Ireland (R-L21) and for Ireland in particular (R-M222). The most common ancestor of these groups was in 2350 B.C. for R-L21 and 100 B.C. for M222. The common ancestor of R-YP326, and R-L21 was living about 20,000 B.C. probably in Kazakhstan.
In addition to our discoveries concerning the medieval history of the Clan Donald, the DNA results make some statements about where our ancestors were living
Clan Donald’s DNA project, now 25 years old, is among the largest family-based genetic genealogy project in the world. It has now reached more than 3600 total participants.
Originally it began as a search for a way to identify male-line descendants of Somerled, ancestor to many MacDonalds, MacDougalls, and MacAllisters, including our Clan Chiefs. Somerled was an important figure in the history of the western highlands of Scotland. He died in battle in 1164 while attacking Glasgow with 160 ships. His descendants controlled much of the west coast of Scotland and the Hebrides for more than 500 years. This website now identifies a definitive DNA signature of Somerled and, with the express permission of our chiefs, shows the mutation of various key lines within the worldwide leadership of Clan Donald.
The project is currently administered by Professor J. Douglas McDonald, of the University of Illinois.. The project originator and co-author of this webpage is Mark MacDonald, former National Historian for Clan Donald USA.
Mark initially conceived this project in the summer of 1999 when reading a Wall Street Journal article in which Y-chromosome markers were being used to trace the ancestry of the priestly class of Israel. Since Clan Donald in Scotland and Ireland had its own diaspora in which our ancestors emigrated around the world, he wanted to create a project which could both help individual clan members who could trace to the waters edge 200 to 350 years ago but could not cross the water, and provide a means for testing the accuracy of various parts of the history of Clan Donald, the clan’s descent from Somerled, its relationship to the Scottish kingdom of Dalriada founded before 500AD, its relationship to Colla Uais, High King of Ireland circa 330 A.D. and its relationship to both the O’Neills high kings of Ireland and their O’Donnell cousins. He had the original testing ... for only 11 Y-STR markers ... done by an academic reseacher in Belgium. During this time frame Bryan Sykes of England also tested several of the Clan Donald chieftains and found that they all matched, and were clearly not Celtic.
We now have found clear proof of markers, of three types, for both Somerled and his 3rd great grandson John, 1st Lord of the Isles in the official British nobility. John was the progenitor of most of the Chiefly lines. Somerled was of a "Haplogroup" R-YP326. See DNA Explained for an explanation of the terminology. To see how we deduced Somerled's DNA profile see After Somerled.
When we began this project, there was great hope that we would be able to tell from DNA what Clan subgroup a participant is from, for example, Sleat or Glengarry. This has proven to be impossible for almost all people. DNA technology improvements, especially the "BigY" test introduced by FamilyTreeDNA have now produced new markers that indeed do identify Clan subgroups and family groups within our "Somerled" related people. These markers are definitive. They have also shown with 100% certainty that Lord John's male line is of Norse ancestry, and with 95% certainty that Somerled himself was of that line. Historically these lines were considered to be of ancient Dalriadic or Irish ancestry. Dalriada was the ancestor realm of medieval Scotland. There is a purely paper, and earlier oral, line of Somerled's ancestors. Somewhere in this line is clearly a mistake.
Clan Donald has historically associated itself with Clan Colla in Ireland named for the three Colla brothers who allegedly conquered Ulster in 330 A.D. and whose descendants had created a kingdom called Oriel with holdings spread throughout Ulster from Derry through Cavan and Fermanagh in Ireland. Research by Moore et. al. at Trinity College Dublin [Moore 2006] identified a signature claimed to be of Neill (Niall) of the Nine Hostages who was considered to be a paternal line cousin of Colla Uais. Subsequent data shows that he was very likely of that heritage, but not the progenitor of large numbers of present bearers. Despite early claims of specific signatures of individual progenitors, R-L21 for Colla and R-M222 for Niall, it is now known that these are markers for ancestry of a large fraction of men in Scotland and Ireland (R-L21) and for Ireland in particular (R-M222). The most common ancestor of these groups was in 2350 B.C. for R-L21 and 100 B.C. for M222. The common ancestor of R-YP326, and R-L21 was living about 20,000 B.C. probably in Kazakhstan.
In addition to our discoveries concerning the medieval history of the Clan Donald, the DNA results make some statements about where our ancestors were living
long ago, even during the Ice Ages. These are discussed in on FamilytreeDNA itself and on Wikipedia.
We are still trying to match DNA profiles to known genealogies, though we have had very limited success outside the Chiefly lines. If you are a DNA participant and have known Clan ancestors you are strongly urged to submit a Gedcom or paper genealogy to the Clan Donald USA genealogist, whose email address is cdusagenealogist@gmail.com, including a note giving your Clan Donald DNA project code. If your genealogy connects anywhere to the chart on the "After Somerled" web page, please contact the DNA project webmaster as well.
The Ancestry of Somerled:
We are still trying to match DNA profiles to known genealogies, though we have had very limited success outside the Chiefly lines. If you are a DNA participant and have known Clan ancestors you are strongly urged to submit a Gedcom or paper genealogy to the Clan Donald USA genealogist, whose email address is cdusagenealogist@gmail.com, including a note giving your Clan Donald DNA project code. If your genealogy connects anywhere to the chart on the "After Somerled" web page, please contact the DNA project webmaster as well.
The Ancestry of Somerled:
Godfrey MacFergus, Colla Uais, Conn of the Hundred Battles and Neill of the Nine Hostages
Most of the following was written by Mark MacDonald about 2005. It has been updated in 2025.
Most of the following was written by Mark MacDonald about 2005. It has been updated in 2025.
If you are mostly interested in the modern Clan Donald and genealogy, you should skip this long section. Its rather academic!
Clan Donald has always been known as sons of Somerled. Since the early 1400s Clan Donald historians, including the famous 1904 three volume treatise by the Rev. Archibald and Angus MacDonald, "Clan Donald" [MacDonald 1904], have either asserted or concluded after discussion that Somerled was Gaelic in his paternal line. They usually trace his descent from Colla Uais, a high king of Ireland whom the Irish histories indicate reigned approximately 330 A.D. after conquering Ulster. The ancient Irish histories asserted that both Colla and Neill of the Nine Hostages, who was the ancestor of the O’Neills, were each of common paternal descent from Conn of the Hundred Battles, high king of Ireland circa 175 A.D. Clan Donald poetry from at least the 1400s asserted this ancestry. “Children of Conn be hardy in adversity in battle ...” was the commencement of the speech used to incite Clan Donald troops before the great battle at Harlaw in 1411. Norman MacDonald, immediate past president of the Clan Donald Society of Edinburgh and probably the top Clan Donald historian in the world, supported the Gaelic descent hypothesis. An additional historical note supporting the Gaelic descent of Somerled was that contemporary Norse historians treated him as descended from the Dalriadic family of Argyll.
Some modern Irish historians have asserted that Conn was not a historical person but merely a sun god figure and that the three Collas were simply a creation of the Irish great love of triads. Other modern Irish historians have asserted that the alleged common descent of Colla and the O’Neills was simply O’Neill propaganda and that the battles which destroyed the power of the earlier Ulster king were simply fought by mercenaries hired by the O’Neills. These historians also emphasize the subordinate nature of the kingdom of Oriel and its members, the Airghialla, to the O’Neills. To add to the historic confusion, Archibald and Angus MacDonald had chosen to combine the Colla Uais line with the line of Cairbre Riata, whose descendants, Fergus, Angus and Lorne, have historically been believed to have founded the Kingdom of Scottish Dalriada in the late 400 A.D. period. These concerns still assume a Gaelic ancestry for Somerled.
Though there are variations, a typical line is as follows, adapted from W. D. H. Sellar, Schelgel, D. M. Schlegel, and A & A MacDonald:
Colla Uais (~330)
Eochaidh
Erc
Carthend
Erc
Fergus
Godfrey (~830)
[Maine] (not present in A & A MacDonald)
Niallgusa
Suibne
Mearrdha (Meargaige in Sellar)
Solam
Gilledomnan
Gillebride
Somerled (~1150)
Long before genetic evidence appeared there were hints that this all-Gaelic descent was amiss. There are not enough generations listed in the historically accepted Somerled descent. These lie generally in the period between Colla and Godfrey MacFergus. There were also a number of hints that Somerled was Norse in his father’s line as well as the very heavily Norse pedigree of his last and most famous wife Ragnhilda. “Somerled” is a Norse name which means “summer sailing,” i.e. pillage. The early stories about Somerled emphasized his Viking-like cunning. Even though he led Gaelic tribes, our ships were classic Viking galleys, albeit adding a rudder as a new technical innovation. Branches of Clan Donald such as Glengarry used a major Norse symbol, Odin’s raven, as their symbol. Clan Donald prominently displayed the Norse galley in its heraldry. Sir Ian Montcreiffe, the now deceased holder of one of the two major genealogical offices in Scotland, had proposed a chart suggesting Norse paternal descent for Somerled, based in part on the heraldic device of the Norse galley. James McDonald, a former U.S.A. Clan Genealogist, prepared a chart for Clan Donald U.S.A. suggesting Norse paternal descent and hypothesizing the generation in which the male line of the Argyll house had failed and the crossover to the female line occurred. As National Historian Mark also leaned toward the Norse descent hypothesis. One recent excellent book by Ronald Williams, "The Lords of the Isles: The Clan Donald and the Early Kingdom of the Scots", pp. 111-123 (1997) [Williams 1997] suggested a different death in battle of one of the Dalriadic kings of Argyll as the potential crossover point for Norse lineage.
Although there is great historical debate over the paternal ancestry of Godfrey mac Fergus, there is far greater concurrence on the generations between Godfrey and Somerled. W. H. Sellar, a leading academic historian, had closely examined Somerled’s historic genealogy and concluded that it was probably accurate from Godfrey MacFergus onward. The only difference between Sellar and the following is that Sellar inserts a Maine after Godfrey. The Reverends Archibald and Angus MacDonald, in their 1904 book on the genealogy of the Clan Donald [published 1904], provided the following description:
Clan Donald has always been known as sons of Somerled. Since the early 1400s Clan Donald historians, including the famous 1904 three volume treatise by the Rev. Archibald and Angus MacDonald, "Clan Donald" [MacDonald 1904], have either asserted or concluded after discussion that Somerled was Gaelic in his paternal line. They usually trace his descent from Colla Uais, a high king of Ireland whom the Irish histories indicate reigned approximately 330 A.D. after conquering Ulster. The ancient Irish histories asserted that both Colla and Neill of the Nine Hostages, who was the ancestor of the O’Neills, were each of common paternal descent from Conn of the Hundred Battles, high king of Ireland circa 175 A.D. Clan Donald poetry from at least the 1400s asserted this ancestry. “Children of Conn be hardy in adversity in battle ...” was the commencement of the speech used to incite Clan Donald troops before the great battle at Harlaw in 1411. Norman MacDonald, immediate past president of the Clan Donald Society of Edinburgh and probably the top Clan Donald historian in the world, supported the Gaelic descent hypothesis. An additional historical note supporting the Gaelic descent of Somerled was that contemporary Norse historians treated him as descended from the Dalriadic family of Argyll.
Some modern Irish historians have asserted that Conn was not a historical person but merely a sun god figure and that the three Collas were simply a creation of the Irish great love of triads. Other modern Irish historians have asserted that the alleged common descent of Colla and the O’Neills was simply O’Neill propaganda and that the battles which destroyed the power of the earlier Ulster king were simply fought by mercenaries hired by the O’Neills. These historians also emphasize the subordinate nature of the kingdom of Oriel and its members, the Airghialla, to the O’Neills. To add to the historic confusion, Archibald and Angus MacDonald had chosen to combine the Colla Uais line with the line of Cairbre Riata, whose descendants, Fergus, Angus and Lorne, have historically been believed to have founded the Kingdom of Scottish Dalriada in the late 400 A.D. period. These concerns still assume a Gaelic ancestry for Somerled.
Though there are variations, a typical line is as follows, adapted from W. D. H. Sellar, Schelgel, D. M. Schlegel, and A & A MacDonald:
Colla Uais (~330)
Eochaidh
Erc
Carthend
Erc
Fergus
Godfrey (~830)
[Maine] (not present in A & A MacDonald)
Niallgusa
Suibne
Mearrdha (Meargaige in Sellar)
Solam
Gilledomnan
Gillebride
Somerled (~1150)
Long before genetic evidence appeared there were hints that this all-Gaelic descent was amiss. There are not enough generations listed in the historically accepted Somerled descent. These lie generally in the period between Colla and Godfrey MacFergus. There were also a number of hints that Somerled was Norse in his father’s line as well as the very heavily Norse pedigree of his last and most famous wife Ragnhilda. “Somerled” is a Norse name which means “summer sailing,” i.e. pillage. The early stories about Somerled emphasized his Viking-like cunning. Even though he led Gaelic tribes, our ships were classic Viking galleys, albeit adding a rudder as a new technical innovation. Branches of Clan Donald such as Glengarry used a major Norse symbol, Odin’s raven, as their symbol. Clan Donald prominently displayed the Norse galley in its heraldry. Sir Ian Montcreiffe, the now deceased holder of one of the two major genealogical offices in Scotland, had proposed a chart suggesting Norse paternal descent for Somerled, based in part on the heraldic device of the Norse galley. James McDonald, a former U.S.A. Clan Genealogist, prepared a chart for Clan Donald U.S.A. suggesting Norse paternal descent and hypothesizing the generation in which the male line of the Argyll house had failed and the crossover to the female line occurred. As National Historian Mark also leaned toward the Norse descent hypothesis. One recent excellent book by Ronald Williams, "The Lords of the Isles: The Clan Donald and the Early Kingdom of the Scots", pp. 111-123 (1997) [Williams 1997] suggested a different death in battle of one of the Dalriadic kings of Argyll as the potential crossover point for Norse lineage.
Although there is great historical debate over the paternal ancestry of Godfrey mac Fergus, there is far greater concurrence on the generations between Godfrey and Somerled. W. H. Sellar, a leading academic historian, had closely examined Somerled’s historic genealogy and concluded that it was probably accurate from Godfrey MacFergus onward. The only difference between Sellar and the following is that Sellar inserts a Maine after Godfrey. The Reverends Archibald and Angus MacDonald, in their 1904 book on the genealogy of the Clan Donald [published 1904], provided the following description:
XVII Godfrey, whose daughter was the wife of Kenneth MacAlpin, and who was known in his day as Toshach of the Isles. The son and successor of Godfrey was
XVIII Nialgus, or according to some, Neill, his son was
XIX Suibne, according to Dean Munro Swyffine. His son was
XX Mearrdha, Latinized Marcus, and Hailes in his Annals states that Kenneth, King of the Scots;
Malcolm, King of the Cambri; and Marcus, King of the Isles, entered into a bond of treaty for mutual assistance and defense in the year 973.
This shows that Lords of the Isles[ but not in the sense of the British nobility ... ed.] existed before Somerled’s time. The son of Mearrdha was
XXI Solaim, Solan, or Sella, whose son and heir in the Lordship of Argyll and the Isles was
XXII Gilledomnan. It was during the lifetime of this chief that the Western Isles of Scotland were completely subjugated by the piratical Norsemen.
His daughter married Harold Gillies, King of Norway. Gilliedomnan was succeeded by
XXIII Gillebride or Gilbert
Gillebride is mentioned by the oldest Highland genealogist as “rig eilean Shidir,” that is, King of the Sudereys or Southern Isles. His daughter was the wife of Wymund MacHeth, Earl of Moray. He was called Gillebride na h-Uamh, from the fact that during a certain period of his depressed fortunes he lived in a cave in the district of Morvern. From Gillebride are said to have descended – besides the Clan Donald and Clan Dougall, etc. – the Maclachlans, MacEwin of Otter, and others.
His son was Somerled rex insularum, or, as he is known in Highland tradition, Somhairle Mor MacGillebhride.
The assertion that King Kenneth McAlpin married Godfrey’s daughter is quite consistent with typical treaty terms of the period and consistent with significant services by Godfrey on Kenneth’s behalf in obtaining the crown. Kenneth “granted” Godfrey the isles which Kenneth undoubtedly could not control without Godfrey’s combined Viking and Oriel ships, especially in the face of the ongoing Viking onslaught.
Many historians have been baffled by the name Godfrey MacFergus, who the Irish annals say was a Toiseach of Oriel who came up from Ireland in 836 A.D. to assist Kenneth MacAlphin in his wars against the Picts. Those wars unified the Picts and Scots under a single Dalriadic line king. See Sellar and "Somerled and the Emergence of Gaelic Scotland" by John Marsden. Godfrey (Gutfrith) was clearly a very Norse name born at a point in time within a few decades after the Vikings had commenced burning, raping and pillaging in Ireland around 795 A.D. It was not the sort of name which should be popular among a Christian people whose churches were being looted and monks murdered.
At this point the genetic DNA evidence comes into play. As explained here, the DNA signature of the descendants of Somerled is decidedly non-Gaelic. The Somerled signature is very distinct from the dominant Gaelic ones. Furthermore, the signature itself is prototypically Norse, being very common in Norway (and Iceland), and uncommon in other European populations (including Denmark, source of other Vikings.)
Mark hypothesizes that the Norse genetic signature found in our chiefs and other Clan Donald descendants of Somerled suggests that Godfrey was a Norse (not Danish) Viking who arrived with a fleet of ships in Ireland near Derry. As separately occurred with Rollo in his establishment of Normandy, this Viking came to a prompt treaty with a Fergus chief of the MacCarthend MacUais. Those treaties often involved marrying into the family of the local chief or king. Marriage also was regularly accompanied by an agreement by the Viking to become a Christian. There are other recorded instances, such as the baptism and fosterage of Hacon of Norway under the sponsorship of a king of the English Saxons. Whether by marriage to the daughter of Fergus, by terms of a treaty, by baptism, or a combination of all three, Godfrey became Toiseach of these descendants of Colla Uais. Although the term Toiseach normally referred to a member of the derbfine (male descendants of a common great-grandfather in the line of the existing chief), these were very dangerous times for the MacUais. The O’Neill high kings (to which Oriel and its Airghialla were subkings) were expanding rapidly and required new lands for the many sons (up to thirty) being born to a single O’Neill chief. The MacCarthends lived closest to the O’Neills and were directly in the path of O’Neill expansion. The particular branch of the O’Neills were the Cineal Eoghan whose lands were pronounced “Tirowen” for whom County Tyrone is currently named.
We can not be sure how long Godfrey stayed in Ireland until the opportunity to seize lands in Scotland by supporting Kenneth MacAlpin presented itself. This was a strategic opportunity for Godfrey’s Vikings and the MacCarthend to seek more hospitable lands in Lorne (and probably the Isle of Coll which had excellent harbors). The combined fleet of Godfrey and the MacCarthend must have been of substantial assistance to Kenneth.
Historians have long noted that in 839 A.D. the Pictish nobility was decimated in a key battle with a “foreign army.” Before we knew the genetics, our Clan Donald and other historians consistently had looked through the blinders that Godfrey was somehow a descendant in the male line from Colla. Although it is possible that Kenneth MacAlpin had hired multiple groups of Viking and/or Irish mercenaries to decimate the Picts, it appears probable that the ancestors of our Clan Donald chiefs were instrumental in placing Kenneth MacAlpin on the throne of Scotland. In the years succeeding the initial destruction of the Pictish nobility in 839, Professor Alfred Smyth in "Warlords and Holy Men" [Smyth 1984] has asserted that Godfrey’s fighting band was additionally used to wipe up remaining pockets of Pictish resistance.
By the time that Godfrey died in 853, he was no longer simply Toiseach of Oriel but Righ Innse Gall, King of the Islands of the Foreigners. Interestingly, although we have no specific history concerning the cause of Godfrey’s death, it occurred the same year in which Olaf the White, King of Norway, came through the Hebrides to conquer Dublin. Godfrey may well have died because he was in Olaf’s attack path. For the following 300 years, a variety of groups were fighting for control of the highlands and islands.
In any event this explanation, which materially changes our understanding of ancient Clan Donald history,helps explain why the leaders of a very kinship- and ancestry- driven Gaelic society were willing to follow Somerled and his MacDonald and MacDougal descendants even though Somerled’s father, Gillebride, was simply a Thane of Argyle who had been driven to living in a cave by invading Norse.
The nature of the DNA evidence has changed since 2005. We now have some BigY700 data and a better understanding of the DNA timeline. Without paper lines back before Somerled, in substantial numbers, we must deal with family traditions. What we do have are known DNA markers with good dates. We know that Somerled, with 90% probability was R-YP326. We know (see the next section) that he was not R-YP5543 or R-FGC11896 because
The assertion that King Kenneth McAlpin married Godfrey’s daughter is quite consistent with typical treaty terms of the period and consistent with significant services by Godfrey on Kenneth’s behalf in obtaining the crown. Kenneth “granted” Godfrey the isles which Kenneth undoubtedly could not control without Godfrey’s combined Viking and Oriel ships, especially in the face of the ongoing Viking onslaught.
Many historians have been baffled by the name Godfrey MacFergus, who the Irish annals say was a Toiseach of Oriel who came up from Ireland in 836 A.D. to assist Kenneth MacAlphin in his wars against the Picts. Those wars unified the Picts and Scots under a single Dalriadic line king. See Sellar and "Somerled and the Emergence of Gaelic Scotland" by John Marsden. Godfrey (Gutfrith) was clearly a very Norse name born at a point in time within a few decades after the Vikings had commenced burning, raping and pillaging in Ireland around 795 A.D. It was not the sort of name which should be popular among a Christian people whose churches were being looted and monks murdered.
At this point the genetic DNA evidence comes into play. As explained here, the DNA signature of the descendants of Somerled is decidedly non-Gaelic. The Somerled signature is very distinct from the dominant Gaelic ones. Furthermore, the signature itself is prototypically Norse, being very common in Norway (and Iceland), and uncommon in other European populations (including Denmark, source of other Vikings.)
Mark hypothesizes that the Norse genetic signature found in our chiefs and other Clan Donald descendants of Somerled suggests that Godfrey was a Norse (not Danish) Viking who arrived with a fleet of ships in Ireland near Derry. As separately occurred with Rollo in his establishment of Normandy, this Viking came to a prompt treaty with a Fergus chief of the MacCarthend MacUais. Those treaties often involved marrying into the family of the local chief or king. Marriage also was regularly accompanied by an agreement by the Viking to become a Christian. There are other recorded instances, such as the baptism and fosterage of Hacon of Norway under the sponsorship of a king of the English Saxons. Whether by marriage to the daughter of Fergus, by terms of a treaty, by baptism, or a combination of all three, Godfrey became Toiseach of these descendants of Colla Uais. Although the term Toiseach normally referred to a member of the derbfine (male descendants of a common great-grandfather in the line of the existing chief), these were very dangerous times for the MacUais. The O’Neill high kings (to which Oriel and its Airghialla were subkings) were expanding rapidly and required new lands for the many sons (up to thirty) being born to a single O’Neill chief. The MacCarthends lived closest to the O’Neills and were directly in the path of O’Neill expansion. The particular branch of the O’Neills were the Cineal Eoghan whose lands were pronounced “Tirowen” for whom County Tyrone is currently named.
We can not be sure how long Godfrey stayed in Ireland until the opportunity to seize lands in Scotland by supporting Kenneth MacAlpin presented itself. This was a strategic opportunity for Godfrey’s Vikings and the MacCarthend to seek more hospitable lands in Lorne (and probably the Isle of Coll which had excellent harbors). The combined fleet of Godfrey and the MacCarthend must have been of substantial assistance to Kenneth.
Historians have long noted that in 839 A.D. the Pictish nobility was decimated in a key battle with a “foreign army.” Before we knew the genetics, our Clan Donald and other historians consistently had looked through the blinders that Godfrey was somehow a descendant in the male line from Colla. Although it is possible that Kenneth MacAlpin had hired multiple groups of Viking and/or Irish mercenaries to decimate the Picts, it appears probable that the ancestors of our Clan Donald chiefs were instrumental in placing Kenneth MacAlpin on the throne of Scotland. In the years succeeding the initial destruction of the Pictish nobility in 839, Professor Alfred Smyth in "Warlords and Holy Men" [Smyth 1984] has asserted that Godfrey’s fighting band was additionally used to wipe up remaining pockets of Pictish resistance.
By the time that Godfrey died in 853, he was no longer simply Toiseach of Oriel but Righ Innse Gall, King of the Islands of the Foreigners. Interestingly, although we have no specific history concerning the cause of Godfrey’s death, it occurred the same year in which Olaf the White, King of Norway, came through the Hebrides to conquer Dublin. Godfrey may well have died because he was in Olaf’s attack path. For the following 300 years, a variety of groups were fighting for control of the highlands and islands.
In any event this explanation, which materially changes our understanding of ancient Clan Donald history,helps explain why the leaders of a very kinship- and ancestry- driven Gaelic society were willing to follow Somerled and his MacDonald and MacDougal descendants even though Somerled’s father, Gillebride, was simply a Thane of Argyle who had been driven to living in a cave by invading Norse.
The nature of the DNA evidence has changed since 2005. We now have some BigY700 data and a better understanding of the DNA timeline. Without paper lines back before Somerled, in substantial numbers, we must deal with family traditions. What we do have are known DNA markers with good dates. We know that Somerled, with 90% probability was R-YP326. We know (see the next section) that he was not R-YP5543 or R-FGC11896 because
of the descendants of two different sons. Because several McEacharns are R-YP327 but not R-YP326, and the main McEacharn line comes from Gillebride, we suggest that YP326 arose in Somerled himself. The R1a MacInnes (and similar) group and some MacIntyres of Barra are R-YP7, which occurred about 850 B.C.
This is consistent with the above hypothesis, but not real proof.
In any case the DNA makes it clear that some time between Fergus and Somerled the Gaelic line broke.
This is consistent with the above hypothesis, but not real proof.
In any case the DNA makes it clear that some time between Fergus and Somerled the Gaelic line broke.
The Descendants of Somerled: DNA Evidence
The genealogy of the present Clan chiefs is well known. It is presented in Peerage books such as the current Burke's [Burke's 2001]. Sellar [Sellar 2000] discusses the details of the first few generations. The genealogy of large numbers of lesser lines is presented in the 1904 book on the Clan Donald by the Revs. A. and A. MacDonald [MacDonald 1904]. In addition we have received well to fairly well documented lines all the way to Somerled from several of our participants. These are presented in the following descendant chart. Names of near ancestors of living participants who are not clan Chiefs have been removed for privacy reasons, but we have them in our records. The three Chiefs are Sir Iain, &CXYIE, Aeneas Ranald &5XOBA, and Ranald Alexander &ED4CL. The two Chieftains are Allan Douglas &BATPB of Vallay and David Foster &5SFKF of Castle Camus.
Recent SNP results from BigY tests have superseded STR profiles, which are much less reliable, for determining Clan branches. BigY results are used throughout the
The genealogy of the present Clan chiefs is well known. It is presented in Peerage books such as the current Burke's [Burke's 2001]. Sellar [Sellar 2000] discusses the details of the first few generations. The genealogy of large numbers of lesser lines is presented in the 1904 book on the Clan Donald by the Revs. A. and A. MacDonald [MacDonald 1904]. In addition we have received well to fairly well documented lines all the way to Somerled from several of our participants. These are presented in the following descendant chart. Names of near ancestors of living participants who are not clan Chiefs have been removed for privacy reasons, but we have them in our records. The three Chiefs are Sir Iain, &CXYIE, Aeneas Ranald &5XOBA, and Ranald Alexander &ED4CL. The two Chieftains are Allan Douglas &BATPB of Vallay and David Foster &5SFKF of Castle Camus.
Recent SNP results from BigY tests have superseded STR profiles, which are much less reliable, for determining Clan branches. BigY results are used throughout the
results sections here at FTDNA. The BigY charts which were on our old web site are also there.
The key person in our discussion is John, Lord of the Isles, who died in 1386. He is often known as "Good John". He was the progenitor of most, but not all, of those Somerled descendants we have in our study. The calculated haplotype of Good John is the same as participant &PGTBN to 37 markers. We have descendants of four of John's sons. Fourteen of these have excellent paper trail pedigrees and four more a near-perfect one, verified by BigY tests. From these men's pedigrees and haplotypes we can measure the mutation rate of both STRs and SNPs, just using our data. From these we can calculate the MRCA of our lines. These agree well with the ones provided in FamilytreeDNA's "Discover" charts.
Three of these lines, those of Ardnamurchan, Keppoch, and Dunnyveg, are of lower quality than the others. They depend on somewhat dubious links across the ocean. The lines from emigrants agree with the old sources mentioned above up to the crossing of the seas, and the lines in the USA (or Australia) are verified by primary (or the very best secondary) evidence. For Dunnyveg we have used autosomal data (over 800 matching segments from FTDNA, Gedmatch, MyHeritage, and Ancestry.com) to supplement the Y-chromosome data. This allows using a substantially greater number of links across the seas, some as late as 1850. Some of these links are definitive on paper.
Three of these lines, those of Ardnamurchan, Keppoch, and Dunnyveg, are of lower quality than the others. They depend on somewhat dubious links across the ocean. The lines from emigrants agree with the old sources mentioned above up to the crossing of the seas, and the lines in the USA (or Australia) are verified by primary (or the very best secondary) evidence. For Dunnyveg we have used autosomal data (over 800 matching segments from FTDNA, Gedmatch, MyHeritage, and Ancestry.com) to supplement the Y-chromosome data. This allows using a substantially greater number of links across the seas, some as late as 1850. Some of these links are definitive on paper.
The statistical estimates of DNA validity are just short of being conclusive.
The complete genealogy is on the following chart. The green boxes at the bottom indicate men for whom BigY data is available.
The complete genealogy is on the following chart. The green boxes at the bottom indicate men for whom BigY data is available.
To see the chart its safest to right click on the link just below and open in a new tab or window ... its rather large.
BigY results show another mutation, known as CLD56, that was persent in Lord John himself. This ia not a SNP but a rather gigantic delete (9415 bases) that occurred in a region containing large numbers of a 125 base pair repeat unit. So far CLD56 been testable only by BigY or other full sequence tests and requires special data processing (not done by FamilytreeDNA). We believe that it most likely (95%) arose in Good John himself, as it appears in the descendants of all his sons, but not in a participant thought to be of the original Glencoe line, which branches off from Lord John's brother. (Most Glencoe descendants descend from an R1b non-paternity even that occurred very early.) But this is insufficient to prove conclusively that CLD56 did not arise in Angus Og. There is also an STR marker, DYS458, that parallels CLD56: it is 15 for all except one Scandinavian and SCottish R1a men who are not CLD56 and 16 for those that are.
Our project has several R1a McAlisters, MacAllisters, and Alexanders. Alexander is considered a variant of MacAlister. For none of these do we have full paper trails, though the ones with listed lines have family tradition that they originate from the listed line. All these men, as well as all CLD56 ones, bear the marker FGC11896, which must thus have been present in both Angus Mor and Allister Mor, and thus in Donald MacRanald.
Proof of the line of Somerled himself has now become quite secure. The best evidence that he was the paternal grandfather of Donald comes from the BigY results of the MacEacharn/MacEachron lines and MacDougalls. The MacEacharns have an oral tradition of being descendants of Somerled's near ancestors and, interestingly, these tales agree with the DNA results in their order of branching off. We now have obtained BigY results from several R1a persons born with the surname MacDougall. These men, as shown on our BigY DNA page, match the McAlister pattern of STRs rather than that of Lord John, and have a unique SNP, YP5543. This is now excellent evidence that there really are living all-male line descendants of Dugall, another son of Somerled said to be a progenitor of the name MacDougall. But absolute proof of the line through Somerled to Donald still remains just beyond reach, as we consider that it requires a full documented paper trail back to Somerled's day, in addition to the DNA evidence, and that is lacking.
By looking up the number of men in the USA, the UK, and Australia, and estimating the number in Canada, whose surname is McDonald, MacDonald, or McDaniel (strangely, MacDaniel is exceedingly rare everywhere) and multiplying by the percentage in our project who are descendants of Somerled (19%), we estimate that Somerled has over 43,000 pure male line descendants worldwide.
Our project has several R1a McAlisters, MacAllisters, and Alexanders. Alexander is considered a variant of MacAlister. For none of these do we have full paper trails, though the ones with listed lines have family tradition that they originate from the listed line. All these men, as well as all CLD56 ones, bear the marker FGC11896, which must thus have been present in both Angus Mor and Allister Mor, and thus in Donald MacRanald.
Proof of the line of Somerled himself has now become quite secure. The best evidence that he was the paternal grandfather of Donald comes from the BigY results of the MacEacharn/MacEachron lines and MacDougalls. The MacEacharns have an oral tradition of being descendants of Somerled's near ancestors and, interestingly, these tales agree with the DNA results in their order of branching off. We now have obtained BigY results from several R1a persons born with the surname MacDougall. These men, as shown on our BigY DNA page, match the McAlister pattern of STRs rather than that of Lord John, and have a unique SNP, YP5543. This is now excellent evidence that there really are living all-male line descendants of Dugall, another son of Somerled said to be a progenitor of the name MacDougall. But absolute proof of the line through Somerled to Donald still remains just beyond reach, as we consider that it requires a full documented paper trail back to Somerled's day, in addition to the DNA evidence, and that is lacking.
By looking up the number of men in the USA, the UK, and Australia, and estimating the number in Canada, whose surname is McDonald, MacDonald, or McDaniel (strangely, MacDaniel is exceedingly rare everywhere) and multiplying by the percentage in our project who are descendants of Somerled (19%), we estimate that Somerled has over 43,000 pure male line descendants worldwide.