By Aaron Wolf, Ph.D., Science Communications at Ancestry
AncestryDNA journeys in Ireland can help people with roots there connect back to very specific regions—sometimes even more precise than the county level.
But, if your family has deep roots in Ireland, you might be surprised to also find Scotland among your ancestral regions.
This doesn’t mean that your results are less accurate or that you should exchange your Donegal tweed for a Scottish tartan. Having some Scotland in your results is typical for people with long family histories in some areas of Ireland, especially in the north and east.
That’s because people have been moving back and forth between Ireland and Scotland since the Middle Ages—exchanging goods, culture, and DNA. Specific historical events, like the Plantations of Ulster, have also contributed to shared DNA in Ireland and Scotland.
How the Plantations of Ulster shaped the DNA of Ireland
At the start of the 17th century, a combination of private and government-directed endeavors encouraged Scots to cross the North Channel and settle in Ireland.
The largest of these endeavors was the Plantation of Ulster. Established by King James I of England and Ireland in 1609, the plantation was an organized colonization of the northern region of Ireland to establish political and economic control. Most of the settlers came from the Scottish Lowlands and Northern England.
Figure 1. Map of the Plantations of Ulster established by James I in 1609. Map adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Provinces_of_Ireland_location_map.svg
While the plantations were intended to displace the Irish people already living in those areas, many remained in the region. Intermixing of Scottish and Irish peoples led to a distinctive cultural identity—the Ulster-Scots. Later in history, this group was a major contributor to migration to the British colonies in America (including Canada), Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. The Ulster-Scots who immigrated to America are commonly referred to as Scotch-Irish or Scots-Irish.
Seeing the history of Scottish plantations in DNA today
Today, when we look at the DNA of people whose families have lived in the same parts of Ireland for generations, we can see the impact of the plantations in Ireland.
People with long family histories in the Ulster region of Ireland can expect to see around 5-6% Scotland in their ancestral regions. Compare that to people from Connaught or Munster, who see closer to 0-2% Scotland in their results.
Figure 2. The averaged results for people from different areas of Ireland shows that people with deep roots in Ulster, on average, see higher levels of Scotland in their results compared to people with roots in other parts of Ireland, like Connaught. Map adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Provinces_of_Ireland_location_map.svg
Interestingly, if you are part of one of our Ulster-based journeys, you may see even higher levels of Scotland in your results—close to 20-30%! Journeys represent a network of related people who descended from a common group of ancestors, and these Ulster-based journeys likely include more Ulster-Scots who share many genetic connections.
Figure 3. On average, members of Ancestry’s Ulster journey—a group of people connected through shared matches and history—see larger percentages of Scotland in their results than members of other Ireland-based journeys. Map adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Provinces_of_Ireland_location_map.svg
Discover more from your DNA
Whether your family has lived in Ireland for generations or you know the exact county they emigrated from, your DNA results may surprise you. Depending on what part of Ireland your ancestors came from, you may see some percentage of Scotland in your ethnicity results—especially if your family has connections to the Ulster region. This isn’t a fluke but represents the centuries of migration Ireland and Scotland share.
It can be exciting and surprising to look at your DNA ethnicity results, but there are also plenty of other ways to explore your family story. Using your DNA matches and journeys, you can find living relatives, build family trees, and learn about your more recent family history, too.