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As a newcomer to DNA matching, all I have to do is work out why I am here and how do I have a BigY match with a Mooney and a Moynihan (and a McCarthy). Sadly, my surname of Smith doesn’t lend itself to tracing ancestors too well.

My kit number is B260169 and I have been placed in R-FTE72338.

I’ll need to be guided by this group’s expertise.

Thanks for any advice.

Regards,

- Greg Smith

On 27 Feb 2025, at 4:16?pm, Paul O'Donnell via groups.io <absentplodder@...> wrote:

Greg,

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As you have Moynihan and Minnehan/Minahan on two of the three branches below A7752, I would put my money on that being your original Patrilineal Surname and this would have been in Ireland. FTE72338 has a mean origin date of about 1400CE (with a wide spread). If your ancestor had moved to England (or Scotland) at about this time it is when Patrilineal Surnames were being taken up there. ?It is possible that if his occupation was as a smith, then he took on this surname then. Alternatively, any of the other events that lead to changes of surname may have occurred.

?

?

Paul

From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]>?On Behalf Of?Greg Smith via?
Sent:?Thursday, 27 February 2025 3:45 PM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?[R1b-CTS4466-Plus] Thanks for the membership

?

As a newcomer to DNA matching, all I have to do is work out why I am here and how do I have a BigY match with a Mooney and a Moynihan (and a McCarthy). Sadly, my surname of Smith doesn’t lend itself to tracing ancestors too well.

My kit number is B260169 and I have been placed in R-FTE72338.

I’ll need to be guided by this group’s expertise.

Thanks for any advice.

Regards,

- Greg Smith?

On 27 Feb 2025, at 4:16?pm, Paul O'Donnell via groups.io <absentplodder@...> wrote:

Greg,

?

As you have Moynihan and Minnehan/Minahan on two of the three branches below A7752, I would put my money on that being your original Patrilineal Surname and this would have been in Ireland. FTE72338 has a mean origin date of about 1400CE (with a wide spread). If your ancestor had moved to England (or Scotland) at about this time it is when Patrilineal Surnames were being taken up there. ?It is possible that if his occupation was as a smith, then he took on this surname then. Alternatively, any of the other events that lead to changes of surname may have occurred.

?

?

Paul

From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]> On Behalf Of Greg Smith via
Sent:?Thursday, 27 February 2025 3:45 PM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?[R1b-CTS4466-Plus] Thanks for the membership

?

As a newcomer to DNA matching, all I have to do is work out why I am here and how do I have a BigY match with a Mooney and a Moynihan (and a McCarthy). Sadly, my surname of Smith doesn’t lend itself to tracing ancestors too well.

My kit number is B260169 and I have been placed in R-FTE72338.

I’ll need to be guided by this group’s expertise.

Thanks for any advice.

Regards,

- Greg Smith?

On 28 Feb 2025, at 10:14?am, Nigel McCarthy via groups.io <ndmccarthy10@...> wrote:

Greg,

I am responding also on behalf of the similar note you sent to my colleague Zena McCarthy Paice at the McCarthy Study.?

Without doubt your paternal origins have Mooney / Moynihan / McCarthy Muineagh (simply Meenig in many 19^th?century records, without inserting 'McCarthy') roots.? All three seem to derive from the Irish Maonach, (genitive, and I think I was told possibly once pronounced, Maoineach). Moynihan is simply a diminutive. See Fig. 5 at??(scroll down to "Meenig / Muineagh"), where an alternative possibility of "Munsterman" is also suggested, but perhaps Mooney fits less well with this source.

Sheet 24 of my Irish Type II / McCarthy R-L21 Group A tree on the same site demonstrates the genetic proximity. (An update of this tree expected over the weekend will show analysis of your data).

This is NOT a reason to join the McCarthy Study. You are already in the right place!

Kind regards = Nigel McCarthy

---

From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]> on behalf of Greg Smith via??<gregs1955@...>
Sent:?27 February 2025 20:01
To:?[email protected]?<[email protected]>
Subject:?Re: [R1b-CTS4466-Plus] Thanks for the membership

?

Thanks for the insight, Paul. It’s very open-ended and sounds fascinating (like everything in genealogy). I’m just comforted in the fact I’m from Ireland. Perhaps more people will surface in testing but it’s a bit of a lottery.

Regards,

- Greg

On 27 Feb 2025, at 4:16?pm, Paul O'Donnell via??<absentplodder@...> wrote:

Greg,

?

As you have Moynihan and Minnehan/Minahan on two of the three branches below A7752, I would put my money on that being your original Patrilineal Surname and this would have been in Ireland. FTE72338 has a mean origin date of about 1400CE (with a wide spread). If your ancestor had moved to England (or Scotland) at about this time it is when Patrilineal Surnames were being taken up there. ?It is possible that if his occupation was as a smith, then he took on this surname then. Alternatively, any of the other events that lead to changes of surname may have occurred.

?

?

Paul

From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]>?On Behalf Of?Greg Smith via?
Sent:?Thursday, 27 February 2025 3:45 PM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?[R1b-CTS4466-Plus] Thanks for the membership

?

As a newcomer to DNA matching, all I have to do is work out why I am here and how do I have a BigY match with a Mooney and a Moynihan (and a McCarthy). Sadly, my surname of Smith doesn’t lend itself to tracing ancestors too well.

My kit number is B260169 and I have been placed in R-FTE72338.

I’ll need to be guided by this group’s expertise.

Thanks for any advice.

Regards,

- Greg Smith?

On 26 Mar 2025, at 8:55?am, Francis & Susan Minnehan via groups.io <fransuem718@...> wrote:

Hi Greg,

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I’m Susan Minnehan, wife of Francis Minnehan who is sitting on branch R-BY69984 along with Joseph A Minihan. Fran did the Y-500 and then Y-700 after matching with Joseph A. Minahan on 67 markers. They are also an autosomal dna match.

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Unfortunately we don’t quite understand all of this but trust the many very knowledgeable people in this group such as Nigel and Paul can help us understand new developments as they happen.?

Best as we can tell, Fran’s great grandfather John Minihan/Moynihan was from county Limerick toward the border of Tipperary. John was born about 1820. He came to the United States mid 1850’s. I will now keep an eye out for the Smith surname as I continue to research.

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Just wanted to say welcome.

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Note to Paul, great explanation on why a Smith showed up on this part of the tree!

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