Surname: Kilmurray (Irish Female Maternal DNA)
My father – Peter Desmond Wyles – tested the MtDNA (Mitochondrial DNA) he carries through the US firm of “FamilyTreeDNA”. This is the MtDNA inherited from his Irish mother – Gladys Emily Kilmurray – who was born in “Ballynacargy” (Eire: “Baile na Carraige”) Village (near the Town of Mullingar) in County Westmeath, Province of Leinster, South-East Republic of Eire (“Ireland”). The Irish Surname ‘Kilmurray’ refers to a devout (Catholic) ‘Servant of Mary’, possibly attached to a Church named ‘St Mary’s’ – an idea which is expressed in Irish Gaelic as ‘Giolla Mhurie’ - which has come down as ‘Kilmurray’. It is interesting to note that the surname “Gilmore” has the same root. This MtDNA originated within East Africa, and migrated from Ethiopia into Sudan, Turkey, Romania, Greece, and then splits into two paths. One path travels West into Spain whilst the second migrated Northwards into Poland and then Finland (where it is associated with the “Sammi” people).
Kilmurray MtDNA Result = Haplogroup V8 – Spread into Europe
Kilmurray MtDNA Result = Haplogroup V8 – Spread into Europe
This is a rare haplogroup and a rare subglade. This may be for two reasons. Firstly, very few people with this MtDNA have volunteered to be tested, or secondly, very few people exist who carry it – I suspect the former. With what slender scientific knowledge acquired so far (see the two “light blue” lines on the chart), it seems that people carrying the MtDNA first entered Europe 13,000 years ago. A typical distribution of Haplogroup V8 today is as follows:
V8 England - 2
V8 Finland - 14
V8 Germany - 1
V8 Ireland - 12
V8 Scotland - 6
V8 Sweden - 8
V8 United Kingdom - 2
V8 United States - 5
There are two European pathways of migration leading into Eire:
1) Through Scandinavia
2) Through Spain.
These results imply two scenarios. One is that the Viking brought this MtDNA from Northern Europe just over one thousand years ago – but given that very few (less than 20 people) – have been tested as carrying this result, I suspect this is unlikely. The chances are further reduced by the fact that Viking men migrated without taking Viking women with them and therefore would NOT have spread this DNA. It is probably much more likely that Viking men took Irish women back with them to Scandinavia after their marauding - and that this might well explain the slight presence of this MtDNA in that area. On the other hand, those people now referred to as the “Irish Celts” migrated by boat from the Iberian (Spanish) Peninsula around four thousand years ago. As both men and women participated in this migration – it is probable that the Kilmurray woman are descendants of these original “Celtic” settlers!
V8 England - 2
V8 Finland - 14
V8 Germany - 1
V8 Ireland - 12
V8 Scotland - 6
V8 Sweden - 8
V8 United Kingdom - 2
V8 United States - 5
There are two European pathways of migration leading into Eire:
1) Through Scandinavia
2) Through Spain.
These results imply two scenarios. One is that the Viking brought this MtDNA from Northern Europe just over one thousand years ago – but given that very few (less than 20 people) – have been tested as carrying this result, I suspect this is unlikely. The chances are further reduced by the fact that Viking men migrated without taking Viking women with them and therefore would NOT have spread this DNA. It is probably much more likely that Viking men took Irish women back with them to Scandinavia after their marauding - and that this might well explain the slight presence of this MtDNA in that area. On the other hand, those people now referred to as the “Irish Celts” migrated by boat from the Iberian (Spanish) Peninsula around four thousand years ago. As both men and women participated in this migration – it is probable that the Kilmurray woman are descendants of these original “Celtic” settlers!
©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2024.