Ancestors of Irish people originated from present-day Ukraine

After analyzing the genomes of the ancient inhabitants of Ireland, the researchers concluded that the ancestors of the Irish people came from Eastern and Southern Europe. First of all, from the northern Black Sea coast, the south of present-day Ukraine.

Genetics from Trinity College Dublin with archaeologists from Queen’s University of Belfast examined the peasant’s skeleton from Neolithic period.
The age of well-preserved remains is estimated at 5200 years. Burial was found in 1855 near Belfast.
According to scientists, the genome of the woman has much in common with the genome of modern inhabitants of Spain and Sardinia.
But the peasant’s ancestors, according to the researchers, came to Europe from the Middle East, where first agriculture has sprung up.
In addition, the team of scientists found the remains of three men from the Ratlin Island, who lived in the Bronze Age around 4200 years ago.
The genome of men differed from peasant’s genome. Third part of the DNA structure indicates that their ancestors came from the Pontic prairies of the Black Sea region, located mainly on the territory of Ukraine.

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“The wave of genetic changes”

As explained by geneticist Daniel Bradley from Trinity College, who carried the study, genetic changes wave merged the continent in the Bronze Age, when descendants from the eastern periphery rushed there.
Some of the newly arrived tribes settled on the Atlantic coast of Europe, including Ireland.
‘The scope of genetic changes allows to suggest that there were other changes, and perhaps even the appearance of language,’ said Mr. Bradley in the BBC interview.
Genome “of the Ratlin Island group”, according to scientists, was much closer to the genome of modern Irish, Scots and Welsh, in contrast to the genome of a peasant.
According to Professor Bradley, additional genetic research is needed to understand how regional differences in the genomes of Celtic groups have emerged.