DNA and the Doris family

In the book, the Doris Family of Lettermacaward, I discussed the use of DNA in genealogy. This is certainly an area of research which has great potential for Irish families like ours - the paper trail tends to be poor in Ireland and it is unusual to get back further than 200 years. In the book, I gave an account of what I have found out so far. There is clear evidence that our family are a branch of the Donegal family, as an American descendant of the Donegal family, who shares a great-great-grandfather with me according to the paper trail, has been tested and has the same DNA profile as I have. Since the book was published, I have also been contacted by a member of the Mayo family, a descendant of Robert Doris of Westport. He has taken a test and we are now waiting to see whether the profile confirms the connection between the Donegal branch of the family and the Mayo branch, or whether it disproves it. Watch this space!