M222 (formerly R1b1c7) Project

Background

The R-M222 branch of the Y-DNA tree is defined by a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) called M222. This diagnostic marker is associated with many individuals whose roots lie in the counties of Northwest Ireland, Ulster and Lowland Scotland. The shaded footprint in the map at left shows the area where this profile is most often found. In no county is this pattern the dominant DNA profile, but in some counties (Donegal in NW Ireland, for example) it approaches 20 percent.

The map is intended only to show a population concentration; R-M222 individuals have roots within the oval but are not constrained by it. R-M222 individuals have been found in nearby areas outside the footprint -- in the Western Isles and in Orkney, for example, as well as in the North of England adjacent to the Scottish Border. A very few individuals have been found in Iceland, Norway and Germany.

TO JOIN THIS GROUP YOU MUST SEND A JOIN REQUEST FROM YOUR PERSONAL PAGE AT FTDNA. It is not possible to join this group until after you have received your Y-DNA test results. From your personal page click on the blue Join button in the upper part of the page. When the next screen opens up, click on R in the Y-Haplogroup Section. In the next screen, click on R-M222. Then on the next page click on the Join Request button. Please include your FTDNA kit number or your Ysearch record ID so that the Project Administrator has a chance to inspect your haplotype and confirm that you are a probable (or established) member of Haplogroup R1b1c7. See the public website (link above) for further information about the scope of the project. The R1b1c7 project is open to all individuals who have a derived (i.e., positive) test result on the SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) called M222. Also welcome are individuals without SNP results whose haplotypes conform to the Northwest Irish Variety of R1b1c.

Project Adminstrators:  David Wilson, John D. McLaughlin