Kiss Me I'm Irish

      Growing up, if you asked me what my family's heritage was I would say that I was mostly Irish and German, but my last name (maiden) was Danish.  Family lore told of the young woman who came over from Ireland with two candle sticks and got married in her petticoat (the only white thing she owned).  Having Irish nuns as teachers only cemented my Irish identity.

     In 6th grade I remember reading in my very new science book that scientists were currently mapping the human genome and were hoping to complete it in the next 10 years!   Enter the second decade of the 21st Century.  Home DNA kits are readily available. I was curious about what secrets my DNA might hold, but I'm also someone who has trouble spending money on things for myself that seem unnecessary.
   
     I learned my mother and sister both had been in the possession of 23andMe kits for over a year, but had not gone ahead and taken the test.  My sister was worried about misuse of data.  While she would never admit it, I'm pretty sure my mother was worried she would learn she wasn't Irish or only the slightest amount.  Fear of losing her entire identity kept her from learning about herself.  Worries about the misuse of my personal information did concern me, but since the test allows you to dictate how it is shared -- used as part of a larger study, submitted for further health diagnostics -- I felt I was ready to take the chance.  Since I have not committed any crimes, I'm not worried about my DNA being used to convict me.
   
      I put a 23andMe kit on my Christmas list.  My older sister got it for me.  I wasted no time taking a sample.  I maniacally cackled, telling my mother she would now learn the bitter truth.  She's not Irish.  I know.  I'm evil. 

      Of course things never go as planned for me.  While extremely uncommon, my first sample did not provide enough DNA.  The company kindly sent me a free replacement kit.  The second time it all went through very quickly.  It only took about 3 weeks for me to learn the truth of myself.

      And the DNA says.....I'm Irish.  Phew.  My mother can rest easy now.  The results were not what I expected.

• I'm very Irish.  I had figured I was maybe 25% Irish.  Nope.  Try 75.8% 
• It actually says Irish and British Isles but then it breaks down into counties and strength within counties.
• It's very strong in the Irish counties of Mayo, Donegal, and Dublin.
• 8.5% Danish.  I guess it wasn't just the name.
• 7.1 % Swiss and German.  More surprising is that it's Swiss.  There is only the slightest evidence of Germany.
• 8.3% Broadly Northwestern European

    Other interesting tidbits?  I'm 86% less Neanderthal than other 23andMe customers.  This means I lack markers for things like straight hair and less back hair.  My maternal haplogroup is the same as Marie Antoinette.  

    So there you have it.  I am very white.  I've been living a lie. I'm barely (if at all) German.  I'm really surprised by the lack of Eastern European and Mediterranean countries.  

    The whole thing is crazy fascinating.  It's amazing what your DNA can tell you.  I opted against doing any of the medical screenings.  I do believe there is such a thing as too much information.  The next steps?  Convincing my parents to both do a DNA kit.  Maybe now that my mom has some assurance of her Irish heritage, she will finally got through with it.  I'd love to go to Europe some day, but I think I will skip meeting very distant relatives.

    So this St. Paddy's day I will revel a little deeper.  If my dark curly hair (okay, it used to be dark but now I'm letting it go gray), pale white skin, and green eyes weren't enough to convince people I was Irish, I've now got the papers to prove it.  Slainte!