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Legend has that the Gaelic Irish originated from Fénius Farsaid, King of Scythia. His son Nel was a scholar in the court of Pharaoh and married Scotia the Pharaoh's daughter. Their son, Goídel Glas, was healed of a serpent bite by Moses' prayer and given a prophecy of their future homeland, Ireland. After years of wandering, they finally settled in northern Spain (Iberia) where his descendant King Breoghan built a tower from which his son Ith saw Ireland (Hibernia) one winter day. Breoghan's grandson, Míl Espáine, a soldier, remembering the prophecy of their western Isle, set out to conquer Ireland, but having died, his sons finished the invasion, where they reigned as high kings of Ireland for nearly two millennia  before Christ.

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Storytelling has always been an Irish gift—with the Emerald Isle renowned worldwide for her folklore and rich oral tradition. In fact, in ancient Irish society, history and genealogy held a high place, with every chieftain having bards or seanchaí who would spend their lives composing their history, genealogy, and laws into lyrical poems which were recited, memorized, and carefully passed down from generation to generation. Over the millennia, some stories were colored to bring honor to those connected to the character; other stories were also developed simply for entertainment.

 

Sadly, it seems that most modern historians are unwilling to consider any history that might be hiding within these ancient Irish traditions—despite the fact that all ancient history was at one time oral history— even including those of the great historians, such as Herodotus (Dr. Guy Beiner). It could be somewhat akin to ignoring the fact that the American frontiersman, Daniel Boone, ever existed, just because there are a number of folk legends and tall tales which sprang up around him over the centuries. That's not to say that they're all true by any means, but many modern scholars have examined the ancient traditions of Irish origins written in the manuscripts and have rejected them entirely from the perspective of textual criticism (See Did the Irish Come from Spain? [History Ireland, 2001]).

 

Recent scientific discoveries, however, reveal some truth deep in the core of the ancient Irish lore. DNA evidence supports the existence of our pre-Ó Dochartaigh ancestor, legendary king of Ireland, Niall of the Nine Hostages, who lived during the 4th century (actually the Romans wrote about his feats also). Modern genetics also seem to support the belief that the Gaelic or "Milesian" Irish peoples originally came from the Basque region of Spain, as was bore out in the ancient lore. Interesting to say the least!

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• Blood of the Irish: What DNA Tells Us About the Ancestry of People in Ireland (Owlcation, 2018)

• Genetic studies show our closest relatives are found in Galicia and the Basque region (The Irish Times, 2009)

• Researchers Trace Roots of the Irish and Wind Up in Spain (New York Times, 2000)

• Insights Into the O’Neills of Ireland from DNA Testing (Journal of Genetic Genealogy 2:18-26, 2006)

• A Y-Chromosome Signature of Hegemony in Gaelic Ireland (National Institute of Health, 2006): "such phylogenetic predominance is a biological record of past hegemony and supports the veracity of semimythological early genealogies ."

• Updated Resources for DNA vs Irish Annals (Surname DNA Journal)

Here are some of the Irish Manuscripts which include the ancient traditions of Irish origins:

• Lebor gabála Érenn—The book of the taking of Ireland, ed. R. A. Stewart MacAlister (Irish Texts Society, 1938-1956): Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V.

• Chronicon Scotorum 

• The Irish version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius

• The History of Ireland (Geoffrey Keating)

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