Our DNA tells a colourful story

Genealogy and archaeology offer opportunities for what might be described as romantic interpretations of our past. Nearly every bog body uncovered after a centuries-long repose in a quiet turf bank is a warrior king, a murdered prince, or a victim of a human sacrifice. A swineherd who might have drowned in a bog hole on his way home from a mid-winter knees-up remains a rarity. It is as if we need to embellish the mysteries of the past to make them fit today’s appetites for celebrity and fame.

The Irish DNA Atlas is unlikely to end that harmless ennoblement but it does paint a more accurate picture of our origins. We’re Gaelic, British, Norse, French, Scottish, and much more. Indeed, that fabled character — the True Gael — may be as rare as drowned swineherds preserved deep in our bogs. Like every nation, we are a mixumgatherum people.