According to genetic studies made by scientists of the Trinity College in Dublin, and published in The Irish Times newspaper, origins of the Irish people are found in various parts of Galicia and the Basque Country.
According to their studies, people from the Basque Country and Galicia probably originally went to Ireland on boats as the glaciers that covered Ireland from the last ice age melted away. These migrants also carried typical animals of the Basque Country and Galicia with them.
The scientists based their theory on the fact that Y chromosome -a genetic inheritance that comes via the father- is present in people from Ireland, Basque Country and Galicia. Researchers also found this special feature in animals like badgers, wild hares or small shrews of these two regions.
The research was published in The Irish Times newspaper last week. One of the authors, Prof Dan Bradley of Trinity College Dublin’s Smurfit Institute of Genetics reminds that The Book of Invasions from the 8th century already talked about an invasion by the Spanish king Milesius. «The Irish badgers are Spanish, but the British badgers are not. The fauna of Ireland seems to be divergent. How does one explain this?» he asked.