A Y-chromosome signature of hegemony in Gaelic Ireland.
Seventeen-marker simple tandem repeat genetic analysis of Irish Y chromosomes reveals a previously unnoted modal haplotype that peaks in frequency in the northwestern part of the island. It shows a significant association with surnames purported to have descended from the most important and enduring dynasty of early medieval Ireland, the Ui Neill. This suggests that such phylogenetic predominance is a biological record of past hegemony and supports the veracity of semimythological early genealogies. The fact that about one in five males sampled in northwestern Ireland is likely a patrilineal descendent of a single early medieval ancestor is a powerful illustration of the potential link between prolificacy and power and of how Y-chromosome phylogeography can be influenced by social selection.
Moore
Laoise T
LT
Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
McEvoy
Brian
B
Cape
Eleanor
E
Simms
Katharine
K
Bradley
Daniel G
DG
D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences / Q000235:genetics; D044465:White People / Q000145:classification / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics*