Niall of the Nine Hostages and the High Kings of Ireland?

Recent genetic research from Trinity College, Dublin has identified the Y-chromosomes signature of the powerful Irish clan of Ui Neill who claimed the High Kingship of Ireland from the 7th to the 11th century AD.

According to traditional Gaelic genealogies, the Ui Neill were themselves descended from the semi-mythical figure Niall Noigiallach, better known as Niall of the Nine Hostages who lived in the second half of the fourth century AD. This was a time when the Romans were beginning to withdraw from mainland Britain. According to legend, Niall raided and harassed the retreating Romans and extracted treasure by capturing and then ransoming high-ranking hostages, hence his soubriquet. His most famous captive was one Succat who went on to become St Patrick, patron saint of Ireland and the man who more than anyone brought Christianity to Ireland.

Niall’s military exploits carried him over the sea to Scotland where he fought the Picts who were trying to retake the recent Irish colonies of Dalriada. It was during a raid even further afield, to France, that an arrow from the bow of an Irish rival killed Niall, ironically. He died on the banks of the River Loire in 405AD.

Niall was succeeded in the High Kingship by his nephew Dathi, his father’s brother’s son. This was typical of the Gaelic tradition of derbhfine, the rules of inheritance which chose the new king from among the direct male relatives of the old. This served to ensure the patrilineal inheritance of the High Kingship itself and of the whole clan of Ui Neill. Their hold on the the High Kingship was remarkable durable, lasting from the 7th to the 11th century AD.

Irish surnames are among the oldest in Europe, becoming widespread from the tenth century AD. Several of these surnames belong to the Ui Neill including, as well as O’Neill, meaning son of Neill. Among them are (O’)Gallacher, Boyle, O Doherty, O’Connor, Cannon, Bradley, O’Reilly, Flynn, (Mc)Kee, Devlin, Donnelly, Egan, Gormley, Hynes, McCaul, McGovern, McLoughlin, McManus, McMenamin, Molloy, O’Kane, O’Rourke and Quinn. Y-chromosome tests by the Trinity College team showed that a high proportion of men tested with these Ui Neill surnames shared the identical or very closely related Y-chromosome signature, strongly indicative of direct descent from Niall himself. In the parts of Ireland most strongly associated with the Ui Neill, mainly in the northwest, the proportion of these Y-chromosomes reaches almost one quarter of the male population.

The Y-chromosome is also found in the United States, which has traditionally received a large number of immigrants from Ireland, and 2% of New Yorkers of Irish origin carry Niall’s genetic inheritance in their cells. It has been estimated that, worldwide, an amazing 3 million men carry the Ui Neill Y-chromosome. That is more than the entire male population of present-day Ireland. Niall of the Nine Hostages now rivals Genghis Khan as history’s most prolific man.

The very high frequency of this Y-chromosome is almost certainly the result of retaining power and wealth within the succession of male relatives with all the opportunities for polygamy, which that brought with it. There are some famous examples among the Ui Neill in historical times where, for example, Lord Turlough O’Donnell, who died in 1423, had 18 sons, with 10 different women, a total of 39 grandsons.

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