The Infinite Explorer: New Series on the Secret Threads that Shape Our World

DNA has a way of bringing long-forgotten histories back to memory.

Hannah Takes a Closer Look at Her DNA Story

Like many in the UK and Ireland, Hannah knew her recent history. With an English father and an Irish mother, the assumption was she'd be 50% of each, give or take, with maybe some unexpected counties thrown in. But she wasn't. Ever the numbers person, Hannah quickly spotted that she was more than 50% Irish, and realized this hinted that her father had to have been a bit Irish as well.

AncestryDNA splits your results into two groups, Parent 1 and Parent 2, which you can then assign as Paternal and Maternal. This allows you to explore your Ancestral Origins inherited from each parent. Hannah's maternal side was as expected, even down to her Ancestral Journeys (formerly genetic communities), highlighting that her mother's family had lived in the same area for at least 200 years. AncestryDNA confirmed she's not only solidly central Ireland from County Offaly, but she's solidly from the town of Tullamore!

Her paternal side was a different story. Hannah inherited Irish ethnicity from her father, indicating he had recent heritage in Munster, the southernmost province of Ireland. The rugged coastlines and mountains of this region are very different from the pastoral farm land of County Offaly! This new ancestral region was a poignant discovery, as her father always felt like an outsider, "the Englishman," when he came to Ireland. But the DNA shows he was Irish himself through his great-grandmother Ellen Flynn.

Ellen's parents moved to London in the late 1830s, and their Irish story was lost over the best part of two centuries until documentary research and genetic genealogy restored it as part of Hannah's heritage.

What stories will you uncover in your own family tree? Start your journey on Ancestry today and discover your own incredible connections to the past! 

Watch full episodes of The Infinite Explorer with Hannah Fry on National Geographic UK, Mondays at 8pm, and view highlights on the Ancestry YouTube Channel now.