Extensive Lineages of Group 2 – results of Big-Y tests

A lot has been going on behind the scenes with the Ryan DNA Project. Back in May 2021 we made an appeal for funding to test Ryans with extensive lineages. The theory being that they could enhance the “scaffolding” of the genetic family tree (based on DNA test results) and help take some Ryan members back further in their Ryan lineages. Following an extensive research effort (by co-admins Derek Ryan and Jamee Ryan Carlin), the good news is that we have been reasonably successful in our attempts.

Firstly, a few words by way of background. Today the Ryan name is particularly prevalent in Tipperary, to where many Ryans are supposed to have migrated en masse from Carlow sometime in the 1200s or 1300s (see previous post). This divides the Ryans into two major branches – the Ryans of Idrone (who stayed behind in Carlow) and the Ryans of Owney & Owneybeg (who moved to Tipperary/Limerick). The noted scholar John O’Donovan (1806-1861) maintained that the two branches were distinct, whilst others maintained that they were “of the same stock” (see the Notes section here). In time, DNA could certainly help address this specific question and we hope to explore this further in a subsequent article.

Group 2 is thought to represent the Ryans of Tipperary/Limerick for the following reasons:

1. It is the largest group within the project.
2. Many of the group members have earliest known ancestors (EKA) from Tipperary and Limerick (see previous post).
3. The overarching DNA marker for this group (M756) has an age estimate (950 AD) that falls within the timeframe for the emergence of surnames in Ireland (see previous post here). [1] So our current working theory is that the progenitor of the Ryan surname for Group 2 carried this DNA marker (M756) and passed it on to all his descendants (along with the Ryan surname).

Currently there are 136 people in this group, but the number is increasing all the time as new test-takers join the Ryan DNA Project.

Ryans with extensive lineages

In addition to the two major divisions noted above (the Ryans of Idrone, and the Ryans of Owney/Owneybeg), several prominent families within the broader Ryan clan are documented in surviving genealogical records, including the following:

1.     Ryans of Scarteen, Co. Limerick, who have a pedigree that goes back to the 1640s … see https://landedestates.ie/estate/2425

2.     Ryans of Ballymackeogh, Co. Tipperary, who have a pedigree that goes back to 1731 at least, possibly the mid-1600s, and maybe the mid-1500s … see https://landedestates.ie/estate/2521

3.     Ryans of Inch House, Eliogarty, Co. Tipperary, who have a pedigree that goes back to the late 1600s … see https://landedestates.ie/estate/2688

4.     Ryans of Gortkelly, Co. Tipperary. They leased land from the Ryans of Inch and their pedigree goes back to the 1740s … https://landedestates.ie/estate/3618

5.     Ryans of Kilheffernan, Killaloan, Co. Tipperary. Their Ryan pedigree goes back to  the early 1700s … https://landedestates.ie/estate/3188

6.     Ryans of Thurles, Co. Tipperary. Their pedigree goes back to 1747 …https://landedestates.ie/estate/3683

So far, we have been able to trace a direct-male-line descendant of the Ryans of Scarteen and the Ryans of Ballymackeogh and get them Big-Y-tested. Their results are discussed below.

The position of Group 2 on the Tree of Mankind

The overarching DNA marker for the Ryans of Group 2 is M756, which arose in some unknown Ryan ancestor who was born sometime around 950 AD (or thereabouts). Below M756, there are 6 major sub-branches (currently), each representing descendant lines of the Group 2 progenitor. More sub-branches may be added as new Big-Y results become available.

Below are the major sub-branches that emerged in medieval times (including crude dates for when each of the branches arose). A more comprehensive version of the genetic family tree for Ryan Group 2 can be found within FTDNA’s Time Tree and Group Time Tree. These are quite big and screenshots of the current structure are included at the end of this article. The most recent versions of the Time Tree and Group Time Tree can always be seen on the FTDNA website by clicking the links above.

Key: TMRCA, Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor; 
95% CI, 95% Confidence Interval

Results of testing Ryan men with extensive lineages 

Ryans of Scarteen
The first of our new test-takers with an extensive lineage is a descendant of the Ryans of Scarteen (ROS1). He has a 9-generation Ryan pedigree that goes back to 1642. [2] Initially this family had settled in Ballyvistea, Co. Tipperary, near the Limerick border. Renowned for their association with the Scarteen Hunt, the Ryans of Scarteen have maintained the Scarteen (Black and Tan) Hounds since the 18th century. Their estate, Scarteen House, located near Knocklong, Co. Limerick, has been the family's base since the 1750s. The Ryans' dedication to hunting, and the preservation of the unique Kerry Beagle breed, has made them prominent figures in Ireland's hunting heritage.  

Here is the (anonymized) pedigree for test-taker ROS1:

1.     Thaddeus Ryan (1642-1740) m Catherine Hayes

2.     John Ryan (1699-1724) m Ms O’Brien

3.     John Ryan (1722-1810) m Eliza O’Brien … moved from Ballykeveen to Ballyvistea in 1755

4.     Thaddeus Richard Ryan (1760-1843) m Helen Howley

5.     John Ryan (1800-1863) m Alicia McKnight Hartigan

6.     Thaddeus Richard Ryan (1837-1905) m Gwendoline Power

7.     John Joseph Ryan (1871-1954) m Anita Purcell

8.     Father of test-taker

9.     Test-taker (ROS1)

 
The Big-Y results for ROS1 show that he does indeed belong in Group 2 and sits on a branch of the Tree of Mankind characterized by the DNA marker BY93729, which in turn is a descendant of FTT86 (one of the main medieval branches in the previous diagram above). You can see the location of BY93729 on FTDNA’s Group Time Tree in the middle of the diagram below and here.

(Click to enlarge)

There are 5 other men on this BY93729 branch (only 4 are shown above), but they all sit on a sub-branch (FT93645). The age estimate for the BY93729 branch is 1433 AD (range 1189-1616), and the age estimate for the descendant branch FT93645 is 1460 AD (range 1202-1650). As there is only a 27 year gap between these two "central estimates", this suggests that only a single generation exists between these two branches. In other words, the common ancestor of everyone on the BY93729 branch had at least two sons - one of the sons had the FT93645 mutation and passed it down to all his descendants, and the second son did not have this mutation and he was the ancestor of the Ryans of Scarteen. So the data currently suggests that these 5 members on adjacent branches are likely to be cousins of the Ryans of Scarteen, rather than descendants of the Ryans of Scarteen.
 
Testing another descendant of the Ryans of Scarteen (preferably a most distant relation to the current test-taker e.g. a 7th cousin) would probably identify a DNA marker characterizing a more downstream (i.e. recent) branch and might even identify the specific DNA markers passed down by the Earliest Known Ancestor (EKA) of the Ryans of Scarteen (Thaddeus Ryan 1642-1740).

Of note, tester ROS1 has 12 Private Variants (i.e. unique SNPs), so it is likely that if other descendants of the Ryans of Scarteen were to test, additional branches downstream of BY93729 would be identified.

Could you be related to the Ryans of Scarteen? Do the Big-Y test and find out!

 
Ryans of Ballymackeogh
 
The second of our new test-takers with an extensive lineage is a descendant of the Ryans of Ballymackeogh (ROB1). He has a 12-generation Ryan pedigree that is reasonably well-documented back to 1731, and possibly goes back further to the mid-1500s. [3]
 
The Ryans of Ballymackeogh, were established in County Tipperary by the mid-1600s. In 1814 William Ryan of Ballymackeogh married Anne, daughter of Reverend John Pennefather, rector of St Johns, Newport, county Tipperary. They had five sons and four daughters. Their second son, John, married his cousin, Louisa, daughter of Major Kingsmill Pennefather of Knockinglass, county Tipperary. The new test-taker is their great great grandson.
 
Here is the (anonymized) pedigree for test-taker ROB1:

1.     Mahown O'Mulryan (c1550; according to Callinan, The Four Tipperary Septs, pg 106)

2.     Dermot O'Mulryan (c1580; received a pardon in 1602 according to Callinan, The Four Tipperary Septs, pg 106)

3.     William Ryan (c1620)

4.     Daniel Ryan (c1660-1731) m Honor Ewer

5.     William Ryan (c1700-1765) m Elizabeth Newstead

6.     Ewer Ryan (1730-1802) m Elizabeth Margrath

7.     William Ryan (c1770-1835) m Anne Pennefather

8.     John Pennefather Ryan (1821-1873) m Louisa Kingsmill Pennefather

9.     John Pennefather Ryan (1847-1927) m Jessie Gertrude Bliss

10.  Casimer Edric Pennefather Ryan (1891-1940) m Lillian Martha Constance Terry

11.  Father of test-taker

12.  Test-taker ROB1

 
The Big-Y results for ROB1 show that he too belongs to Group 2. In addition, he sits on a branch of the Tree of Mankind characterized by the DNA marker BY101266, which in turn is a descendant of FT194987, and this in turn is a descendant of FTT86 (one of the main medieval branches in the previous diagram above). You can see the location of BY101266 on FTDNA’s Group Time Tree in the middle of the diagram below and here.
 

(Click to enlarge)

The age estimate for BY101266 is 1450 AD (range 1206-1633). There are 6 other group members on this branch (only 2 are shown in the diagram above - a Smith & a Fuller), and they branched off sometime between 1450 and 1704 (the age estimate for the descendant branch BY75646 – not shown above). So these test-takers could conceivably be descendants of the Ryan’s of Ballymackeogh. 
 
Testing another descendant of the Ryans of Ballymackeogh (preferably a most distant relation to the current test-taker e.g. a 5th or 6th cousin) might identify a DNA marker characterizing a more downstream (i.e. recent) branch that might be more closely associated with the Earliest Known Ancestor (EKA) of the Ryans of Ballymackeogh (Mahown O'Mulryan c1550).

Of note, tester ROB1 has 4 Private Variants (i.e. unique SNPs), so it is likely that if other descendants of the Ryans of Ballymackeogh were to test, additional branches downstream of BY101266 are likely to be identified. 

Could you be related to the Ryans of Ballymackeogh? Do the Big-Y test and find out! 

Summary & Conclusions
 
This new data tells us the following:

1. It places the Ryans of Scarteen and the Ryans of Ballymackeogh on specific branches of the genetic family tree for Group 2
2. It identifies their nearest genetic neighbours who may be a) related (via a more distant common ancestor), or b) descended from these extensive lineages. This new information gives these project members a new direction for future research in the documentary records.
3. It helps refine the age estimates for all of the branches within the genetic family tree for Group 2. This happens with each new set of Big-Y results and thus these age estimates are constantly evolving, giving us progressively better estimates for the age of each branch. For example, looking back over previous posts, the age estimate for the overarching DNA marker (M756) was initially 650 AD, then 870 AD, then 1200-1300, then 900, and now 950 AD. As the technology advances, and more data becomes available for analysis, these estimates will improve further. In the future, we can anticipate that the Central Estimate will not change much, but the range on either side will get smaller and smaller until it may be as low as +/-50 years.
4. the Ryans of Scarteen do share a common ancestor with the Ryans of Ballymackeogh, and he passed down the upstream DNA marker FTT86 to both families. This common ancestor was born about 1037 AD (range 778-1246) and 20 of his descendants currently sit on the FTT86 branch, including the Ryans of Scarteen and Ballymackeogh (see below).

The 3 diagrams below shows what the genetic family tree for Group 2 currently looks like, with these new results highlighted. This diagram only includes people who have done the Big-Y test i.e. 57 of the 136 people in Group 2 (and its subgroups 2a-2g) and who have also allowed their data to be publicly displayed. If the other people in Group 2 did the Big-Y test, we would have a much more granular picture with a lot more sub-branches, and some of these could have age estimates within the last 200 years (the usual reach of modern Irish records).
 
Also included in the diagram is a red dot for the EKA (Earliest Known Ancestor) associated with each branch (where the test-taker has supplied that information). From this it is clear that most Ryan pedigrees hit a Brick Wall around the 1800 timepoint, and thus have a gap of about 900 years between their EKA and the common ancestor of all Group 2 Ryans. 
 
The Ryans of Scarteen and Ballymackeogh stand out from the rest, in that their red dot EKA goes back further in time than most other branches. This potentially helps the genealogical research of their nearest genetic neighbours. And this is the reason why we need to test extensive lineages – the more extensive lineages we have in the genetic family tree, the stronger the scaffolding becomes.

But even with these extensive lineages, the most we have currently achieved is getting back to the 1500s. And that still leaves a gap of about 600 years between the EKA and the Ryan Group 2 progenitor. We’re only about half-way back to the common ancestor for Group 2. That leaves 600 years of Ryan ancestors unaccounted for.
 
But if we are lucky, we may be able to connect with a Ryan lineage documented in the medieval Irish genealogies (if one exists) and if that happens we could connect to centuries of documented Ryan ancestors going back into medieval times, and even back further to the introduction of the written record in Ireland (600 AD or thereabouts). This has been partially achieved with ancestral lines associated with the O Conor Don line and the Mac Dermots of Moylurg. Descendants of both royal lines have been Big-Y tested and their Big-Y results support the integrity of the documented Mac Dermot line back to the progenitor of the surname, and back even further for another 500 or so years before that. You can read about this in a 2-part article on the FTDNA blog (here and here).
 
Another consideration is ancient DNA. Huge advances have been made in the field of analysing ancient remains, and more and more samples are being tested and the results added to the genetic family tree / Tree of Mankind / Y-Haplotree. You can see this by clicking on the Ancient Connections tab on the Group Time Tree here. As more data from ancient remains (which have been carbon-dated) are added to the tree, the age estimates for all the branches will improve and it would not be surprising if we were eventually able to identify some ancient Ryan remains from the medieval period. Which branch of the Group 2 tree will they sit on? Who knows. 

But time will tell.

Next Steps & further testing

We continue to look for descendants of Ryan families with extensive pedigrees. If you are related to one of the other Ryan families mentioned above, please get in touch. We may be able to sponsor a test for you (if we have enough donations in the General Fund).
 
We need more people in general to do the Big-Y test. Even if you don’t have an extensive pedigree, your Big-Y results can add a lot to the project. They may identify additional sub-branches, and they will help refine the age estimates for all the existing branching points. Take advantage of the Black Friday Sales (29^th Nov 2024) which promise substantial reductions in the price of upgrades to the Big-Y test. Project members in Groups 2c and 2g are particularly encouraged to take advantage of these discounts.
 
Lastly, here are three things that you should make sure you have done:

1. If you don't see your name in any of the diagrams, you need to adjust your settings in order to allow display of your anonymized results. Instructions here (item 7).
2. If you haven’t done so already, post your pedigree on our Pedigrees Page (or send it to me and I will do it for you - mauricegleeson AT doctors.org.uk).  
3. If you don't see your EKA (Earliest Known Ancestor) in the diagrams, you need to adjust your settings to include him in your profile. Instructions here (item 3).

 
Happy Thanksgiving! 

Maurice Gleeson

Derek Ryan

Jamee Ryan Carlin

Dave Cushing

Nov 2024

Links & References

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[1] There are several men called Ryan on adjacent branches (namely PH1901 & Y85741) but these may be NPEs (i.e. Non-Paternity Events resulting in surname switches) – only further Big-Y results will help answer this question.

[2] See Burke’s Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland 1912 here – has pedigrees for Ballymackeogh, Inch, Scarteen & Kilhefernan

[3] See Burke’s Landed Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland 1912 here – has pedigrees for Ballymackeogh, Inch, Scarteen & Kilhefernan

New feature (Group Time Tree) reveals early success of the Ryan Clan of Tipperary

FTDNA recently introduced a new feature that Project Administrators have been asking for for quite some time. It is called the Group Time Tree and (like Alex Williamson's Big Tree), this one has surnames of all Big-Y-tested individuals, together with their surname, their MDKA (Most Distant Known Ancestor), and the specific downstream branch of the Tree of Mankind on which they sit. But in addition, it includes the most advanced TMRCA estimates (Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor) for each branch in the Tree. In other words, it has a user-friendly Timeline. And this is something that has been missing from other versions of the Tree of Mankind.

This new feature incorporates the vastly improved age estimates for each of the various branches within the "genetic family tree" and this allows us to see (with a lot greater precision) how closely any two groups within the project are related to each other. And indeed it can even show how all the groups in the project are related to each other - see the diagram here, which shows (not surprisingly) that everyone within the project shares a common ancestor who passed down the SNP marker M168 and lived about 63,000 years ago (around the time when the ancestors of present-day non-Africans first emerged from the African continent).

But it really begins to provide potentially-useful genealogical data when we start looking at the branching structure WITHIN a particular group, and seeing how individual group members are related to each other within the last 1000 years (i.e roughly since the advent of surnames).

Group 2 - the Ryan's of Tipperary

This is the largest group within the project, currently boasting 132 members. Of these, over 40 of them have done the Big Y test. Previous analyses (here) suggest that this group are the descendants of the the Ryan clan of Tipperary. 

The overarching SNP marker for Group 2 appears to be M756 because most of the men in Group 2 named Ryan fall under this branch. In addition, TMRCA estimates indicate that the common ancestor who passed on this SNP marker to all the people in Group 2 would have lived about 949 AD (95%CI 695-1158) - see here. This date of 949 AD is consistent with the approximate timescale for the emergence of surnames in Ireland (roughly 900-1250 AD) and suggests that the Ryan surname was one of the earlier ones to emerge.

Figure 1: Group 2 - the Ryan's of Tipperary ... see the full diagram here
(click to enlarge)

However, one of the most striking features of this "genetic family tree" is that several distinct branches of the Ryan clan emerged relatively shortly after the surname became established and these thrived to the extent that there are living descendants today (many surname lines go extinct over the course of time so it is fairly unusual to see several prominent surviving groups within the clan).

The clan initially split into two major branches:

1. BY80957 ... the estimated TMRCA (Time to Most Recent Common Ancestor) is 1163 AD 
• the 95% Confidence Interval around this central estimate is 893-1375 ... see https://discover.familytreedna.com/y-dna/R-BY80957/scientific
• a descendant of this branch subsequently underwent a surname switch to Cannady / Kennedy 
• this switch happened some time prior to about 1700 (which is when the common ancestor for the current Cannady test-takers lived ... see here)
2. FTT85 ... TMRCA = 1015 AD (95% CI 761-1222) ... see here

Below FTT85, several surviving branches formed within a relatively short space of time:

• FTB92093 ... TMRCA 1053 AD (95% CI 616-1377) see here here
• this has 7 descendants who have tested
• the Mulryan surname is present in this group
• FTT86 ... TMRCA 1046 AD (95% CI 781-1260) see here
• there are 19 test-takers on this branch
• of the 4 main sub-branches the largest is the PH3275 branch below 
• PH3275 ... TMRCA 1094 AD (95% CI 770-1345) see here
• this has 7 members, including a sub-branch BY93729 on which sits a descendant of the Ryan's of Scarteen
• FTT87 ... TMRCA 1077 AD (95% CI 601-1422) see here

This new Group Time Tree is a great visual representation of how the various branches of the Ryan Clan of Tipperary are related to each other. It also shows how several major branches were formed in the 11th century and survived to the present day.

It will be interesting to see if additional extensive lineages can be identified and tested in order to fill out further detail on the "genetic family tree".

Maurice Gleeson

Jan 2023

7 Resources for Researching your Ryan ancestors

 In this post, we want to announce several new resources that have been made available to project members to help you research your Ryan ancestry, in particular a new family tree on Ancestry and the Extensive Lineage Project.

One of the main goals of the DNA project is to help you with your own Ryan research. This could involve connecting you with cousins in Ireland, or pushing your ancestral line back an extra generation or two, or finding where your earliest Ryan ancestor came from (maybe even the house in which they lived), or connecting you to the history of your surname origins and a specific Ryan clan or family branch. Or a combination of all of the above.

We have an array of resources that are focussed specifically on this particular goal and below is a summary of seven of the most important ones. We start with the most recent initiatives - hopefully these will help many of you make new connections to your Ryan heritage.

1) the Ryan DNA Project Family Tree (on Ancestry)
Many people have published their Ryan ancestral lines on our Post Your Pedigree page and this is a very useful resource that can be used by any member of the general public - simply by searching the page (Ctrl+F on PC, or Cmd+F on Mac) for your earliest known Ryan ancestor, you may find distant cousins there who have already taken a DNA test.

To accompany this resource, we are building a family tree (with all the published pedigrees) on Ancestry, simply called Ryan DNA Project Family Tree. This is a public tree but all living people will be private. This is an ongoing project and a big thank you to Derek and Jamee for spearheading this task.

In addition to including the pedigrees of project members, we will include the Ryan pedigrees noted in O’Hart's Irish Pedigrees as well as extensive pedigrees that are in the public domain. Some of these have been sourced from the William O'Ryan archive (to which Derek Ryan was able to get access following discussions with his family), including:

• O'Mulryans of Annagh
• O’Mulryans of Solohead
• the Ryans of Ballymackeogh
• the Ryans of Inch
• the Ryans of Scarteen

Some of the above pedigrees go back to the 1500s and it would be really important to try to characterise the Y-DNA signature of each of these family branches.

Thanks go to William's children, Rick and Josephine, for allowing access to his archive. Josephine runs the facebook group O'Ryans of the World Unite.

2) the Extensive Lineage Project
Linked to the new family tree on Ancestry is the Extensive Lineage Project. One way that DNA can help you push back your own Ryan ancestral line is to connect you genetically with people who have extensive lineages that go back much further than the usual Irish family tree (which typically runs dry around the 1800-1830 timepoint). 

As mentioned above, some of these pedigrees (verified by documentary evidence) go back to the 1500s. We plan to target descendants of these extensive pedigrees, test their Y-DNA (Y-37 first, then Big Y) so that their precise Y-DNA signature can be characterised. Then, anyone who is a close enough match to these Y-DNA signatures can "piggyback" onto the extensive lineage and jump backwards in time to the earliest known ancestor on that extensive line. There may be several generations missing between you and the point where you connect to the extensive lineage, but at least the DNA will have confirmed that your particular branch definitely links up to it.

Thus, DNA could help you jump back several centuries in time on your Ryan ancestral line.

To help this initiative, we are putting out a public appeal: are you a Ryan with a detailed pedigree (documented and proven)? does it go back to at least the 1700s? If so, please get in touch with us so we can add it to the family tree on Ancestry.

If your Ryan pedigree goes back into the 1600s (or earlier), we would like you to consider doing the Big Y test. Everyone who participates in the Big Y test will be making an invaluable contribution to tracing the genealogical history of the Ryans. This is the best way of characterising the Y-DNA signature of your particular line. And because these extensive pedigrees are potentially of great value to ordinary project members, the project is hoping to subsidise some of the Big Y tests. If we buy them during one of the frequent sales, we will take advantage of the Sale price (usually $100 cheaper) but also, we would hope to subsidise $150 towards the cost of each Big Y test. This could reduce the cost of the Big Y test to a $100 or less.

In order to do this we need financial support in the form of donations towards the General Fund (which currently stands at $150). So if this is something that you would like to see happen, please make a donation (of any amount) via the following link.

If we get enough of these extensive lineages tested, we should be able to determine when the various branches split apart, and which branches are more closely related to each other. We might also be able to determine if the Ryan's of Tipperary are a separate clan to the Ryan's of Carlow.

So please donate to the General Fund - it will help us help you.

3) the Ryan Clan Association

Following a very successful virtual Gathering in Feb 2021, the decision was taken to form the Ryan Clan Association. The over-arching aim of the Association is to be a guardian of Ryan heritage. We hope to organise a regular Clan Rally (either physical or virtual), provide resources for people researching their Ryan roots, build and preserve an archive of material related to Ryan history, and initiate and/or support heritage projects of relevance to the Ryan Clan. To achieve these longer-term objectives, the Ryan Clan Association website has been set up as well as a dedicated Facebook group to encourage social interaction among Ryan's worldwide. The website already has some interesting articles about the origins of the Ryan Clan and whether we are dealing with one clan or two - see here.

4) the Facebook group
The Ryan Genealogy & DNA Forum was launched on Facebook in Jan 2018 and now boasts over 1400 members. This is a hugely popular group and new members are joining every day. It is a great place to ask genealogical questions, share information and find Ryan DNA matches. Many people have made connections with distant cousins in this way and have received information that they might not otherwise have discovered. 

5) the Ryan Ancestor Project (on Gedmatch)

This allows anyone who has taken an autosomal DNA test to compare their DNA against everybody else in this project. Whereas the Ryan DNA Project focusses on Y-DNA (which is only inherited down the direct male line), the focus of the Ancestor Project is autosomal DNA, and therefore anyone can join, irrespective of gender and no matter how far back your Ryan ancestor lived. Here is the link to the instructions for joining the Ryan Ancestor Project. For a general overview of Ancestor Project's, take a look at this short video here.

6) the Ryan Sharesheet (via the Facebook group)

The Ryan ShareSheet summarizes general information for members’ ancestors, including their Ryan family nicknames and their ancestral origins. The ShareSheet is updated weekly and is available for viewing to all members of the Ryan Genealogy and DNA Forum. Have a look - you may find some of your ancestors there. Instructions for accessing the share sheet are on this link here.

7) the Ryan Nickname spreadsheet

The Ryan surname is so common in Tipperary and the surrounding areas that many families were known by a nickname. These can be very helpful in finding where your particular Ryan family came from. Derek Ryan has compiled a spreadsheet with over 500 Ryan nicknames discovered thus far. This is updated on an ongoing basis and can be accessed via his blog post here.

The Ancestor Project and Ryan Sharesheet are all coordinated by the incredibly industrious Jamee Ryan Carlin. Derek Ryan runs the Tipperary Antiquarian website which is a great source for the rich archaeological heritage of Tipperary.   

We hope you find these resources helpful. The new initiatives are particularly exciting and we will be posting regular updates in the Facebook group as well as here on the blog.

Happy Hunting!

Maurice Gleeson

Derek Ryan

Jamee Ryan Carlin

May 2021