Previous Genealogy Seminar on Irish DNA

Tyrone Bowes
November 17, 2012
9:00AM – 12:30PM

Topics discussed:

“History, Genes, and Geography”
This session details the cultural and historical factors that make it possible for one to use simple commercial ancestral DNA testing to pinpoint precisely where one’s direct male Irish ancestor lived when he first took his surname over 1000 years ago. There will be a 15 min. question and answer period.

“Pinpointing Your Irish Genetic Homeland”
7 simple steps; everything you will need to know to pinpoint an origin, from which test, and which commercial testing company, to the freely accessible resources that one will need. There will be a 15 min. question and answer period.

“Case Studies”
Practical examples of people who have successfully used their DNA to determine firstly whether their Irish ancestors were of Irish-Celtic, Viking, Norman, Scottish-mercenary, or Planter origin, and where precisely those ancestors lived. 15 min. question and answer period.

Presenter:

Dr. Tyrone Bowes is an experienced Biotechnologist who was born in Dublin City, Ireland. He obtained a Diploma with ‘Distinction’ in Biology in 1995, and a ‘1st Class’ Honours Degree in Biotechnology in 1998. He pursued a personal interest in Neuropathies and was awarded a Ph.D. in Neuroimmunology from Scotland’s Glasgow Caledonian University in 2003. Before commencing the Irish, Scottish, and English Origenes websites he had worked extensively in both Academia and Industry specializing in the production and characterization of therapeutic antibodies.

Tyrone has always been curious about his origins simply because his surname ‘Bowes’ does not strike one as being of Irish origin. In 2004 he heard about commercial ancestral DNA testing and as a biologist was eager to take part. In 2010, by combining his expertise in biology, and his passion for history and geography he was able to piece together the clues to his ancestral origins. He discovered that his direct male ancestor, the first to call himself ‘Bowe’ was of Celtic/Gaelic Irish origin, and that his Bowe ancestors had their own distinct Clan and lived in a very small specific area. They were related to other Clans who lived close by and they left their mark on placenames where they lived for 100s if not 1,000s of years. What’s even more surprising is that he discovered that his distant relatives still live in the identified area.