As you know, a part of me is Irish.

Don't laugh! I know many people say this on a day like today. Everybody's Irish on St-Paddy's! But I'm not kidding. I really do.

(In fact, I've had my DNA tested. It was done through the DNA Ancestry Project. Pretty cool stuff! Not only that, but I also found out that, besides French, I have Greek, Italian, and Irish in my ancestry.)

Anyway, I wanted to pass this along to my Irish members and friends.

Happy St-Paddy's!

IRISH BLESSING

May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,
laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.

May you have love that never ends,
lots of money, and lots of friends.
May the sun shine all day long,
everything go right, and nothing wrong.

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Sláinte duine a ól!

Here's to your health, Michel; and Happy St. Paddy's Day to you!

Yassou Michel! (That's for the Greek ancestry.) I've always wanted to take that test. Did you do both maternal and paternal, or just one?

Thanks Jessalynn.

Andy, I took both. And I also bought the extra "markers" (2 more packages) for more in-depth analysis of "clans" and haplogroups to which I belong.

Based on my specific haplogroup (R1b) and DNA markers and mutations, I was able to trace my ancestry through Europe.

According to my Haplogroup's map:

"When the ice sheets retracted at the end of the ice age, descendents of the R1b lineage migrated throughout western Europe. Today, Haplogroup R1b is found predominantly in western Europe, including England, Ireland, and parts of Spain and Portugal.

"It is especially concentrated in the west of Ireland where it can approach 100% of the population.

"This haplogroup contains the well known Atlantic Modal STR Haplotype (AMH). AMH is the most frequently occurring haplotype amongst human males with an Atlantic European ancestry. It is also the haplotype of Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish King in the Dark Ages who is the common ancestor of many people of Irish patrilineal descent."

By the way, that was my paternal Haplogroup (Irish). My maternal Haplogroup is "H." H has Greek, Ukranian, and French.

"Marie Antoinette as well as Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna of Russia belonged to H."

Best wishes to everyone on St Patrick's Day.

I *should* be in the World's Best Pub (The Pines, Whitehall Road, Dublin 12, Ireland) but living in the UK now I only get SMS texts and emails from my friends, they make me obscenely jealous with their drunken Paddy's Day antics.

The usual stuff - groping people's breasts , admiring those curvy backsides , using their best chat-up lines .

You can even try them on the women too...

Michel,

I may check out that dna testing. I'm a pasty-faced redheaded Italian and everyone thinks I'm Irish. Three of my grandparents were born in Italy and immigrated here (US).

A couple of people have actually told me that I must have Irish blood.

Guess I should've gone out for one of those green beers Monday.

A belated Happy St. Paddy's Day to everyone, esp. all of you who are Irish and all of you who think you aren't.

Janet

Here's a quirky Irish ancestry story for ya...

After spending her entire life thinking she was full-blooded Welsh, a few years ago my mother discovered that her father was Irish.

Yeah, after all this time, my grandmother finally spilled the beans!

From what I've gathered, my grandfather deserted Ireland during WWI only to end up fighting in WWII.

When he moved to Wales (during WWI), he changed his name from "Hitt" to "Hill" and changed his identity.

My poor mom grew up thinking her real last name was Hill all her life.

I guess this makes me part Irish.

So happy St. Patrick's day to all my Irish kin folk.

Also, Happy belated St. David's Day to all my Welsh brethren as well!

I think I have an Irish liver.

That's some pretty cool info Mike.

I'd love to find out something about my history. I have
no clue about my ancestry at all.

Here you go, Jason.

Moffatt Surname Origin & Family History. Get Started in Genealogy

Moffatt Name Meaning and Origin - Ancestry.com

It looks as though you have both, Irish and Scottish blood.