While investigating autosomal DNA matches for Cavan based Galligan, I stumbled into several trees suggesting that a line of Galligan descended from a union between a Beresford and a Pringle who changed his surname to “Gealagan” which then morphed to Galligan.

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• At FTDNA, I find 3 projects that recruit Galligan (Longford, IRE, Ulster and R-Z34609 & Subclades).
• Beresford is welcome into UlsterHeritagemtDNA Project.
• Pringle can join into the Pringle Project and, unsurprisingly, is full of Pringles claiming descent from Scottish lineages.

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At Ancestry.com, there are a lot of Galligan who claim descent from this Beresford union to Pringle.

Might anyone in group have insight about these claims ? ?

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ALSO, I was a bit surprised that the Pringle haplogroup partially aligns to that of Cavan Smith and MacMaolain descendants.

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QUESTION: IS THERE ANYTHING THAT I SHOULD BE READING INTO THIS OBSERVATION ?

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Lyn,

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All of this is tied into some work I am doing with a number of Galligan’s that are cousins to one another.

At FTDNA, I find only one Galligan that is accessible to me.?

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I am 95% certain this Galligan is one and the same as *ftg2 below. (I HOPE TO CONFIRM, BUT I ONLY STUMBLED ON THIS FTDNA KIT TODAY)

This same Galligan claims to be a descendant of a Scotsman named Pringle (see GEDCOM).

I have been trying to find ways to investigate claim.

One problem I have is that some autosomal DNA evidence actually hints to the possibility of the claim.

I am just finishing up on comparing the Galligan HG versus the HG for Pringles in the Pringle Project.? I see no immediately recognizable connection of this Galligan to any of the Pringles in the project.

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Given the large number of Galligan inside of Ireland, I am surprised that there is no FTDNA Galligan Surname Project. ?

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For what it is worth, Pringle and Beresford are good names for officers involved in a significant way in the Peninsular War, 1808-1814.? I happen to belong to the Waterloo Association.

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And both were born in Ireland.? You may well have known that already, but perhaps others on this list are not military history buffs – and remember this period for a certain war fought on another continent and between 1812-1814.

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Brian

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Brian,

I can’t thank you enough.

I am occasionally in touch with Adam Pringle, who heads up Pringles in Ireland. (Clan Pringle.org). ?

Adam is quite busy with preparations for the International Pringle Gathering scheduled for June 25^th, so I hate to bother him unless its absolutely necessary. ?I will forward to him the links in your note.

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ALTHOUGH NOT SKILLED IN THE ANALYSIS OF Y CHROMOSOME MATCHING, I DO NOT FIND EVIDENCE OF SHARED Y-CHROMOSOME GENETICS OF ANY PRINGLE WHO HAS TESTED TO BIG-Y and the one single GALLIGAN that I uncovered who is R-BY142791.?

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SMITTY

(U106>>>Z156>>BY12480>A10971>BY18855>BY3239>BY18859>BY166050>FT168807)

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Dear Lyn

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I suggest after this reply we carry on any correspondence off this list.

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By way of background, the period from 2008 to 2015 was full of bicentenary events involving the Peninsular War and the 4 battles of Waterloo (Quatre Bras, Ligny, Waterloo and some engagements by Marshal Grouchy on the 19th June 1815 against some Prussian troops, until the full enormity of the main French army defeat at Waterloo became crystal clear to him).

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One of the most amazing achievements to come out of all that was the Atlas of the Peninsular War, apparently now revised.

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In 2005, when my wife retired from teaching, we went down to the French border town of St. Jean de Luz and had a week’s guided tour following in the footsteps of the various Divisions of the British Peninsular Army when it invaded from Spain into France in 1813/4, in a tour led by Ian Fletcher, using minibuses and strong walking boots.? One of those remote battlefield sites we visited was the Battle of Maya, fought on 25 July 1813. Major-General William Henry Pringle played a key role in forestalling the French army attempt to break through the British lines at this point, although some of the Regiments under his command suffered severely, notably the 92nd Foot (the Gordon Highlanders).

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We went in the company of a metal detectorist from the immediate French locality, and in conjunction with Ian Fletcher he was soon pulling spent musket balls from this engagement out of the ground.? One evening, he came down to the hotel where we were all staying and showed us his choice finds he had recovered.? Everything from metal shako-cap regimental badges, to ramrods, to musket stocks, etc.? Quite an evening.

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I live 3 miles from the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, and perhaps more usefully, about 10 miles from the Prince Consort Military History Library at Aldershot.

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For the benefit of others, Marshal Beresford was charged specifically by Wellington to train the Portuguese land forces (Cacadores Regiments), and he gradually turned them into formidable fighting troops in their own right, well capable of fighting alongside the main British regiments.

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As you might guess from all this – I have a lot of books on various aspects of this period of military history on my bookshelves or lost in my mess which passes for a study.

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The family histories of Pringle and Beresford should be well researched.? All of the military correspondence of the Duke of Wellington is now housed in Southampton University Library and there will be an 8th Wellington Conference this year on 4^th-5^th April 2025.

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I have not yet applied for this – and have a shedload of stuff on around this time, even so . . . .

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Brian

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