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The O Clumhain clan is one of the great Irish families of ancient times.

Rev Patrick Woulfe (1923) writes:

O Clumhain, O Clufwayne, O Clovane, O Clowan</i>, Cluvane, Clovan, Cloven, (Coleman, Clifford); 'descendant of’, hairy, down, feathers, Latin pluma); the name of a literary and bardic family in Co. Sligo who were poets and chroniclers to the O'Haras. Branches of the family settled early in South Leinster and West Munster, where the name is now common, but disguised under the anglicised forms of Coleman and Clifford. The fact that these forms are also in use in the original territory is a proof that the families of the name in the south of Ireland are of the Sligo stock. Coleman, as an anglicised form, seems to have arisen from confusion of the present surname with O Clomain, a metathesised form current in the spoken language of O Colmain.

Please accept my apologies for lack of correct letter accents on the Gaelic names.

My Clifford family lived in Co. Donegal for "hundreds of years" according to my great uncle and aunt, born 1901 and 1909 respectively. Land deeds to the property from the 1800s confirm a long residence. About 2003, I participated in a Y-chromosome study of 25 different Clifford lineages in the English-speaking world and found no genetic connection with those families.

I theorise that my Clifford ancestors adopted an anglicised form of the Gaelic names O Clumhain, O Clufwayne, O Clovane, O Clowan with a remote Sligo connection.

So, the BIG question is. Can I connect with anyone researching this clan of ancient Ireland?

Any information is gratefully received,

 

CliffordExRaphoe100yearsAgo

Wednesday 15th Mar 2023, 12:38AM

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  • Clifford,

    I cannot answer your question about any specific DNA project that is solely focussed on your family but I have a little information about a more general Ulster based project that might interest you.

    Family Tree DNA reportedly has more people with Ulster roots than any other company. That obviously increases the chances of finding a match. You might want to try them or, if you have already tested, you can transfer your results to them for no fee.

    The North of Ireland Family History Society is running an Ulster DNA project in conjunction with FTDNA and can offer testing kits at a reduced price.  http://www.nifhs.org (Go to DNA project on the website).

     

     

    Elwyn, IrelandXO Volunteer ☘

    Wednesday 15th Mar 2023, 08:17PM

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