The goal is to map all MacTighernans both geneticly and geographicly. As of the date above the 73 MacTighernans tested fall into 14 separate DNA groups. Those in the above chart with the same color are in the same DNA Group. The 73 testers live in 10 countries on 5 continents at the time of testing. You can see the total DNA testers in the above chart with the baselines of the 3 main DNA groups being bigger nodes than the others. The T Group, T3 Group and the T2 Group are referred to as main only because at this point in time 56 of the 73 MacTighernans tested fall in these 3 groups, 25 in the T Group, 15 in the T3 Group and the T2 Group now with 16.  All 14 DNA Groups are of equal standing. 

Although 48 of the 73 originate from Co Leitrim, no one DNA group comes from just one county. Therefore as of now the origins of us all are spread over Cos Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon and Cavan with Gus, Michael (NJ) and Douglas being the exceptions. Gus' and Michael (NJ)'s verbal family history says Scotland was their family's origin and Douglas verbal family history states that his family comes from the Killarney Lakes region.  The origin of almost all MacTighernans is from the 450 sq. mile small green area on the map at left that falls in the area from N 53.48.35 to N 54.19.50 degrees to W 7.06.20 to W 8.43.48 degrees. Besides the 73 MacTighernans, Philip O'Rorke who is The O'Ruairc of Bréifne is also shown in the above chart. The O'Rorke family DNA test web site is at http://www.familytreedna.com/public/roark/.  The Genetic and Geographic maps of all identified MacTighernans are at this web site:   http://mctiernan.com/McTmaps.htm

If you have at least a match of 24/25 or 23/25 meaning a 1 or 2 mutation event difference to the baseline of a DNA group you still relate to them and the probability of a close relationship is good, however the results show mutations and more time has elapsed between the common ancestor for yourself and the others in your DNA group baseline. With a 3 mutation event difference [22/25] you do not relate and are genetically outside of your closest DNA group.

The general DNA rule is that if you have 3 mutations or rather 3 event mutation differences off the closest baseline you would not genetically relate and would form your own separate DNA group. Even though both Gene and Scott (AU) have 3 mutations off the T Group baseline, Gene is positioned in the T Group as his 3 mutations are all in one locus whereas Scott (AU)'s 3 mutations are scattered over 3 different loci thereby forming his own DNA Group, Ta. Gene's mutation is thought to be a radical mutation being 3 mutations different than the baseline but only in locus # 1. Gene matches the T Group baseline in loci 24 / 25. Locus or loci equals catagory / marker.

Dan-W matches the T2 Group baseline 22 / 25 and normally would form his own separate DNA group but because he matches Jim-P in the T2 Group 24 out of  25 I have listed Dan-W in the T2 DNA Group.

The below is no more than a guess that shows the correlated structure of the 14 DNA groups as they mutated down through time. Surnames came into use about 1140 and the MacTighernan lines below may descend from 2 different progenitors that lived over 2000 years or 70 generations back in time in the BC era. Remember all mutations are random and Y chromosome mutations occur once on average every 500 generations per locus [catagory/marker].

The remaining DNA question in our bunch is if one of us is off a specific baseline by 3 or 4 mutations or rather event mutations which implies that you are in a whole separate and distinct DNA group not genetically related to that baseline or your common ancestor is well beyond 2000 years or 70 generations back in time then that leaves the question of how we all ended up with identical surnames, if surnames only began in the mid 1100s. A guess is that way back in time before surnames came into use there existed in or around Cos Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon and Cavan a tribe or clan whose leader was called MacTighernan. In Gaelic, MacTighernan means "son of Lord". When surnames first started all the male warriors might have just taken the chief's name for themselves which might be a reasonable explanation or guess as to how we all ended up in 14  different genetic groups from one small area of Connacht, Ireland all with the same surname.

The MacTighernans are mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters as descending from the O'Conors, the past high kings of Ireland and also from The O'Ruaircs who were kings of Drumahaire. The O'Conor family has started their own DNA test which is at http://www.worldfamilies.net/surnames/c/conner/disc.html

Your position in this phylogenetic tree chart displayed earlier is really determined by how far away you are from each other based on event mutation differences. In the earlier polygenetic tree chart, the angle or what side of the line you are on is of no consequence. Our genetic relationship is determined by event mutation differences which is derived from a formula used by the FTdna lab to determine the genetic distance between each of us. Eight of the 14  DNA groups have only one individual which means by default they become the baseline for their group.

MacTighernan DNA groups tested to date. A score of 25 out of 25 markers is a perfect match and forms that group's baseline.  23 or 24 out of 25 puts you in the same DNA group				Location of tester at time of test for the 73 MacTighernans		191 Identified MacTighernans
DNA Group	Perfect Match ( in baseline of each group)	Total in Group		USA	33	94
T	11	25		Ireland	13	24
Ta	3	3		England	14	38
T2	8	16		Canada	6	10
T3	9	15		Australia	2	8
T3a	2	2		Indonesia	1	1
T3c		2		Zimbabwe	1	1
T3d	2	3		Iraq	1	1
Tb, Tc, Td, Te, Tf, T3b, & T3e	1 in each of the 7 groups	7		Scotland	1	8
				Northern Ireland	1	2
				Spain		1
Total		73		Norway		1
				Japan		1
TBR		4		Switzerland		1
in process at lab		1		Total	73	191

All MacTighernans who were tested fall into the larger general DNA population group called the Haplogroup R1b1 which is the most common haplogroup in European populations. It is believed to have expanded throughout Europe as humans re-colonized after the last glacial maximum 10-12 thousand years ago. This lineage is also the haplogroup containing the Atlantic modal haplotype.

The results from a search of the Haplogroup database not only provides information about our deep ancestral history, but the outcome can also be used to analyze our Y Chromosome results. Since the Haplogroups are the branches and the Haplotypes are the leaves of the tree, if any of the MacTighernans were to belong to different branches, no matter how close their Y chromosome DNA test results were, the individuals are not related. All MacTighernans and The O'Ruairc are in the same Haplogroup therefore on the same branch. 'Hiberniores Hibernis ipsis' (more Irish than the Irish themselves).

This chart has info on the Haplogroup and the sub sections of the R1b1a2 Haplogroup. 

Where the MacTighernans fall in each Haplogroup		DNA Group	total
R1b1a2	All testers are in this group except the ones below	All	69
R1b1a2a1a1b4b	Leo, Scott (CO) & Jim (MA)	T3 Group	3
R1b1a2a1a1b4b	Gus	T3b Group	1
R1b1a2	The O'Rorke
Total			73

is primarily found in Northern Ireland, and contains the Niall of the Nine Hostages' Modal Haplotype.

A recent study by Brian Mcvoy was conducted at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, which found that a striking percent of men in Ireland (and quite a few in Scotland) share the same Y chromosome, suggesting that the 5th-century warlord known as "Niall of the Nine Hostages" may be the ancestor of one in 12 Irishmen. Niall established a dynasty of powerful chieftains that dominated the island for six centuries. The T3 Group baseline matches Niall's DNA 23 / 25 so they would descend from Niall, his uncle, cousin or his brother. The remaining DNA groups in the MacTighernan study are not even close. Details are at this web site: http://www.familytreedna.com/matchnialltest.html

R1b1a2 probably appeared during Maykop culture. It was an advanced Neolithic culture of farmers and herders, and one of the very first to develop metalworking, and therefore metal weapons. Stuck between two seas and the Caucasus, they imaginably traded actively around the Black Sea, notably with the other R1b people from northern Anatolia (those that didn't cross the Caucasus and might be the ancestors of the Hittites).

R1b1a2 is thought to have arrived in central and western Europe around 2300 BCE, by going up the Danube from the Black Sea coast. This corresponds to an archeological vacuum in the old Maykop homeland, so the migration must have been on a massive scale, maybe due to pressure from other (R1a) Indo-European people from the north. There might have been several consecutive waves across the Black Sea to the Danube, but the largest one between 2500 BCE (end of the Maykop culture) and 2300 BCE (beginning of the Unetice culture).

In fact, southern Germany and Austria taken together have the highest diversity of R1b in Europe. Besides S21, the three major first level subclades of R1b1a2a1b (L21, S28, M167) are found in this area at reasonable frequencies to envisage a spread from the Unetice to Hallstatt homeland to the rest of western Europe.

The site is http://www.eupedia.com/europe/origins_haplogroups_europe.shtml click on the R1b and look at the English version

Excluding the DNA testers and their families, there are less than 600 additional MacTighernans identified living in the 4 major immigration countries, USA, Australia, Canada, England and Ireland. See http://mctiernan.com/dnatest.htm for MacTighernan breakdown by country.

Waiting for test kits to be returned TBR:   JohnT, Joe-Bel, Joe-NY & Sam
In process waiting for the lab results:  Patsey
Hoping he will take the test: Desmond O'Conor, The O'Conor Don

The Great MacTighernan Mysteries,  http://mctiernan.com/10mysteries.htm

Our DNA raw scores, townlands of origin, DNA matches and ancestor lines for all 14 Groups are at http://mctiernan.com/dnatest.htm

A photo of the MacTighernans at the March 13, 2004 & March 15, 2003 Co Leitrim Society dinner in NYC http://mctiernan.com/NYCphoto.htm

The Rules of the DNA test and a good explanation as to what they indicate are at this web site; http://mctiernan.com/dnarules.htm

This web site gives a very good view of the wider Irish DNA studies for 1750 Irish families, http://www.familytreedna.com/public/IrelandHeritage

To run the tree sequence use: reduced meridan to myPH.ych to  myPH.rdf to myPH.rmf to myPH.out to MP or star  to .sto  to draw to .sto

RM using .ych to .rmf to .out to draw

If you are a male McTernan / McTiernan / MacTiernan and want to participate in this DNA study please let me know. We have a special family group rate at http://www.familytreedna.com of $124 US for the 25 loci test.  If you own a bank then I would hope you would pay for the test.  If  like many of us you are wondering who might pay the bills this month then I would pay the cost of the test as this is my only hobby.