Jireland.
Your interest in genealogy can be a dangerous pursuit if you aint prepared for the oft inevitable truths it brings out. A cousin of mine (both mothers sisters) went so far as to have a d.n.a. test in order to prove his descent....which naturally involved me. I knew I was a mongrel.....half English and half Scottish.....but it seems that predominence comes from the the mother's gene, and the ginger colour of my cousin, both mothers and my erstwhile red beard proved that we were "actual" members of the Gregorach or MacGreggor tribe, "actual" meaning untainted...whatever that means. I had believed otherwise but the evidence could not be disputed and I was gobsmacked. Being both interested in and familiar with the clan system I knew of the bloody history involved, but I had not been prepared to accept myself as a member of one that had been so reviled as to be proscribed, not allowed to use its name, and treated as vermine in the 17th century.
Romantic they were NOT, just thieves and conivers, often in cahoots with the Campbells in their attempts to dominate the politics of the day.
However, at least I now KNOW and have become less and less bothered by it. Being a mongrel....as I am sure we all are to a greater or lesser extent, is a good way of looking to the future. Skeletons in the cupboard, living or dead, are just baggage that can be discarded if you so wish.....or embraced so long as they have a sense of humour.
MB.
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Mike Barton
