The Y-DNA Project has been successfully established and provides crucial information - especially when conventional records cannot be found. We have now processed the results of over 130 participants - all tested for 37 markers. The technical database of over 4,810 individual marker test results has been presented in a series of tables for each matching group and sub-group of results, and these results have also been presented as a series of "family tree" charts produced by sophisticated phylogenetic analysis software. All of this is displayed on our website (see links below), and more results will be added as the years roll by. All members are encouraged to participate either directly by taking part or indirectly by sponsorship.

Our Y-DNA Project was first suggested to members in a feature article in the Autumn 2003 newsletter where we laid out the basics of the project and reviewed the success of similar projects being undertaken by other Irish Clans such as the O'Gara Clan and the Kavanagh Clan. The response was very positive so we kicked off in Winter 2003.

We have issued a few interim reports in the past. The first (Winter 2004) was a brief report on how the Y-DNA results are processed to establish the various groups of Flannerys. The second (Winter 2006) was a review of the Munster Flannery Group and its subgroup of Appalachian Flannerys who claim descent from Thomas Flanary (1722-1782). The third (Summer 2007) was a review of the genetic signature of the Flannerys of Ballaghaderreen who are a subgroup of the Connaught Flannery Group. The fourth (Spring 2009) was a review of the popular "Blood of the Irish" RTE documentary on the nationwide investigation of Irish Y-DNA. All of these interim reports can be downloaded using the links below if you missed them when they appeared in our newsletter.

In addition to the interim reports, we were also invited to give a presentation to the assembled Irish Clans at the AGM of Clans of Ireland in Dublin on 18^th March 2009. This was a special presentation since it was geared towards an audience of Y-DNA Project Administrators with a firm grasp of the basics, so it focussed on advanced topics such project management (vision, goals & controls), sample size (its impact on probability), mutation rates (contributing factors), the expectations of project participants, and the challenges facing project administrators to meet legitimate expectations. All heady stuff and these issues will be discussed in due course.

The first full report for the project has now been prepared and will be available to download in a series of brief features (click links below) to enable members to provide final comments and queries. Following the review period, the full report will be formally published as a bound document and distributed to the national repositories. The report has been divided into the following topics for serialisation, and your comments and queries will be invited along the way:

A number of brief interim reports have been published in our quarterly newsletter "Floreat Arbor", and address specific aspects of the project as opposed to the project as a whole. The interim reports may be downloaded here :-