According to various sources, Grace O'Malley's father was Owen Dubhdara, his father was Cormac, his father was Owen, and his father was Dermot.
- Owen (killed in 1513, Grace's great grandfather) reportedly had a brother Donal who is ancestor of Owen O'Malley of Burrishoole (1650-1738) and hence the O'Malley's of Ballyburke, and Sir Samuel O'Malley, among others.
- Owen Dubhdara (Grace's father, who died about 1575) is reported to have had a brother Dermot who is the ancestor of Sean na Firinne O'Malley (1740-1801) and hence the Kilmilkin O'Malley's.
- Grace herself is reported to have had several brothers.
- Donal na Pioba - there is no record of his descendants beyond his 3 grandsons.
- Teige, who is supposedly the ancestor of the O'Malley's of Cloonane, beside Islandeady. This line apparently died out in the late 1800s (and will be the subject of a subsequent post).
- Melaghlin, father of Edmund O'Malley, the last of the O'Malley Clan Chieftains before the current era. He died in The Netherlands in 1651, and is the ancestor of the O'Malley's of Belclare & Hawthornn Lodge (including Sir Owen O'Malley), the O'Malley's of Ross House, and the O'Malley's of Achill.
Many previous O'Malley scholars and antiquarians have poured over the genealogical record and the accuracy and veracity of some of these supposed relationships have been called into question. But DNA (specifically Y-DNA) could help us confirm or refute these various connections.
Over the last year or so, we have been busy doing a lot of genealogy to identify the direct male line descendants of Grace O'Malley's immediate male forbears. Myself, Brendan O'Malley, Tom O'Malley, and Emer Gunter have been burning the midnight oil, finding living descendants of the various lines of descent, and approaching them to establish if they are interested in doing a Y-DNA test.
We should know by the middle of April if our funding application ($13,500) to the Irish Heritage Council has been granted, and if it is, we will be able to cover the cost of about 20 Big Y tests on a select group of O'Malley men. Those selected for testing are summarised in the (suitably privatised) diagram below. Click on the diagram to enlarge it. The descendants at the bottom in green are those who have agreed to be tested. The ones in yellow with a red border have yet to be identified.
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| Test-takers identified so far (click to enlarge) |
So far, we have identified two male descendants of Owen of Burrishoole (far right), seven male descendants among the Kilmilkin O'Malley's (middle), and four male descendants of Grace's supposed brother, Melaghlin (far left). No descendants have been identified for Grace's supposed brothers Teige and Donal na Pioba. Several lines died out or daughtered out, some as late as the 1970s (e.g. Sir Owen's line).
The diagram also shows the various points within the family tree where the test-takers "triangulate" on a common ancestor. Thus, the triangulation point for the descendants of Donal via Owen of Burrishoole (far right) triangulate on the common ancestor William G O'Malley in 1847. It is hoped that further descendants of this branch will help push this triangulation point back further in time, ideally to Owen of Burrishoole himself (born 1650). The 7 Kilmilkin O'Malley's triangulate on Sean na Firinne O'Malley in 1740. And the 4 descendants of Melaghlin and his son Edmund (the last chief of the old era) will triangulate on Teige O'Malley (born 1665).
It will be interesting to see if all the test-takers match each other in a way that is consistent with the reported genealogies. However, it is reasonably likely that there will be some inconsistencies which will point to one or more lines not connecting where they should. And there is always the possibility of a DNA switch somewhere along the line (either through adoption, illegitimacy, legal name change, or an act of fealty, etc).
If, however, we are fortunate enough to be able to identify the Y-DNA signature of Grace O’Malley’s immediate male forbears, this will potentially allow anyone with O'Malley ancestors to take a DNA test, and establish wether or not they have a genetic link to Grace O’Malley. This can be done either via Y-DNA (men only) and linking up to one of the direct male lines that we are about to test, or through autosomal DNA (which anyone can do, men or women) and establishing a connection to one of the "Y-DNA proven" direct male lines.
People who link to Donal's line (far right) will be 3rd cousins of Grace, about 12 times removed.
People who link to Dermot's line (middle) will be 1st cousins to Grace, about 13 times removed.
And people who link to Melaghlin's line (far left) will have Grace as their aunt, but with about 11 "great"s in front of aunt.
Where do you think you will fit into the tree? If you already know, please leave a comment below. :-)
And if you know any male O'Malley's who are definitely connected via one of the yellow boxes with red borders, then please get in touch - we need their DNA!
A lovely piece of work! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks Melody. Here's hoping we get some good answers! :-)
DeleteHi Maurice. I was always told I was a descendant of Grace O Malley! I have O’Flahertys on two sides of my tree and my grgrgrandfather Edmund was supposedly the connection. I have done ancestry DNA.
ReplyDeletePlease join the O’Malley DNA project and let’s chat! :-)
ReplyDelete