The O’Brien’s of Kilmurry-Ibrickane
Parish, County Clare, Ireland
And their DNA Connection to other
O’Brien families in the Parish.
By Kevin J. O’Brien
The use of Y-DNA testing with
my family history search has opened doors that a few years ago I would have
never dreamed. My grandfather immigrated
through Ellis Island in 1900. His youngest
sister stayed on the ancestral farm until 1950 when she sold the farm. I was fortunate that I had a record of the
location for my ancestral home.
This information allowed me
to trace my family back to 1855 to my
second great grandfather, James O’Brien b. 1793 and d. 1845. This is documented through property records,
church records, civil birth, death and marriage records; gravestone inscription
and personal family records. Patrick’s
wife Honoria O’Brien is listed as “Occupier” in the 1855 Valuation of Tenements
in Killernan Townland, Parish of Kilmurry-Ibrickane Parish.
This is the point where many
of the records end for the Irish family researcher. There are four other O’Brien families in this
area that I have contacted that are able to do what I have done and identify
the Occupier of their O’Brien farm in 1855.
Before this time there is only speculation as to the identity of the
previous generation.
The following is a list of
the Five distinct O’Brien families that live a short distance from each
other. They were neighbors and surely
knew each other and from what the DNA tests
have shown there is a close relationship between these six O’Brien families
just a generation or two before the start of written records.
1855 Valuation of Tenements for Parish
of Kilmurry-Ibrickane, County Clare, Ireland
·
Lot 15,16,17 Honoria
O’Brien, Killernan Townland, 26 acres
·
Lot 17,18 Michael O’Brien, Killernan Townland, 20
acres
·
Lot 1,2 Michael O’Brien, Quartermire, Knockanalban
Townland, 27 acres
·
Lot
59,60,61,62 James O’Brien, Mount Scot,
Knockanalban Townland, 51 acres
·
Lot 15 Patrick O’Brien, Shanaway
West Townland, 41 acres
This information led me to three more O’Brien
families. One family is from New Zealand
that has their ancestral farm in Mt. Scot, Knockanalban, townland just down the
road from the O’Brien’s of Killernan.
The second O’Brien family presently living in County Clare have their
ancestral origins in the townland of Shanaway West just over the hill from my
farm and the third family still living in Ireland has their roots in
Quartermire, Knockanalban near the Mt. Scot O’Brien’s. After
my contact with members of these three distinctly different O’Brien’s families;
they agreed to submit a DNA sample to the O’BRIEN GROUP with Family
Tree DNA.
The samples were taken and
the Y-DNA results confirmed a close match with the three O’Brien families from
Killernan townland. Now there were five
O’Brien families in the parish that have a near perfect DNA match. This has been very satisfying to us and has
answered many questions.
There are still a few O’Brien
families in the parish that I hoping to encourage having their DNA tested and I
have thought of a few friends that could use this same approach to see if they
share a common ancestor.
