Clan Macneil and Kisimul Castle

For those who like history and Scotland (and really, how could you NOT?!), I am descended from Clan Macneil on the maternal (my birth mother's) side of the family.

Although the Macneils claimed they were descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, a high king of Ireland, they were NOT. Instead, recent tests revealed the Macneils had Viking DNA instead!

Essentially, Clan Macneil were fierce Viking-Scottish pirates that would take over ships that sailed by the Isle of Barra.

The Clan Macneil motto is "Buaidh no bas" (Victory or death), also translates as "Conquer or Die."

Clan Macneil's Kisimul Castle is located in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, off the Isle of Barra. I hope to see it in person some fine day!

My ancestor, Thomas Macneil, is my connection to the clan. He fought in the American Revolutionary War. These are my peeps! ;-) On the paternal side, I'm related to Clan Fergusson.

What do you get when you have Norse-Scottlish DNA? A hellion! Yep, that's me. I'll admit it. A bit too brash and mouthy for some, but at least you know where I stand on things!

Viking gravestone on the Isle of Barra

Source/photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/38200560@N08/4660867380/

This is a Viking gravestone on Cille Bharra, otherwise known as Scotland's Isle of Barra. My birth mother's ancestors (and thus mine as well) were of the MacNeil clan from the Isle of Barra in Scotland.

As noted in an article I posted a link to recently, the MacNeils always claimed descendancy from Niall Noígíallach, otherwise known as Niall of the Nine Hostages, a prominent high king of Ireland. However, after an ancestral DNA project was conducted on clan members from the Isle of Barra, it was discovered there was no trace of DNA to link the clan to Niall of the Nine Hostages.

Instead, much to most everyone's surprise, there turned out to be Viking DNA (Norwegain/Scandinavian) in the MacNeil clan's background. This made sense to me, because the vast majority of my DNA is from Northern Europe, with strands of DNA from Norway/Scandinavia represented in there.

For a person like me who was adopted, piecing together one's heritage is exciting after starting out not knowing *anything* about one's ancestry. I located my birth mother (and two birth brothers) back in 1999.

From there, I began gathering information and even corresponded with the family genealogist/historian, Norma. As I've said before, having my ancestral DNA done through 23andme.com was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I am now connected to over 900 of my DNA relatives through their database, including 1 first cousin I've never met and 17 second and third cousins, plus more ancestral connections beyond that.

I post about this stuff a lot, but it's one of the most important discoveries of my entire life. I want my children to know their history and ancestry from my side and their father's side. You quickly learn we are all connected some how, some way.

If you ever get the chance, you should spend $99 to find out about your ancestral DNA, whether it's from 23andme, Ancestry.com, or another reputable company. Even if you think you know a lot about your family and ancestors, I'll bet you'll find out things you never imagined -- with a few "Wow!" surprises in there for good measure!

Viking DNA? Yes! More about my Norse and Scottish ancestry

http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2015/01/15/dna-tests-prove-scots-clan-are-viking-not-irish/

DNA tests prove Scots clan are Viking not Irish

HOLY COW! Just ran across this article, and it's about Clan MacNeil, the clan that's connected to my birth mother's side. There is a Thomas MacNeil mentioned in the 9 generations of genealogy info I have from the family genealogist/historian. Because I can prove my ancestry from Clan MacNeil, if I wanted to visit the Isle of Barra, off of Scotland, I could visit there and also the clan castle. I'd love to do that some day!

The article makes total SENSE because I did my DNA ancestry through23andme.com and it came up with a shit-ton of Northern European, with Norwegian/Scandinavian. THIS is where that Viking/Norwegian link comes from! WOW. And I stumbled across this article by accident. Holy crap!

I was right all along -- that part of my DNA is related to this. I don't care if I'm not related to Irish royalty, because on my birth father's side, I'm related to two U.S. presidents AND a Russian Tsar.

This is so freaking exciting to me! Okay, now I'm ready to move to Norway or the Isle of Barra, where my Viking & Scottish ancestors lived.

From the article: "The clan was infamous throughout Scotland and beyond for its Viking-style pirating and great seamanship.

MacNeils raided the seas from their base at Kisimul Castle in Birlinn vessels – boats similar to the Viking longships.

Western Isles MP, Angus MacNeil, who also lives on Barra, said: 'The MacNeils were a notoriously pirating clan. It’s no surprise we have Norse DNA.
'Maybe we are the last vikings.'

The MP joked: '‘Conquer or die’ is the clan motto. Given the size of the island we ended up on we must have been better at the dying than the conquering.'"