title: A Y-chromosome signature of hegemony in Gaelic Ireland.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Laoise T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McEvoy
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cape
authors.forename: Katharine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Simms
authors.forename: Daniel G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Bradley
mesh_terms: 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*