I can see how DNA testing and looking for matches can become addicting. For me the fourth try was a winner (first three samples were no good for testing) and I received my results yesterday. I have been on the computer ever since, contacting matches and being contacted by others.
If you are having trouble finding your ancestors in Ireland, read on...
After only barely glancing at matches I uploaded my raw data to whoever would take me... GEDmatch, My Heritage (**you now have until Dec 15 to upload FREE), Living DNA, and Family Tree DNA (*updated)
I was waiting for results to specifically upload to GEDmatch so I could join the FaceBook group... Irish DNA Registry. It is a closed group and you can only join once you have your GEDmatch number. There are now over 7500 members, all with ancestral ties to Ireland.
Once you join you are instructed how to upload your GEDmatch matches to their Matchbox program where your results are compared with others in the program and you will see all your matches with Irish Ancestors. Although... technically you could both be looking for Irish ancestors but match in Scotland or England. It happens.
First day and I have 37 matches!
Best of all everyone there has tested because they are serious, not just curious.
I am already connecting with people who are matches with my ancestors I had no way of finding in Ireland. Now there is hope!
Wow Diane! That sounds promising. I hope you will keep us up to date on your findings on your blog! We genealogists with Irish Ancestors could really use a breakthrough!
ReplyDeleteAfter a week or so I will give an update on how it's going. Thanks for your interest.
DeleteAre u really getting DNA matches from Ireland ?
ReplyDeleteI'm waiting on my GEDMATCH to be loaded on Irish DNA REGISTRY.
That's why I've held off paying for another monthly membership on Ancestry.com
Yes, I have quite a few matches... the trick is to find the common ancestor. Since Irish genealogy is hard, most people don't have their tree back far enough to get a common ancestor. It takes time and patience to analyze and correlate and most people don't bother. I'll have to do a spreadsheet or something with all the names and where they're from.
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