The clan gathering of mid - May 2009 was held in the luxurious Carlton Shearwater Hotel in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. Ballinasloe (“The approach to the ford of the armies”) is County Galway’s second largest town. Next to the hotel is a marina with a canal joining the River Suck to the River Shannon, so we might have arrived by cabin cruiser, as well as by land cruiser. The area around Ballinasloe was at the centre of the baronies comprising Uí Máine (Hy Many), one of the great kingdoms of the province of Connacht. The chieftains, earlier known as kings or princes, were elected and inaugurated nearby at Clontuskert. Some of them were buried nearby at Kilconnell Friary, although the burial place of preference for O’Kellys was at Clonmacnoise, on the Shannon.
In the morning we had a nice drive to the ruins of Kilconnell Friary, where we were privileged to be guided by local historian (and nephew of our clan chief Count Walter, the O Kelly of Gallagh and Tycooley) Dr. Harmon Murtagh. The Franciscan friary, was founded in 1353 by William O’Kelly, King of Uí Máine, and rebuilt in 1414 by his grandson, also William O ‘Kelly. The friary survived religious upheavals and defended itself against attacks from Cromwellian soldiers but eventually had to close at the end of the 17th century.
A short stroll took us further to the sight of the ultimate battle between rival Kings William of Orange and his deposed Catholic father-in-law, James II. Dr. Murtagh delivered on site his most interesting account of the battle where so many O Kellys lost their lives. His keen interest in military history and expertise on this 17th century battlefield kept us enthralled. The Battle of Aughrim of 1691 was the bloodiest battle ever fought on Irish soil. It is said that over 7,000 Irish, English, Scottish, Danish, Dutch and French lost their lives here. An award-winning visitor centre in Aughrim commemorates the closing stages of that war that divided Ireland for many a long day.
Returning to the hotel we assembled to listen to a light introduction of the new Uchterain Father Celsus Kelly of Keady, Armagh. He told us of his meeting with His Holiness Pope John Paul, his pride to be one of the seven sons of a Boxing Golden Gloves winner and his anecdotes had warmed up the crowd nicely for the guest speaker and authority on DNA, Raymond Kelly from Tampa, Florida.
DNA, first isolated by a Swiss physician, in 1869, is the hereditary material found in every cell of living organisms. Raymond told us about the developments in his research into the relationship of the Kelly clan members who had donated a DNA swab.
DNA-testing gives concrete evidence for identifying and separating family lines. Y-chromosome DNA testing is especially helpful because the male Y-chromosome is handed down, father to son, unchanged through the generations, except for rare mutations which, in themselves, can be helpful indicators of branching. He told us that there was still a possibility among the male (O) Kelly clan members to test for compatibility and to find connections to other Kelly family lines going back at least five generations. Handouts were given out. Using Walter Lionel O’Kelly as a reference (as of April) most of the 205 participants’ results have been posted on the website. Interestingly 110 results are unrelated. This is explained by the adopting of surnames in Ireland around 900 AD. For more information see: freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~kellydnaproject/index.htm
It was great to see old familiar faces entering the reception that evening.
Cathy Hoelsgens.
According to another member, the Gathering was one of the nicest to date with an atmosphere of friendship prevailing. The Carlton Shearwater had a sense of occasion and the banquet and menu were excellent. A young harpist rendered some Irish tunes which added a special touch to the evening. It was also pleasingly observed that there were younger family members attending. In addition to the main report above, and photographs, kindly provided by Cathy Hoelsgen, who is the daughter of our former editor, Brian O’Ceallaigh, Bernie, our able Secretary, provided notes from Raymond Kelly’s address which I have summarized with a minimum of technical detail.Ed.
Advances in DNA technology have provided us with some powerful new tools to investigate our ancestry, especially with regard to lines that have been difficult or even impossible to resolve using traditional genealogical methods (now often called “paper” genealogy).
There are many ways to test and analyze DND, but there are two particular kinds of DNA testing that are especially useful in genealogy: Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) testing and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing. The genealogical usefulness of these two DNA tests is based on some special aspects of human inheritance:
Haplogroup Definition
A haplogroup is defined as all the male descendants of the single person who first showed a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP ) mutation. An SNP mutation identifies a group who had a common ancestor far back in time, since SNPs rarely mutate. Each member of a Haplogroup would have the same SNP mutation as the common ancestor. These mutations are extremely rare, and identify a group of people over a period of tens of thousands of years.
The Y Chromosome Consortium has defined 18 major Haplogroups, called A through to R, using capital letters. Each of these major Haplogroups, which are also called clades, can have subgroups, which are called subclades. The 18 major groups at the top level, A through to R, represent the major divisions of human diversity based on SNPs on the Y chromosome.
Chronological Development of Y-DNA Haplogroups March 2009
From: eupedia.com/Europe/origins_haplograms_Europe Kelly Surname DNA Study Results Summary 6 April 2009
We now have 205 participants. 187 Test Results are posted on our Website. 108 participants have a 12 Marker Match with another related participant. This consists of, 1 Group of 12, 1 Group of 9, 1 Group of 7, 1 Group of 6, 2 Groups of 5, 3 Groups of 4, 8 Groups of 3, and 14 Groups of 2. We have 79 participants with no match. You can view the Test Results Table and discussion on our Website*.
Our 187 Test Results represent 110 unique, unrelated Kelly/Kelley/O’Kelly families. This means that when surnames were adopted in Ireland about 900 AD that 110 different families adopted the surname Kelly (Gaelic equivalent).
DNA testing is the only practical method to determine from which KELLY Clan we descend. Since there are a large number of Unique KELLY Clans we are going to have to get a large number of participants to find matches for those of us who haven’t yet found a match.
*Website URL is: http://freepages.genealogy. rootsweb.com/~kellydnaproject/index.htm
Note: For Genetic Studies a generation is assumed to be on the average 25 years. In actuality this probably varies plus or minus five years from family to family.
Condolences go to longstanding member Angela and her husband Ollamh Joseph M on the loss of her brother Michael.
Following up on the last issue Gearoid reports that: Sean Kelly was successful in being elected to the European Parliament and so became the second Member of the European Parliament to be elected in the Ireland South Constituency. Sean Kelly was formerly President of the Gaelic Athletic Association and, was the Clan’s guest of honour at the Gathering in Clarinbridge, Co. Galway. He hopes to attend our next Gathering as an MEP. Coincidentally, the third seat in the same constituency has gone to an Alan Kelly, so the Kelly name is very well represented in the European parliament.
All newsletter contributions are greatly appreciated. Please e-mail to: jennyelk@yahoo.co.uk or post to the Secretary: Bernadette Kelly, “Aisling,” Tyrone, Kilcolgan, County Galway.