November: Home is Where One Starts From; Ireland
Gallarus Oratory, Dingle, Ireland
This past year I had my DNA tested. I have over 45,000 names in my family tree and have done extensive research on my family including going to the villages of my root families in France and the UK. I have traced my family on my fathers side (France/Germany) and mothers side (the UK), both back to the 1600’s. But, as it is, you get so many pieces of DNA from your father and from your mother, who in turn got pieces from their mothers and fathers, ect….. My DNA determined, that a big part of me, (43%) is Western European, specifically from France, Germany and Switzerland. I am (15%) Scandinavian, specifically from Norway and Sweden. and (12%) from Great Britain…. I thought that was extremely low since that figures so much into my family tree and where I have done so much research. But, my biggest surprise was the (28%) Irish! I could find only one family in my family tree with actual Irish descent! Maybe that explains my love of story telling and writing! So here is a photo of me in front of the Gallarus Oratory in Ireland!
The Gallarus Oratory name is interpreted as either “rocky headland” or “house or shelter for foreigners,” and is a chapel located on the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland. It has been determined to be an early Christian stone church by its discoverer, antiquary, Charles Smith, in 1756. In 1970, archaeologist Peter Harbison, determined it was a a 12th-century Romanesque church, and in 1994 it was determined to be a shelter for pilgrims. The local tradition prevalent at the time of the oratory’s discovery attributed it to one Griffith More, being a funerary chapel built by him or his family at their burial place. I am glad to see the oratory was a combination of its roots too!
Home is Where One Starts From!
To me, November is everything about the home. We are preparing our homes for the shorter days and longer dark nights; settling in so to speak with a good book and a cup of cocoa in front of the fire. November is also all about the family and food and sharing. So through November I will share tidbits about the home and some fascinating photos of homes around the world. Enjoy!
The Travel Lady In Her Shoes 
5 Responses to “November: Home is Where One Starts From; Ireland”
I love genealogy too. I did some research and have a few family trees on my site http://www.sherryfelix.com One branch is from Scotland.
Great discovery which you can truly identify with!
Wow, that’s really interesting! I didn’t know you could have your DNA tested, I thought you had to have had a police criminal record before they tested your DNA, hahaha! How fascinating that to have traced your family so far back.
Great post. Very Interesting! I’m still trying to ‘prove’ our family lore that one of our lines is from Ireland (my brick wall). I’d love to prove it, and then go ‘home from where we started from’! Thanks for all your great posts!
Thank you! I was really surprised when I started doing my family tree that most of the stories about my family that had been passed down through the family were true. Sometimes the country or all the facts were not quite right, but I could see how the stories mattered. My father always talked about how his grandparents came from Germany and spoke German. I looked high and low for the village in Germany with no luck at all. Then a fellow genealogist told me I was looking in the wrong country and to try France. Yes, there close to the border of France and Germany, I found what I was looking for! It makes sense because of the wars that that ground went back and forth between the countries. I learned my great grandparents spoke Alsacian, a language all their own. My advice is to write down all the stories! PS I went to that very very very small village in France and talked with some of the old timers about the families who lived there and left there and it was a fascinating insight into my family!