Finding Grace - project update 2025

We started the Finding Grace project back in 2022 and quickly identified 13 people whose genealogies recorded their likely descent from Dermot O'Malley (born about 1400), the 2x great grandfather of Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen (1530-1604). We divided these people into 3 distinct branches (Lines 1, 2 & 3), based on the genealogies that we had for them, and then set about testing them, initially with the Y-DNA37 test and then upgrading them to the Big Y test if their initial results indicated that they belonged to Group 3a of the project (the Mayo O'Malleys).

There were quite a few surprises within the results:

Line 2 (the Kilmilkin O'Malley's, whose genealogies show descent from "Seán na Firinne" O'Malley) formed their own distinct genetic group (Group 3g, characterised by the DNA marker FTC36168) which was completely separate from Group 3a. This suggested that either their recorded genealogy was incorrect or that there was some sort of DNA switch on their direct-male-line since 1400 AD. The supposed descent of "Seán na Firinne" from Grace O’Malley’s uncle was popularised by Dr Austin O’Malley of Philadelphia, whose research into O’Malley genealogy has come into question, so perhaps it is not too surprising  to find such an error in his account.

Line 1 represents descendants of Edmond O’Malley, last Chieftain of Cahernamart, whose father Owen became Chieftain in 1586, and was himself a descendant of Grace's putative brother Melaghlin. This line  consists of both the Ross House O'Malley's and a line of O'Malley's from Achill. Their common ancestor is recorded as Teige O'Malley (born c.1665), but the Y-DNA results did not support this connection. In fact, the results indicated that the common ancestor between the Ross House O'Malley's and the Achill O'Malley's passed on the DNA marker FT86146 and lived about 1264 AD (and not 1665). In addition, the Ross House O'Malley's carried the DNA marker FTC67000 ... and this linked them to Line 3 ... but not in the way we expected. More on this below.

This line would have included the O’Malleys of Hawthorn Lodge and of Philadelphia, but unfortunately their direct-male-lines have gone extinct. One of the members of this family was Sir Owen O'Malley who was an avid O'Malley genealogist and many of his papers are in the National Library of Ireland and the National University of Ireland, Galway. If we can find an envelope with a stamp on it amongst his papers, we may be able to get his DNA from it. This is an option for some time in the future as the technology evolves and improves.

Line 3 is the Ballyburke O'Malley's, descendants of Owen of Burrishoole (born c.1650), who in turn is a descendant of Dermot (born c.1400), the 2x great grandfather of Grace O'Malley. The two people in Line 3 shared the DNA marker FTC67000 in common with the Ross House O'Malley's. And indeed we were expecting such a connection because their common ancestor according to the genealogies was Dermot (born c.1400), the 2x great grandfather of Grace O'Malley. However, the age estimate for this branch came back as 1670 AD, almost 300 years later than the estimated birth year of Dermot 1400. So it appears that the Ross House & Ballyburke O'Malley's share a common ancestor a lot more recently than 1400 AD. And the current age estimate for their shared DNA marker (FTC67000) is much more in keeping with Owen of Burrishoole (born c.1650) than with Dermot 1400. So what's going on? Is one of the genealogies incorrect? And if so, which one?

The three recorded lines of descent from Dermot O'Malley c.1400
with the superimposed DNA tree showing it does not fit

To address the disagreement between the DNA test results and the genealogies, we are currently compiling detailed "proof arguments" for each of these genealogies to see if we can detect where any inaccuracies may lie, that might explain these unexpected findings. It is not an easy task and this deep dive entails exploring a variety of rarer documentary sources.

In summary, we have the Ballyburke and Ross House lines who seem to descend from Owen of Burrishoole (born in 1650) and who both descend from a common ancestor with the Achill line who lived around 1260. So, our current working theory is as follows:

1. the genealogy for the Ballyburke O'Malley's is correct and that there is an error in the genealogy of the Ross House O'Malley's.
2. both lines go back to Owen of Burrishoole 1650 (and from there back to Dermot 1400).
3. the DNA marker FTA85293 may have been passed on by Dermot 1400, or by one of his immediate ancestors or descendants. 

Following on from point 3 above, people on the FTA85293 branch appear to be the most closely related to the royal line / chieftain line of Grace O'Malley (1530-1604). These include the Michigan O'Malley's, the Mealue family, and an O'Malley from Kilgeever (near Louisburgh, Mayo). In the diagram at the end of this article, you can see where the above results fit into the broader "genetic family tree" for Group 3a. 

In parallel, we continue to search for "extensive lineages" to test in the hope that this might throw some additional light on the current situation.

One such endeavour involves a French family which has a recorded pedigree that goes back to a Gilbert Mallet / Malley in the late 1500s. We have identified several direct-male-lines to test and have attempted contact with several French individuals but as yet we have not received any productive replies. In addition, as commercial DNA testing is technically illegal in France, we will have to find a creative way of getting hold of their DNA (possibly via Belgium's postal service) or get legal advice. One article reports that "a research participant can provide a genetic sample for scientists to answer a specific question". So this may be our escape clause.

The Family Tree of Gilbert Mallet / Malley c1585-c1650
- was he a cousin of Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen?
- will a direct-male-line descendant agree to test?

Another avenue of enquiry involved the Hazelrock O'Malley's (now living in Connecticut), who are reported to be another set of descendants of Owen of Burrishoole. One member of the family recently did the Y-DNA37 test, which indicated that he belonged to Group 3a. He was then upgraded to the Big Y test, but the results (which came back after the recent Gathering) indicated that he does not sit on the FTC67000 branch with the Ross House & Ballyburke O'Malley's, but rather on a separate distinct branch characterised by the DNA marker FTA88222. One other person sits on this branch, and their common ancestor lived about 1479 AD. Immediately above their branch is the BY35760 branch, and this indicates that the common ancestor that they share with almost everyone else in Group 3a lived about 1080 AD.

The O'Malley's of Hazelrock & "King" O'Malley of Australia

However, thanks to some sterling research carried out by Brian O'Malley, and documented in his book "How James Became King: The True Story of James 'King' O'Malley", one member of this particular family appears to be "King" O'Malley, the famous / infamous Australian politician. And thus these results will apply to this particularly famous O'Malley individual. You can learn more about this fascinating story in this podcast here.

We are also working to help various branches of Mayo O’Malleys to compile family trees and combine them with DNA testing in order to flesh out the overall picture. It may well be that we find further connections to the key genetic markers we have identified so far. It remains clear that the more people who take a test and join our project, the greater our chances of homing on Grace’s genetic history.

So that's where we are with the Finding Grace project in August 2025. 

The search for informative data continues.

Maurice Gleeson

Brendan O'Malley

August 2025

O'Malley Group 3a - the Mayo O'Malley's (update July 2025)

Group 3a is the largest group within the O'Malley DNA Project. Currently there are 61 members in this group and this accounts for 47% of all project members who have been allocated to Groups 1 to 7 inclusive. 

Surname variants within the group are as follows: 

• O'Malley (46), O'Malley-Keyes (1), Malley (3), Maley (2), Melia (2), Mealue (2).

Birth locations for the Earliest Known Ancestors (EKAs) were recorded for 20 participants and of these 14 (70%) had origins in Mayo.

Given the above, Group 3a likely represents the descendants of the O'Malley Clan of Mayo, as described in the medieval genealogies and historical texts (see also the last section of this previous post). And of course, among their number is Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen. So every member of Group 3a can claim kinship with Grace O'Malley.

Of the 61 members, 40 (66%) have done the Big Y test and the results of these tests have allowed us to create a comprehensive genetic family tree for the Mayo O'Malley's that reveals an extensive branching structure. This is illustrated in FTDNA's Group Time Tree. The diagram is quite big so it has been appended in 3 parts to the end of this article (with dates and some notes from me - click each part to enlarge it). Some recent data (branch FTF13789) has not yet been added to the Time Tree so this has been inserted manually by me.

The overarching DNA marker for this group was BY35730 as it encompassed all men with the O'Malley surname. However, there's a problem. 

Back in June 2022 the age estimate for this branch was 1029 AD, which is well within the Surname Emergence Era (roughly 950-1150 AD). However, all estimates evolve over time (as more data becomes available) and this particular estimate (1029 AD) was refined to 885 AD by August 2022 and 802 AD by September 2022. And now (in July 2025) it has been further refined to 711 AD, well before the Surname Emergence Era. So this suggests that the Maley surname of the single individual on the BY35730 branch may have arisen independently of everybody else in Group 3a. 

But we cannot be certain that this is indeed the case, because the range (i.e. 95% Confidence Interval) around the current estimate (711 AD) is 362-993 AD ... and the upper end of this range does fall within the Surname Emergence Era (950-1150 AD). So we will have to wait and see how this situation evolves over time as more data is added to the Time Tree and the age estimates are further refined. 

The age estimate for the previous over-arching DNA marker is now 711 AD.
The Surname Emergence Era is indicated by the green bar.
Click to enlarge

If however this is the case (i.e.  that the surname of the single Maley man on the BY35730 branch arose independently of everybody else in Group 3a), then the new "overarching DNA marker" for the group would be one step further downstream, namely BY35760, which has a (current) age estimate of 1080 AD (range 840-1275). This is well within the Surname Emergence Era (roughly 950-1150 AD) and therefore this DNA marker may very well have been passed on by someone within a few generations of the progenitor of the O'Malley surname, if not by the progenitor himself.

Immediately below BY35760, there are 3 branches with 41 people on them - the first branch (FTA88222) has currently only 2 people sitting on it; the third one (FTC73000) has only 3 participants; but the second one (FT86146) has 35 occupants (on 12 sub-branches), and is thus the most prolific branch within Group 3a. This would be in keeping with descendants of a royal line, whose members probably had access to a better lifestyle than their less well-off cousins.

The Group Time Tree diagram below is supplemented with the current age estimate for each branch (in red text), the number of SNP markers associated with each branch (in blue text), and an indication of the key families in the Finding Grace project. It also includes a yellow dot to mark the approximate birth year of the EKA (Earliest Known Ancestor) for each of the O'Malley men who have supplied that information. Click on each section to enlarge it.

You can see that most of the project members have recorded genealogies that hit a Brick Wall somewhere between 1780-1830. This leaves about 800 years of their O'Malley family history unaccounted for. But there are a few participants (in the Finding Grace project) who have recorded genealogies that go back to the 1600s with some degree of confidence, and back further than that to Dermot 1400 (2x great grandfather of Grace O'Malley, tentatively indicated by the red dot below, close to FTA85293), and back even further to the progenitor of the O'Malley surname (about 1000 AD). But these need to be validated with appropriate "proof arguments", which may be impossible given the lack of primary source records. In addition, we know from the Finding Grace project that some of the genealogies are incorrect ... and that is a topic for discussion in the next blog article.

Maurice Gleeson

July 2025

O'Malley Group 3 update Part 2: Groups 3e to 3i (July 2025)

This is Part 2 of a summary of the current status of the Group 3 subgroups. The previous post (Part 1) covered Groups 3a1 to 3d.

Groups 3e & 3f - need revision

As I mentioned at the recent Clan Gathering, these groups needed some reorganisation. There is only 1 person in Group 3e (a Molloy man) and 9 in Group 3f (eight O'Malley's and a Mealey). 

The former Groups 3e & 3f on the project's Y-DNA Results Page

Several of the group members have now done the Big Y test (see the last column above) and looking at where they all sit on the Tree of Mankind (aka Y-Haplotree) indicates that they all share a common ancestor >1000 years ago and therefore should belong in separate subgroups, rather than being grouped together. Accordingly, I have reorganised them into Groups 3e, 3f, 3h and 3i. Group 3g already exists (and is discussed below).

Time Tree showing branch A10528 (red icon). 
The Surname Emergence Era is marked on the timescale by the green bar.
(click to enlarge)

Group 3e - Molloy / Malloy (since 1650?) ... BY71053

The Group 3e individual (a Molloy) stays in his current group. His Big Y results currently place him on the BY71053 branch, which has an age estimate of 1110 AD (see diagram below in Group 3f section). There are 4 people on this branch but they all have different surnames (Molloy, Joyce, McNamara, & Gaitens) so there is no dominant surname on this branch and this limits our ability to develop theories regarding its evolution.

Among his Y-STR matches, he matches a man called Malloy, who has not done the Big Y test but has tested to Y-DNA111. Their Genetic Distance is 5/111 and the Time Predictor tool estimates that the common ancestor may have lived about 1650 (but with a large range of 1450-1800). 

If his match did the Big Y test we would get a more precise age estimate for their common ancestor. But nevertheless, it looks like this particular branch is quite old and the Molloy / Malloy surname may have been associated with this particular DNA signature for at least the last 400 years or so. So the chances of a Surname / DNA Switch prior to this time (i.e. between 1000 AD and 1650 AD) is about 21-36%.

Most of his stronger matches are from Ireland so this was probably the place of origin for his direct male line. Remaining questions include: where in Ireland did the surname arise? and when?

Map showing ancestral origins of top 111-marker matches

Group 3f - O'Malley, since 1350? Mayo? ... FT375497

Four individuals remain in Group 3f, all with the surname O'Malley. Three of them have done the Big Y test, and the fourth has tested to 37 markers.

The revised Groups 3f on the project's Y-DNA Results Page

The Time Tree below shows that all three Big-Y testers share a common ancestor who passed on the DNA marker FT375497 (red icon below) to them all, and he lived about 1355. Two of the men share a more recent common ancestor who passed on the DNA marker FT375593 and he was born about 1649. 

Note that one of the Big Y test-takers who sit on this branch (FT375497) is a man called Byrne whose EKA (Earliest Known Ancestor) was a Byrne (born 1824). So there was probably a DNA switch somewhere along this man's direct-male-line, which resulted with the Byrne surname becoming associated with "O'Malley 3f" DNA. Where, when and why this happened currently remains a mystery.

Time Tree showing branches BY71053 (Group 3e) and FT375497 (Group 3f; red icon). 
The Surname Emergence Era is marked on the timescale by the green bar.
(click to enlarge)

So from the above analysis we can deduce that the O'Malley surname has been associated with the particular DNA signature of the men in this group for about the last 700 years at least (or thereabouts). And the chances of there being some sort of Surname / DNA Switch prior to that (between 1000 AD & 1355 AD) is about 12-20%.

Ancestral locations provided by two of the four men include: a) Rabaun, Deerpark, Co. Mayo, Ireland; b) Co. Mayo, Ireland. The Matches Map of one of the members shows Ireland as a place of origin for many of the stronger matches with a preponderance of locations in the northwestern half of Ireland. So it may be that this particular group originated in Mayo or somewhere nearby.

Map showing ancestral origins of top 111-marker matches

Group 3g - the Kilmilkin O'Malley's of "Seán na Firinne"; since 1500? ... BY152739

There are 9 men in this group, six of them with the surname O'Malley. Three have different names - O'Neill, Kerrigan & Doe. 

Group 3g on the project's Y-DNA Results Page

Seven of these men have done the Big Y test, most of them as part of the ongoing Finding Grace project, because their recorded genealogies suggested that they were descendants of "Seán na Firinne" O'Malley (i.e. "John the Truthful"), who in turn was a descendant of Dermot O'Malley, born about 1490, who was the paternal uncle of Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen. A pedigree chart illustrates this below.

Descendants of "Seán na Firinne" O'Malley (c.1740) as well as
his line of descent from Dermot O'Malley (c.1490)
and the 3 Big Y test-takers (blue boxes, blue lines)
and their associated DNA markers FTC36168 & FTC27440

The Time Tree (below) shows that the 6 O'Malley men share a common ancestor who passed on (to all of them) the DNA marker BY152739. This common ancestor was born about 1505 AD, and this genetic estimate is close to the estimated birth year of Dermot O'Malley (c.1490) from the recorded genealogies, so it could be that this DNA marker arose in Dermot and he passed it on to all his descendants. However, it is equally plausible that the DNA marker arose a few generations above Dermot or a few generations below him - it is impossible (with the available data) to pinpoint exactly when and in whom the DNA marker first arose. It's like playing DNA "pin the tail" with a blindfold.

"I think I know where to put this ..."

The BY152739 branch splits into two sub-branches. The FTC36168 sub-branch has an age estimate of 1569 AD (range 1292-1761), which falls between Thomas Óg O'Malley (born 1553) and his son Tuathal (Too-hill) O'Malley (born 1583) in the recorded genealogies (see second figure above). So this particular DNA marker may have arisen in either of these men, or a few generations above them, or a few generations below them, and was passed down to Seán na Firinne, who in turn passed it down to all his descendants. This assumes that the recorded genealogies are correct, which may not be the case.

Time Tree showing branch BY152739 (red icon). 
The Surname Emergence Era is marked on the timescale by the green bar.
(click to enlarge)

A further sub-branch below this (FTC27440) has an age estimate of 1824 (range 1644-1936), which is reasonably close to the birth year of the common ancestor recorded in the genealogies of the two Big Y test-takers on this branch, namely Tomás O'Maille, born 1808. So it may be that this DNA marker (FTC27440) arose in Tomás, or in his father, Tomás (c.1780), but not in his grandfather (Seán na Firinne) because it is absent from the third Big Y test-taker (kit IN102000, bottom left in third figure above). This again assumes that the recorded genealogies are correct.

A second sub-branch of BY152739 is FT280617. An O'Malley man sits on this branch, but below it is another sub-branch (BY153298) on which sit 3 men called Burk / Burks. This is a good example of an SDS (Surname / DNA Switch) - they are Burks by name but "O'Malley 3g" by DNA. Judging by the age estimate of the branches, the switch occurred sometime between 1586 and 1613 (the age estimates for FT280617 and BY153298 respectively). We don't know why this switch occurred but it could have been for a variety of reasons (see the articles here and here for a full explanation of the possibilities, both modern and medieval).

The 3 men with non-O'Malley surnames (Kerrigan, Doe, O'Neill) are related to the O'Malley men via a common ancestor who lived prior to the Surname Emergence Era in Ireland (950-1150AD), and therefore should not technically be in this group, but they are included for comparison purposes (as they are the nearest genetic neighbours).

So, from the above analysis, we can infer that the O'Malley surname has been associated with the Group 3g DNA signature for about the last 500 years at least (or thereabouts). We don't know if the O'Malley surname was carried by the more distant ancestors on this direct-male-line (i.e. prior to 1505) but, statistically, the chances that it was some other surname (i.e. a Surname / DNA Switch occurred) are in the region of 17-28%.  It could be that if there was a Surname / DNA switch, the surname prior to the switch was Kerrigan, or Doe, or O'Neill (based on the surnames of the nearest genetic neighbours). Further Big Y test-takers are needed to help address this question.

What we can say is that the DNA signature of this group of Kilmilkin O'Malley's does not match the DNA signature of Group 3a, the largest group within the project and presumed descendants of the O'Malley Clan of Mayo, as recorded in the medieval genealogies. We assume that Grace O'Malley (the Pirate Queen) also belonged to this group, and this would mean that her father, and her father's brother (Dermot O'Malley, born about 1490, and the recorded ancestor of three of the Big Y test-takers in Group 3g) should also have carried the "Group 3a DNA signature". But this assumption is contradicted by the DNA. Dermot's descendants (the 3 Big Y test-takers) do NOT carry the "Group 3a DNA signature", they have a completely different DNA signature. So what does this mean?

It could be that the genealogies are incorrect, and the wrong ancestor has been attached somewhere along the direct-male-line, possibly above "Seán na Firinne". Maybe the wrong Dermot 1490 has been attached to Grace O'Malley's family tree. Another possible explanation is that there was some sort of DNA switch back in the late 1400s - maybe Dermot was fathered by a different man to the one who fathered Grace's father (Owen Dubhdara c.1490). 

So which is it? Are the genealogies incorrect? or was there a DNA switch?

These are the questions we need to address. And to do so, one important undertaking is to return to the documentary evidence and build "proof arguments" for each step back from present-day test-takers to Dermot (born 1490) and before him back to Grace's 2x great grandfather (also Dermot, but born about 1400). This entails finding robust primary sources of documentary evidence for each step, generation by generation, back to 1400. And that is a daunting task that will take a lot of work. Such primary sources (e.g. church records, wills/probate, land deeds, original documents) may not exist, and we will have to rely on secondary sources (e.g. books, narratives) which will provide less than robust "proof". But at least the exercise will identify and characterise the gaps in our knowledge.

In parallel, we can try to recruit other supposed descendants of Grace's immediate family and have them do the Big Y test. The more additional people who test, the more light will be shed on this question, and hopefully, eventually, we will have enough information to provide adequate answers.

Group 3h - O'Malley of Clifden, Galway; Hereditary Physicians? ... FTC41265

Two men (both O'Malley) were moved from Group 3f to a new subgroup - Group 3h. 

Group 3h on the project's Y-DNA Results Page

Only one of them has done the Big Y test and this shows he sits on the FTC41265 branch of the Tree of Mankind. The age estimate for this branch is 1109 AD, so within the Surname Emergence Era (950-1150). However, there is one branch below this (Y22116) with men called Bellar, Cryans & Lindsey, who all have ancestors with similar surnames, namely Bellah, Ballagh, & Balloch. The age estimate for this branch is 1668, and these 4 men have ancestry in Ireland (x1), Scotland (x1) and Northern Ireland (x2). So were these people O'Malley before they became Ballagh? Or was our O'Malley man a Ballagh before becoming an O'Malley?

Time Tree showing branch FTC41265 (red icon). 
The Surname Emergence Era is marked on the timescale by the green bar.
(click to enlarge)

Another point of interest is that immediately above the FTC41265 branch is the Y22118 branch and this has an age estimate of 1083 AD (so about one generation prior to FTC41265, and still within the Surname Emergence Era, c.950-1150). And sitting on this branch are two men, one called Fergus and the other called Ferguson, but both with EKAs called Fergus and both from Mayo (even though the Ferguson man claims Scottish ancestry). Now this brings to mind the fact that the Fergus family were hereditary physicians to the O'Malley clan of Mayo, as indicated in the passage below from More Irish Families, by Edward MacLysaght (1960, p. 107).

The name Ó Farghuis or Ó Fearghusa takes several forms in English. Apart from Farrissy, which today occurs only occasionally, the two usual forms are Fergus and Ferris. Fergus or O'Fergus is seldom found outside Connacht. Persons so called, who are mainly in Co. Mayo at the present time, are of the sept of Ó Fearghuis, which provided hereditary physicians to the O'Malleys. Knox in his History of Mayo tells us that O'Fergus held the parish of Burrishoole in 1303 and ranked then as a minor chief, a status no longer obtaining in 1585, since they do not figure in the Composition Book of Connacht, though it is known from the Strafford Survey that they were still considerable landholders in Burrishoole and Carra about the year 1635. In that document the name is spelt Farregish, Faregesie and O'Farressie, while in the Mayo Book of Survey & Distribution, compiled some 50 years later, it occured as often as O'Farrissy. It was in the northern end of that county, adjacent to Co. Sligo, that Pendar's "census" shows them, as O'Fergussa, most numerous in 1659.

So it is possible that the Group 3h O’Malley’s are somehow connected with the hereditary physicians of the O’Malley’s. Could it be that one of their descendants adopted the name O'Malley as a sign of loyalty to the clan?

It will be interesting to see how the picture evolves as more Big Y test-takers end up in this portion of the Tree of Mankind. One of the group members has 7 non-Big Y matches at the 25-marker level of comparison whose surnames are either Fergus or Ferguson - these would be ideal candidates for Big Y testing. Three of them have stated they have ancestry from Ireland, and one of them has Mayo as an ancestral homeland.

And in addition, over time, we might also get some clues as to how the Ballagh descendants ended up with that particular surname.

Group 3i - Ireland, since 1585?

Two other men were moved from the old Group 3f to another new subgroup - 3i. One is O'Malley, the other is Mealey.

Group 3i on the project's Y-DNA Results Page

Both men have done the Big Y test and their results show that they sit on a branch of the Tree of Mankind characterised by the DNA marker FT197717. This has an age estimate of 1585. So this implies that the O'Malley name has been associated with this DNA signature for about 450 years (or thereabouts). Consequently, the chance of an SDS (Surname / DNA Switch) between 1000 AD and 1585 is approximately 19-32%. And if an SDS did occur, the surname prior to O'Malley may have been Davis or Graham (judging by the surnames of the men on the nearest adjacent branch). But it could also have been any other name, or it may be that this group carried the O'Malley name (or a variant thereof) since 1000 AD (or thereabouts). We need more Big Y test-takers to help illuminate this issue.

Time Tree showing branch FT197717 (red icon). 
The Surname Emergence Era is marked on the timescale by the green bar.
(click to enlarge)

People on neighbouring branches are primarily of Irish origin, so it is probable that this group has origins in Ireland. However, there is limited information relating to the birth location of their matches EKAs and for this reason it is not possible to identify more localised options for their ancestral origin.

Group 3 - "catch all"

One final individual was moved from the old Group 3f to Group 3 - this is an overarching group for men who are likely to test positive for M222 (or already have) but who don't have any close matches within the project to whom they are likely to be related within the last 1000 years. In time, if anyone in this group matches a new test-taker, they will both be moved into a new subgroup.

So, that concludes the review of the current status of all the smaller subgroups under the "Group 3" banner. And if we look at their lists of ancestral SNPs, we can see how closely or distantly they are all related to each other ...

• Thus Group 3a1 is the most distantly related to every other subgroup. The common ancestor they share with everyone else passed on the DNA marker Z2959 to all the subgroups and he lived about 50 BC.
• In contrast, Groups 3h and 3i are the most closely related groups and share a common ancestor who passed on the DNA marker Y23074 to all his descendants - he lived about 750 AD. 
• But all the subgroups (bar 3a1) share a common ancestor who passed on the DNA marker DF105 to them all and he lived about 200 AD, which is about 200 years prior to the estimated timeframe for the semi-mythical Niall of the Nine Hostages (who possibly died about 450 AD).

How all the Group 3 subgroups are related to each other
(common ancestors are colour-coded for ease of reference)

The next article will focus on Group 3a - the Mayo O'Malley's & the Finding Grace project.

Maurice Gleeson

July 2025

O'Malley Group 3 update Part 1: Groups 3a1 to 3d (July 2025)

Group 3 consists of those O'Malley's who belong to one of the branches below M222, a DNA marker common in northwest Ireland in particular and associated with the semi-mythical figure of Niall of the Nine Hostages. There are currently 8 subgroups (3a to 3g) and there is strong evidence that Group 3a represents descendants of the O'Malley clan of Mayo, as described in the Irish Medieval Genealogies. Group 3a is the largest group in the project and will be discussed separately but this article (in two parts) deals with the smaller subgroups. Part 1 covers Group 3a1 to Group 3d. Part 2 covers Groups 3e to 3i.

As discussed in recent posts, the evaluation of each subgroup addresses the topics outlined in the figure below. Each topic is assessed using evidence derived from the sources in the text boxes to the right ...

Group 3a1 - Clonbur, Galway, Ireland?

There are only 3 men in this group and the surnames are O'Malley (x2) & Malia (x1). 

Group 3a1 on the project's Y-DNA Results Page

Two of the men have upgraded to the Big Y test and thus appear on the Time Tree, where they sit on the branch characterised by the DNA marker BY205502. The age estimate for this branch is 1382 AD, and thus Group 3a1 has been carrying the O'Malley surname for about 650 years. 

However, we do not know what happened before this time, and given that surnames were formed about 1000 years ago in Ireland, this leaves a gap in our knowledge of about 350 years. And given that the chances of a Surname / DNA Switch (SDS) are about 1-2% per generation and 33-55% over the last 1000 years, consequently the chances of there being an SDS prior to 1382 are about 12-19%.

If there was an SDS, we do not have any firm clues (either from the Time Tree, or the Y-DNA matches of the group members) regarding what the surname was prior to 1382 AD. All neighbouring branches were formed prior to the period of surname emergence in Ireland (about 950 AD - 1150 AD).

Most of the people on neighbouring branches have Irish origins. Information supplied by one of the group members indicates that a possible ancestral homeland for this group may have been Clonbur, county Galway.

Time Tree showing branch BY205502 (red icon).
The period of the emergence of surnames in Ireland is marked on the timescale by the green bar.
(click to enlarge)

Group 3b - Scots-Irish? Gallowglass? no SDS

The 5 members in this group have several interesting variants (Melly & Mellen) as well as the more familiar variants of Maley & O'Malley.

Group 3b on the project's Y-DNA Results Page

Two of the 5 men have upgraded to the Big Y test and thus appear on the Time Tree, where they sit on the branch characterised by the DNA marker BY170664. The age estimate for this branch is 1098 AD, and thus Group 3b has been carrying the O'Malley surname (or variant) for about 1000 years. This suggests that there has not been a Surname / DNA Switch (SDS) over this time period, and therefore this particular group may represent a very ancient branch of the broader O'Malley clan.

Given that Big Y test-takers on neighbouring branches (below FGC71316) have either Irish ancestry (24 men) or Scottish ancestry (13 men), and that one of the members of this group has an EKA (Earliest Known Ancestor) from Scotland, and another has ancestral origins in Donegal, I wonder if the members of this group represent descendants of Gallowglass mercenaries that were shipped from Scotland to northwest Ireland to help with ongoing wars and faction fighting around 1000 years ago. Did they adopt the O'Malley surname as a sign of loyalty to the clan they were fighting for?

Another (or related) possibility is that this group is somehow related to a Scottish surname that sounds like Malley, such as Milloy, Melley, or Mellen.

Time Tree showing branch BY170664 (red icon). 
The period of the emergence of surnames in Ireland is marked on the timescale by the green bar.
(click to enlarge)

Group 3c - Melloy (England? Scotland? Ireland?)

This group only consists of two people - a Melloy and a Craig.

Group 3c on the project's Y-DNA Results Page

Both men have done the Big Y test and the Melloy man sits on branch A10680 (red icon below) whereas the Craig man sits on a sub-branch 3 steps below this, namely BY82803. Thus, the common ancestor of both men passed down the A10680 DNA marker to them both, and this has an age estimate of 517 AD, well before the Surname Emergence Era (950-1150 AD), so technically these men should not really be grouped together as their common ancestor is >1000 years old.

Time Tree showing branch A10680 (red icon). 
The period of the emergence of surnames in Ireland is marked on the timescale by the green bar.
(click to enlarge)

Without another Melloy with comparative Big Y data, we cannot say how long the Melloy surname has been associated with this particular DNA signature. However, there is an exact Melloy match among the Melloy man's DNA matches ... but, this match has only tested to 37 markers. If he did the Big Y test, it is likely that both Melloy men would form a new branch somewhere below A10680. And this likelihood is further supported by the fact that (comparing their EKAs) it seems that their MRCA (Most Recent Common Ancestor) could not be any closer than Owen Melloy, born c.1810 in Ireland, which would mean that they are probably no closer than about 4th cousins (assuming they were both born about 1960, and allowing 30 years per generation).

An exact Melloy match (with a Genetic Distance of zero)

The origins of Group 3c are very difficult to pin down.

• The Group 3c Melloy man has an EKA from Ireland, and his Melloy exact match has an EKA from England. 
• Neighbouring branches are noteworthy for a group of Craig men (who have carried that name since about 1500 AD) and a group of men called Kilcoyne (who have also carried that name since about 1500 AD). The Craig men could have Scottish or Northern Irish origins, and the Kilcoyne men are associated with a very specific surname distribution that suggests origins in counties Galway or Mayo (see map inset above). 
• The Group 3c Melloy man's other matches are not very informative as he has a vast number of matches at each level of comparison, indicating that Convergence is probably present and a lot of his matches are much more distantly related than at first appearances.

High numbers of matches indicate a strong probability that Convergence is present

There are also limited clues from surname dictionaries and surname distribution maps. It could be from Ireland, from Scotland, or from England.

So it is not possible at this point to say where the Melloy man's ancestors came from. 

Group 3d - the Molloy Clan of Firceall

The single man in Group 3d is a Malloy, with an EKA called Molloy. His Big Y results indicate that he sits on the BY18029 branch of the Tree of Mankind, and this branch is right in the middle of a group of Molloy men who belong to Group 4 of the Molloy DNA Project. This group probably represents descendants of the Molloy's of Fircall / Firceall in county Offaly. 

Group 4 of the Molloy DNA Project - the Molloy's of Fircall, Offaly
The Group 3d man is on line 32

This group of Molloy men share a common ancestor who passed on the DNA marker A11227 to them all (only the sub-branch BY11709 is shown in the diagram below). This A11227 marker is associated with a current age estimate of 1107 AD. So the Molloy name has been associated with this particular DNA signature for about 900 years (at least) and this brings it back into the Surname Emergence Era (950-1150 AD), so the likelihood of a Surname / DNA Switch is very low. Therefore, this DNA signature was probably passed on by the progenitor of the surname (or one of his immediate ancestors or descendants).

Time Tree showing branch BY11709 (last branch). 
The period of the emergence of surnames in Ireland is marked on the timescale by the green bar.
(click to enlarge)

You can see the associated medieval genealogy of the Molloy clan of Firceall here, and further details about the territory of Firceall here.

After writing the above summary, I found a Milley in the Ungrouped section whom I have now moved into this group, so there are now 2 men in Group 3d.

The next article will focus on Groups 3e to Group 3i.

Maurice Gleeson

July 2025

 

O'Malley Group 2: the Limerick O'Malley's - update June 2025

Back in 2015 or thereabouts, Denis O'Malley (a former chieftain) and a few others approached me after a talk I gave at the Silvermines Historical Society in Dolla, county Tipperary. They wanted me to help them interpret some DNA results. And thus the O'Malley's of Group 2 were born (although they had not become "Group 2" at that point in time). 

And furthermore, Denis and I are DNA cousins ... but (as with many DNA matches) we still have to figure out exactly how we are related.

O'Malley Group 2 has grown steadily over time. We had 10 people in 2019 (see previous post) and now the group numbers 21 people altogether, and has split into 6 subgroups (numbered 2a to 2f). The two common factors that connect these various subgroups is the fact that 

1. they all appear to originate from the area around counties Limerick and Clare; and 
2. their DNA signature indicates that they share a common ancestor who lived in the Limerick area some time around 400 AD.

Much research has been done on the particular portion of the Tree of Mankind where Group 2 O'Malley's sit. One of the overarching DNA markers for the Group 2 O'Malley's is L226 and this is associated with the tribe of the Dal gCáis (pronounced Doll Gosh) with origins in the region around countries Clare & Limerick. Bart Jaski wrote an authoritative account of the rise of the clan in a recent book entitled Medieval Dublin XVI: Proceedings of Clontarf 1014-2014. The chapter can be downloaded for free here (after creating an account). Denis Wright's seminal paper from 2009 describes the fascinating story of how the DNA signature of the Dal gCáis was discovered and is well worth a read.

Origins of the Limerick O'Malley's

The fact that Group 2 has been split into six subgroups does not come as a big surprise. The O'Malley surname has been present in and around Limerick since the 1100s (long before the time of Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen, who is associated with the Group 3a O'Malley's). This was highlighted in previous posts where the O'Malley presence in Limerick is evidenced in medieval manuscripts, such as The Black Book of Limerick. 

In addition, the 19th century antiquarian TJ Westropp refers to the Limerick O'Malley's as one of several "petty tribes ... rather families than septs ... of very uncertain affinity". Westropp also describes the territory of the O'Malley's of Limerick as being Crewmalley which appears to have been an alternative name for the townland of Ballyclogh (a few miles south of Limerick city), situated in the Civil Parish of Knocknagaul, in the Barony of Pubblebrien. See this previous post for a detailed description. 

So, with such a long presence in Limerick, it is not surprising that there may have been Surname / DNA Switches over the course of the last 900 years that have given rise to several O'Malley subgroups.

Ballyclogh townland (orange border) in the Civil Parish of Knocknagaul (yellow border)
in the Barony of Pubblebrien (blue border).

The Group 2 subgroups & the Tree of Mankind

Here are the six subgroups of Group 2. Some members have supplied details of their EKA (Earliest Known Ancestor). Ten members have done the Big Y test, which has provided us with their current "terminal SNP" (the DNA marker in the Haplogroup column) and this in turn has enabled us to place each of these groups on the Tree of Mankind (a.k.a. Y-Haplotree) and visualise how they are related to each other.

The list of ancestral SNPs (DNA markers)* associated with each of the subgroups gives us an idea of which subgroups are more closely related to each other ...

• R-Z17669 > R-FGC79628 > R-DC63 > R-BY4101 > R-DC362 > R-DC735 ... Group 2a
• R-Z17669 > R-FGC79628 > R-DC63 > R-BY4101 > R-DC362 ... Group 2b
• R-Z17669 > R-ZZ31_1 > R-FGC5628 > R-BY4102 > R-DC40 > R-FT62906 > R-FT159770 > R-FT244455 > R-FT242218 ... Group 2c
• R-Z17669 > R-ZZ31_1 > R-FGC5628 > R-FGC5623 > R-FGC5659 > R-DC209 > R-DC21 ... Group 2f
• R-Z17669 > R-ZZ31_1 > R-DC194 > R-FTA80958 ... Group 2d
• R-Z17669 > R-DC9 > R-DC8 > R-DC1165 > R-DC135 > R-FT223736 ... Group 2e

Thus all the groups share a common ancestor who passed on the DNA marker Z17669 to them all. Note that Z17669 is itself a descendant of L226 thus:

• R-L226 > FGC5660 > Z17669

Groups 2a and 2b share a more recent common ancestor who passed on the DNA marker DC362 to both groups.

Similarly, Groups 2c, 2f, and 2d share a more recent common ancestor who passed on the DNA marker ZZ31_1 to them all. And in fact, Groups 2c and 2f, share an even more recent common ancestor who passed on the DNA marker FGC5628 to them both. 

We can also see a visual representation of this on the Group Time Tree for these subgroups. This shows the following:

• the common ancestor for all groups (Z1699) lived about 400 AD
• the common ancestor for Groups 2b and 2a (DC362) lived about 750 AD
• the common ancestor for Groups 2d, 2c and 2f (ZZ31_1) lived about 450 AD
• the common ancestor for Groups 2c and 2f (FGC5628) lived about 500 AD

Group Time Tree for O'Malley Group 2 subgroups (with crude dates)

Initial age estimates for each of the branching points were very crude, but this has changed since FTDNA introduced the new Discover feature and the associated suite of tools. This does give us more precise age estimates, but the ranges (95% Confidence Intervals) around these TMRCA estimates (TMRCA, Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor) are still quite large (usually +/- 200-300 years) so we cannot take these age estimates as gospel. A copious amount of salt needs to be sprinkled upon them. And they will change and evolve as more data is added to the Tree of Mankind. 

Nevertheless, these age estimates give us a useful idea of how closely each of the Group 2 subgroups are related, and it is clear from the above diagram that all of these subgroups share common ancestors before the emergence of surnames in Ireland (about 1000 AD). And this in turn suggests that all of these subgroups acquired the O'Malley name independently of each other i.e. there is not a single common ancestor called O'Malley for all six subgroups. Expressed another way, the common ancestor who lived about 400 AD was not called "O'Malley" (he was about 600 years too soon for a surname), but at least 6 of his many descendants somehow acquired the surname "O'Malley" (or variant) and passed it down to their descendants. The question is: how? or why?

It is also worth noting that this common ancestor from 400 AD also gave rise to a variety of other surnames, and in fact, he has over 350 descendant branches, containing about 500 people with a variety of different surnames ... 

"Classic Tree" view of the Z17669 branch (see here)

Unfortunately there is no version of the Tree of Mankind that shows "every branch with every surname" so we have to fish around for surname information (either among the matches of the members on a particular branch, or by searching for the relevant branch of the Group Time Tree in relevant projects - it's a very cumbersome exercise). Below is the Time Tree version for each of the 6 subgroups, along with their adjacent branches, so we get some idea of the surnames that sit nearby. Note that the Time Tree gives all the branches with no surnames, and the Group Time Tree does give surnames, but only if a) the member is in that particular DNA project / "Group"; and b) only if he has has changed his settings from the default "private" setting. It's complicated!

Group 2e

This subgroup consists of only the one person. He has done the Big Y-700 test so we have data for his first 111 STR markers as well as his current "terminal SNP" (namely FT223736) based on an analysis of over 200,000 SNP markers. You can see where he sits on the Tree of Mankind below, as well as the surnames (and EKA) of his nearest genetic neighbours on adjacent branches. His closest genetic matches sit on the FTB65001 branch and both are called McMahan. These two McMahan men share a common ancestor about 1767, but the ancestor they share with the single Group 2e O'Malley would have lived about 1450.

Reviewing his STR matches reveals that he does not have any particularly close matches and there is no dominant surname among them. So this does not give us any clues as to where his O'Malley surname came from, or if it was some other surname prior to becoming "O'Malley". So, an open question is: did McMahan come before O'Malley? or did O'Malley come before McMahan?

Of potential significance is the fact that one group of people who adopted the McMahon surname came from neighbouring county Clare. The name derives from Mahon, grandson of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, who was killed by the Vikings at the battle of Clontarf in 1014. See more about the history of this surname here.

Time Tree showing branch FT223736 and adjacent branches
- surnames & EKA info was sourced from Z253 Project &
STR matches of the single Group 2e member 
(click to enlarge)

Groups 2a and 2b

Group 2a has 10 members, 3 of which have done the Big Y test (which indicates they sit on branch DC735). Group 2b has 3 members, one of which has done the Big Y test (which indicates they currently sit on the upstream branch DC362).

Below is a snapshot of the DC362 branch of the Group Time Tree for the Z253 Project. This only gives a limited number of the surnames attached to the various branches below DC362 but it does give some indication as to the nearest neighbours for Groups 2a and 2b. Only two of the three Big Y test-takers from Group 2a are shown. The third Group 2a Big Y test-taker and the single Big Y test-taker from Group 2b are not shown, probably because they are not members of the Z253 Project. This is a further explanation for why "all the relevant data is not all in the same place".

Group Time Tree for DC362 from Z253 Project

The DC362 branch (Group 2b) is about 1250 years old, given that the age of DC362 is about 750 AD. Other surnames associated with this branch are varied and are mainly of Irish origin (as per the limited diagram above). The closest STR matches of the Group 2b O'Malley's are each other. They do not match any other surnames closely. So they appear to sit on a relatively isolated branch of the Tree of Mankind with a connection to their nearest genetic neighbours about 1250 years ago.

The three Big Y test-takers of Group 2a sit on the DC735 branch and the age estimate for this branch is about 1822 (range 1675-1920). This is in keeping with the known genealogy for this group, which was discussed in the 2019 update and is shown again below. Based on these known genealogies for the group, the overarching common ancestor for the current group members may have been born about 1750 or 1720.

Of note, 5 group members have ancestry from Murroe and 3 from Cappamore, which are about 5 miles apart, and 10 miles east of Limerick.

Murroe & Cappamore, county Limerick

So it appears that the O'Malley surname has been associated with Group 2a for at least the last 250 years or so. But what happened before that (i.e. from 1750 back to 1000 AD - when surnames arose) is currently not known. It may be that the O'Malley surname has been associated with this group for much longer than 250 years but we would need Big Y data from additional test-takers to answer that question. There are no big clues among the many STR matches of the Group 2 members, although matches with the name Slattery seem to be genetically closer than matches with other surnames. Whether or not this is a relevant observation remains to be seen as more people join the FTDNA database and more data comes in.

2019 Mutation History Tree for Group 2a showing where mutations occurred
(yellow boxes are test-takers; Y111 = Y-DNA111 test, etc;
SP = SNP Pack; BY = Big Y; SNPs in blue, STRs in red)
(click to enlarge)

2019 McGuire Chart for those Group 2a men who have also done atDNA testing
(numbers represent amount of DNA shared in cM)
(click to enlarge)

Group 2c

This group of four O'Malley men sits on the FT242218 branch, the common ancestor of which lived about 1450. So the O'Malley name has been associated with this group for at least the past 550 years - this is the longest time (established thus far) for any of the Group 2 subgroups.

One of the group has ancestors from Castleton Cross, county Galway.

Evaluation of the STR matches for this group, and the group's position on the Time Tree, did not provide any suggestions regarding the evolution of the O'Malley surname pre-1450. 

Time Tree showing branch FT242218 and adjacent branches
- surnames & EKA info was sourced from
STR matches of Group 2e members 
(click to enlarge)

Group 2d

Both men in this group have done the Big Y test and this place's them on the FTA80958 branch of the Tree of Mankind, sharing a common ancestor who lived about 1765, which is within a generation or two of their respective EKAs. 

But this branch is also a very isolated branch and the common ancestor (DC194) that they share with their nearest genetic neighbours lived about 550 AD (roughly 1500 years ago).

One of the group members has ancestry from Ennis in county Clare.

Their STR matches (which include non-Big-Y test-takers) offer no additional suggestions about the origins and evolution of this group.

Time Tree showing branch FTA80958 and adjacent branches

Group 2f

The sole man in this group is an O'Melia and he sits on the DC21 branch. The common ancestor for this branch lived about 1000 AD. The two other people who sit on this branch are a Riel & a Malone.

Time Tree showing the three men currently sitting on branch DC21
- surnames & EKA info was sourced from STR matches of the sole member 
(click to enlarge)

Conclusions

The O'Malley men of Group 2 belong to the tribe of the Dal gCáis. Many ruling families in Limerick & Clare descend from this dynasty including clans with the following surnames: O'Brien (descendants of Brian Boru), McNamara, O'Kennedy, O'Grady, O'Dea, O'Quinn, McInerney, and Moloney. These surnames appear among the matches of many of the men in the various subgroups of Group 2.

The subgroup with the most test-takers is Group 2a (10 members), but the group who has been carrying the O'Malley name for the longest period of time is currently Group 2c. It is not possible to say which of the 6 subgroups is most likely to represent the group of O'Malley's described by Westropp as living in Crewmalley (aka Ballyclogh). It may even be that another subgroup exists who will prove to be descended from that particular family. 

Hopefully, as the FTDNA database grows and more Big Y data becomes available, additional light will be thrown on these tantalising questions.

Maurice Gleeson

June 2025

* to do this I use the "Find Common Ancestor" tool on Rob Spencer's Admin Utilities website at ... http://scaledinnovation.com/gg/adminUtils.html