Blood of the Irish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This is an article about a television documentary, not about the Irish Blood Transfusion Service. For the similarly titled song by Morrissey, see "Irish Blood, English Heart". The novel by Colm Tóibín is Bad Blood: A Walk Along the Irish Border.
| Blood of the Irish | |
 The logo spills across the screen from left to right. |
|
| Genre | Documentary[1] |
|---|---|
| Starring | Diarmuid Gavin |
| Country of origin | Ireland |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 2 X 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | RTÉ One |
| Original run | 5 January 2009 – 12 January 2009 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
Blood of the Irish is a two-part documentary miniseries broadcast on RTÉ One and presented by the professional gardener Diarmuid Gavin. It commenced airing on 5 January 2009 and completed broadcasting seven days later. In the documentary, Gavin sought 'the truth' about Irish genealogy.[2] Genetic research into a selection of Irish DNA and its origins was undertaken for the programme at Trinity College, Dublin and EthnoAncestry. They revealed some previously unheard ideas. An attempt was also made to extract ancient DNA from some of the oldest human remains that have to date been located within the boundaries of Ireland.
Contents |
[edit] Research and Gavin's discoveries
Some new discoveries were announced as a result of the investigation. The programme examined the previously claimed[3] notion that one fifth of the modern male population living in the north-west counties are direct descendants of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the legendary high king who allegedly kidnapped the young Saint Patrick and led him to Ireland.[4] This was found to be particularly the case in County Donegal where it was discovered that five inter-county footballers out of the entire panel of thirty carried the relevant gene. Daniel O'Donnell, an internationally-renowned Irish singer and entertainer, submitted himself to for testing and it was discovered that he too was one of these descendants.
Gavin also explored a cave in Northern Spain as he attempted to locate a solid link between Ireland and migrants from the Basque region. He expressed his surprise to discover similarities in the appearances of both Irish people and those inhabiting the fishing port of Bermeo.[5] He later extracted saliva samples containing DNA from people living in the West of Ireland and sent them for analysis. Bear DNA from old bones in an Irish cave was also found to be closely related to DNA from Spanish bears leading to the conclusion that the human immigrants must have carried the bears to Ireland in their skin-covered currach-type craft as domesticated animals. No other possibility was offered for this unusual finding.
[edit] 1930's Physical Anthropology
Gavin: Its the west coast you come to if you want evidence of the first of the Irish. Thats the theory anyway, though racial studies like those in the 1930's have fallen out of fashion.
The programme is uncritical in its direct linking of biology, Race and national identity. A study by racial hygienists E.A Hooton, C. W. Dupertuis and Helen Dawson from the 1930s[6] is cited in such a way as to completely ignore their attitude to human taxonomy, which would nowadays be seen as racist.[7][8] The second programme, which aired on 12 January 2009 continued his mission.
[edit] Reaction
John Boland of the Irish Independent dismissed Blood of the Irish and its presenter as a "laboured effort".[9]
[edit] References
- ^ "RTÉ Television Announces Over 70 new series and documentaries for New Season". RTÉ. 2008-08-06. http://www.rte.ie/about/pressreleases/2008/0806/autumnschedule2008.html. Retrieved on 2008-01-05.
- ^ "About the Series". RTÉ. Accessed 5 January 2009.
- ^ "Medieval Irish warlord boasts three million descendants". New Scientist. 2006-01-18. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8600. Retrieved on 2009-01-06.
- ^ "Blood of the Irish on RTÉ". Cork Genealogist. 2008-12-24. http://mjordan.wordpress.com/2008/12/24/blood-of-the-irish-on-rte/. Retrieved on 2009-01-05.
- ^ "Who are the Irish?". The Westmeath Independent. 2008-12-30. http://www.westmeathindependent.ie/articles/6/34489/. Retrieved on 2009-01-05.
- ^ The Physical Anthropology of Ireland By Earnest Albert Hooton, Clarence Wesley Dupertuis, Helen Dawson
- ^ Race, Racism, and Science By John P. Jackson, Nadine M. Weidman
- ^ The Emperor's New Clothes By Joseph L. Graves
- ^ "RTE comedy? You're having a laugh...". Irish Independent. 2009-01-10. http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/tv-radio/rte-comedy-youre-having-a-laugh-1597863.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-10.
[edit] Further reading
- Genetic evidence for different male and female roles during cultural transitions in the British Isles Programme contributor Dr. James F. Wilson of the Galton Laboratory introduces the "Atlantic Model Haplotype".
- Relethford, J.E 'Historical anthropometry and studies of lrish population history' in Human Biologists in the Archives Ann Herring, Alan C. Swedlund eds ISBN 9780521801041
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Building of the sets
- EthnoAncestry - providers of genetic tests for this production
- RaceSci website, a resource for scholars and students interested in the history of "race" in science, medicine, and technology.
- Genetic Genealogy.Although useful in investigating ancestry, the application of genetics to traditional genealogy could be abused. EMBO
- Law on Data Protection - Ireland
