I am posting below a recent article which was forwarded to me by our member, Ana Cris (aka Lula).
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Geneticists find Celtic links to Spain and Portugal
2004-09-09 17:50:01+01
http://www.online.ie/news/viewer.adp?article=3155470
The Irish and Scots may be as closely related to the people of Spain and Portugal as the Celts of central Europe, it emerged today.
Historians have long believed the British Isles were swamped by a massive invasion of Iron Age Celts from central Europe around 500BC.
But geneticists at Dublin's Trinity College now claim the Irish and Scots have as much, if not more, in common with the people of north-western Spain.
Dr Daniel Bradley, genetics lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, said a new study into Celtic origins revealed close affinities with the people of Galicia
"It's well known that there are cultural relations between the areas but now this shows there is much more," Dr Bradley said.
"We think the links are much older than that of the Iron Age because it also shows affinities with the Basque region - which isn't a Celtic region."
"The links point towards other Celtic nations, in particular Scotland, but they also point to Spain," he added.
Historians believed the Celts, originally from the Alpine regions of central Europe invaded the Atlantic islands in a massive migration 2,500 years ago.
But using DNA samples from people living in Celtic nations and other parts of Europe geneticists at the university have drawn new parallels.
Dr Bradley said it was possible migrants moved from the Iberian peninsula to Ireland as far back as 6,000 years ago up until 3,000 years ago.
"I don't agree with the idea of a massive Iron Age invasion that took over the Atlantic islands. You can regard the ocean - rather than a barrier - as a communication route," Dr Bradley said.
It is believed archaeologists are also questioning the links between the Celts of eastern France and southern Germany and the people of the British Isles.
The study found people in areas traditionally known as Celtic, such as Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Brittany and Cornwall, had strong links with each other and people in Ireland have more in common with Scots than any other nation.
There are also close links between Scotland and Ireland dating back much further than the Plantations of the 1600s when many Scots moved to northern Ireland in search of fertile farming lands, the research showed.
However scientists could not shed any light on whether fair skin, red hair and fiery tempers truly are Celtic traits.
The study headed by Dr Bradley was published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.