My Irish DNA: an Update by Cindy Flores Martinez

St. Patrick’s Day is only a few days away, so I’ve decided to share an update on my search for my Irish ancestors, which I’ve written about before.

A few years ago, my mom gave me a test kit from AncestryDNA, and the results showed that I had 4 percent Irish ancestry and cousins from Northern Ireland. My mom’s test results from Family Tree DNA and 23andMe also revealed DNA cousin matches who lived in Northern Ireland and whose families had been there for many generations. It was such a surprise!

I embarked on a search for answers, and I’ve discovered that several of my cousin matches are the descendants of well-known Irish immigrants who moved to Mexico to work in the mining industry where my ancestors lived. It’s possible that one of them is my ancestor.

The one who stands out the most is Mr. McManus who was born in Northern Ireland in the 1800s, opened a business in Mexico, and had children with a Mexican woman. When they grew up, some of them lived in the same small town where my great grandmother was born. It’s an amazing coincidence. One of them could have been her father. I plan to keep searching for records.

What about you? Have you learned anything unexpected through an ancestry DNA test?

Cindy Flores Martinez is a USA Today bestselling author who writes Christian Romance. She has an MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Screenwriting. Her debut novel, Mail-Order Groom, started as a screenplay and movie project, which she shopped around Hollywood, New York, and other parts of the world. You can learn more about her at www.cindyfloresmartinez.com