The Curley surname research project has been in full swing for a few years, and I think we can consider it a fully mature surname project now. We've got enough members within the project, over 40 Y-DNA tests, that all the major genetic groups have probably been discovered.  Most new DNA tests will probably either belong to one of the existing groups or form small, young branches separated from the main groups by non paternity events.

The documentation has been thoroughly explored and exhausted, so I don't expect any new discoveries from that angle.  The house of Curley is pretty well in order.

But there are still questions that remain with the possibility of being answered by future DNA testing.

The documentation records a Scottish Kerlie family, from the Irish name Cairill.  But to date, there are no known project members whose lineage can clearly be associated with this Scottish family.  It is possible that this lineage has gone extinct.  Perhaps one of our project groups belongs to this lineage, but their history has been forgotten.  There may be known descendants of this lineage lurking in the shadows waiting to be discovered. The hope is that future DNA testing may reveal a pattern connecting one of the genetic groups to a Scottish origin, or a native Scottish Kerlie from a currently untested lineage may come forward.  The surname project does not yet include any Scottish natives or individuals with a known Scottish origin, so the possibility remains for an unsampled lineage waiting to be discovered.

There is an Ulster McCurley genetic group whose history is not yet clear.  This group may possibly be associated with the lost Scottish lineage. Alternatively, they may be a branch of the native Irish Curley lineage, sharing a distant ancestor with the Galway/Roscommon and Oriel lineages.  Or they may be a distinct genetic branch, separated from others by an NPE.  The STR pattern of this group does not clearly link it to any of the major lineages, but neither does it exclude the possibility.  The current data is ambiguous.  DNA testing of SNPs is needed within this group to determine their relationship to the other genetic groups.

There are documented families of various name forms, including Corley, Kirley, and McCurley, in the Oriel area of Ireland that have not yet been sampled.  I suspect that some of these families represent distant branches of the ancient Group 4 lineage, which already includes project members from Galway, Roscommon, and Dundalk.  It would be informative to gain project participants from these various Oriel families and possibly tie them in to the main Irish lineage, adding to the evidence for a shared 15th century McOirealla ancestor.

There is a Norman family Curlieu found in documentation.  But, as with the Scottish Kerlie family, there is no known history connecting any modern lineage to this old family.  The hope is that some modern lineage may be discovered with a clearly documented connection to this ancient family.

The English Kerley group has a well defined genetic lineage.  But they cannot be clearly linked to any historical lineage.  There is some suggestion that they are from Dorsetshire, but the evidence is meager.  There is the possibility that this group descends from the Norman Curlieu family, the Scottish Kerlie family, or some other unknown lineage.  Future DNA testing of distantly related genetic matches from England or Scotland has the potential to illuminate the question.

For the many other genetic groups that may have been affected by non paternity events, there is the hope that future DNA matches will resolve the question.  The Irish Curley family of Galway/Roscommon includes no less than five distinct genetic groups, having been fragmented into multiple genetic lineages during its ~450 years of residence in the area.

Group 2 of the L1066 haplogroup is among these lineages.  There are hints of evidence that this lineage may genetically descend from a Burns lineage of the Roscommon area, with a non paternity event splitting them from the original Curley lineage around 1600 AD.  But SNP testing of the distant Burns matches is needed to determine whether this is the case.  Group 3 is in a similar position.  There are suggestions of an NPE involving the Crane or Grant surname, and additional future DNA matches may resolve the question.

In addition to the major lineages, the project includes multiple isolated grouplets of single individuals and small, young branches that are not genetically related to any of the major groups.  Most of these small lineages are probably the result of recent non paternity events that cleaved their genetic lineage off from their historical family roots.  In all these cases, what's needed to clarify the history is additional DNA matching to future testers, including both matches within their surname and close matches to other surnames, in order to define the borders of when, where, and with whom a non paternity event may have occurred.

Many of our project members have already successfully discovered their family history via the genetic connections within the project, in combination with the thorough documentation research of each historical group.  For those of our project who are sitting in limbo land just waiting and wondering what you can do, your best hope is to find someone that you suspect you may be genetically related to, either through a documented connection or geographic commonality, and get them to do a Y-DNA test.

One member from Roscommon has upgraded from 12 markers to 67, confirming their membership in Group 4.  Another member of this group has upgraded from 37 to 67 markers.  With 3 of 5 of this group at 67 markers now, the early MRCA of this group is more firmly established.  All members of this group share an MRCA estimated at around 17 generations, from about the 15th century.

We also have a new member of Group 2 from near Athlone.  All the Athlone area Curleys of this group share an MRCA estimated to around 1650 AD.

The Group 2 Curley lineage of Athlone, Ireland has gotten a Y-DNA match to a lineage from Ballyhaunis, Mayo.  This match is the first of this genetic group that doesn't trace to Athlone or its immediate vicinity.  The new member pushes the probable MRCA of this genetic lineage a little further back, probably to around the late 1500's-1600, not long after the Curleys arrived in Roscommon. Documentation suggests the Group 4 Curleys arrived in Roscommon in the 16th century, migrating from the northern population of Oriel.  Perhaps, shortly after arriving in Roscommon, there was an NPE in this lineage, with the L1066 haplogroup's Y-DNA crossing over into the Curley name.  The descendants of this L1066 Curley lineage went in opposite directions, one settling in Athlone and the other heading toward County Mayo. Alternatively, it's possible that the Mayo branch is a more recent migrant from Athlone.  In this case, the L1066 NPE may have occurred in Athlone.  But the Curleys have been in the Ballyhaunis area since at least the early 1800's, so any such migration from Athlone must have occurred prior to this.

We also have a new member who probably belongs to the Group 4 Curleys.  With only a 12 marker DNA test, it isn't certain.  But a 67 marker upgrade is in process, so we'll find out soon enough.  This lineage traces to Berries, Kiltoom, Roscommon, clustering with the previously known members of this group in East Galway.  I believe Group 4 is the original genetic lineage of the Irish Curleys, so we should expect the geographic distribution of this lineage to correspond with the documented history of the Curley family - spread throughout the Galway/Roscommon area and Monaghan/Louth to the north.

Finally, we have a new genetic lineage from the Galway area Curleys.  This time it's from Aughrim, Galway, practically next door to the other genetic lineages in Ballinasloe and Taghmaconnell.  This lineage has probably been genetically split from the other Galway area Curleys by yet another NPE. I've labelled this new Galway lineage as Group 6, and renumbered many of the other groups to make room for it in the sequence.

Exciting news! Our Dundalk Curley DNA test has completed. The test results are very enlightening, confirming the connection between the Group 4 Galway Curleys and the Oriel population of Curleys.

The reason I sponsored this test was that I suspected the Group 4 Galway Curleys were a very old lineage, possibly the original lineage of the family. My hypothesis, based on documentation, was that the family had started out in the Oriel area of Monaghan/Louth counties around the 15th century. In the 16th century some of the family migrated to the Roscommon area around Ballymacurly and then expanded south and west into Galway and Athlone.

This Dundalk test appears to confirm this hypothesis! The tester descends from three known generations of Dundalk Curleys.  His DNA is a distant match to the Group 4 Galway Curleys, having the STR values of DYS449=27 and DYS570=15 which are unique to this group.  This confirms that the Dundalk Curleys are distantly related to the Group 4 Galway Curleys.

The estimated distance to the shared ancestor of this group is centered at ~17.25 generations.  Multiplying by 30 years per generation gives 517 years, which puts the shared ancestor at around 1450 AD.  This date fits perfectly with the documentation.  The Annals of Ulster document a Curley in the Oriel area in 1447 AD.

The DNA match is strong evidence that Group 4 is the original lineage of the Irish Curleys.  The family started out in the Oriel area, then one branch of the family migrated to Roscommon, as reported by oral tradition and supported by documentation.  Most modern Curleys descend from the Galway/Roscommon lineage.  But the Oriel Curleys of the Louth and Monaghan area represent the original location of the family.  Both lineages share a common ancestor from around the 15th century, as well as pre-surname matches to the Oriel area.  This not only confirms the documentary evidence, but also supports the etymology of the Curley name originating from MacOirealla/MacOirghaillaigh, with this name being connected to the modern place name Oriel and the original kingdom name Oirghialla, where counties Louth and Monaghan now lie.

The Curley genetic lineages of Connacht continue to proliferate, making the family groupings of this region a muddled chaos.

Following confirmation of the A738/BY198 haplogroup for some of the M222 Irish Curleys, several of the other M222 Irish Curleys tested for this same SNP.  The tests reveal that they are unrelated to the A738/BY198 lineage of East Galway.  So it looks like we now have yet another distinct genetic lineage (at least one) in some Curleys of the Connacht area, including one from the Aran Islands and one from Sligo.  Likely, this is due to NPEs that have fragmented what was originally a single Curley lineage of this area.  I've reorganized the project groupings according to these latest test results.

Members of Group 5 are encouraged to purchase the M222 SNP Pack to determine their haplogroup within M222.  Identification of the terminal SNP is the only way to confirm lineage groupings among these individuals whose STR signature is ambiguous.

It has been confirmed that the M222 Curleys of the Galway/Sligo area belong to the subclade BY198/A738.  BY198 and A738 are equivalent, being synonyms for the same SNP.  This lineage is suspected of being the original Irish Curley lineage from the surname progenitor, unaffected by NPEs.

This SNP may now be used to test other M222 Curleys whose group placement is not clear from their STR test.  The test may be ordered as A738 from FTDNA's upgrade, advanced orders.  It is also included (under the label BY198) within the M222 subclade panel.  It may also be ordered by either name, BY198 or A738, from a different company, YSeq.net (although this requires a new DNA sampled to be shipped to YSeq.net in Germany).

I recommend one of these tests for M222 Curleys whose group identity is currently unclear.

We also have a test result for our first Kerley of County Louth.  This individual is unrelated to any of the other known Kerley/Curley lineages.  This individual may represent either a separate lineage with its own surname origin, or a branch of one of the major lineages that has been affected by an NPE.  Additional testing of this particular name spelling and region are needed to determine this individual's relationship to other lineages.

I have also heard rumor that there is a new Curley of the Athlone lineage, and that this person has a large GD to the other lineages of this group. Although the individual's data is private, so I cannot analyze it in detail.  The high GD suggests that the Athlone lineage may be older than previously believed.  Although the fact that this lineage appears to be contained within the locale of Athlone suggests otherwise.  And it is important to keep in mind that the GD and MRCA estimates are just that, ESTIMATES of the group's age.  Each MRCA estimate has a large probability distribution curve, with plenty of room on both the younger and older side of the curve.  The center of the curve is where the MRCA is most likely to be, but the statistics allow a significant chance for the MRCA to be much older or much younger than the median.  This particular individual may have just experienced a large number of STRs in their lineage within a few hundred years.  The entire totality of evidence, including the MRCA estimate, the group's distribution, the relationship to other lineages of the area, and the documentation trail, still appear to favor the hypothesis that this is a younger lineage resulting from an NPE occurring in the town of Athlone, breaking it off from the main lineage of Galway/Sligo.

(11-30-2015 Update:  This anonymous Athlone Curley's test was upgraded to 67 markers.  As I expected, the genetic distance to this lineage decreased with the additional panel of markers.  At 37 markers, the GD to the nearest match was 6/37.  The second panel of markers has a GD of only 2/30, a significantly smaller fraction.  This gives a total combined genetic distance of 8/67 to the nearest match.  The GD of the first 37 markers was apparently misleadingly high, and the estimated age of the MRCA has declined with extended testing.  An upgrade to 111 markers would possibly reduce the age of the MRCA estimate even further, as has been the case with other members of this genetic group.)

(1-24-2015 Update:  This individual upgraded to 111 markers and the fractional GD has declined further, as I predicted.  Markers 68-111 added only 1 more difference out of 44 markers.  So the total GD is now 9/111 to the nearest match.  This gives a more reasonable MRCA estimate, in line with the other members of this group.)

I am still working on getting additional testing from other areas of Ireland and the UK outside of what has already been tested.  It is very slow going, but there is gradual progress being made.  If there are any Curleys/Kerleys/Corleys whose lineage is originally from the area of County Louth or the Ulster province, please contact me and I may be able to arrange a free DNA test for you.  These areas are currently under represented and are critical to revealing the family's history, as the documentation points toward this area for the family's origin.

I'm also especially interested in getting participation from any Scottish lineages, and any English or French lineages that are suspected to descend from the Norman family de Curlieu/Curley/Curlew/Corley/Corlew, etc.  Individuals fitting the description may be eligible for a free test.  If you qualify, please contact me.

The Curley project has been in a lull lately, with not much news to report on.  I recently discovered a few more Irish manuscripts of the 14th-15th centuries which mention Mc Oirghiallaigh / Oirealla named individuals, and I've added those manuscripts to the Irish page.  In all these manuscripts, Mc Oirghiallaigh is spelled pretty consistently the same.  The name spelling in these manuscripts consistently utilizes the same root word as the Airghialla / Oirghialla kingdom, which supports a connection between the kingdom name and the family name.  In addition, all these manuscripts also include Mc Toirdealbhaigh as a different name assigned to different individuals other than Mc Oirghiallaigh.  So there is no wiggle room left for any speculation that Mac Oirghiallaigh may be just a different spelling variation of the Mc Toirdealbhaigh name.  The multiple manuscripts leave no doubt that Mac Oirghiallaigh is an Irish family name in its own right - separate, distinct, and unrelated to Mc Toirdealbhaigh / Turlough.  The Mc Oirghiallaigh / Oirealla name now has a well established record of being in use from the 14th century up until the 16th century, when it became Anglicized and recorded as M'Kirilie or phonetically similar forms.

We have our first French Corlew member's test completed!  The test results shows no genetic connection to any of the other Curley groups, including all the Curleys of Ireland and the Kerleys of England.  This Corlew individual probably descends from the French Corlieu family, having ties to the English Curlieu family originally from Normandy.  The absence of a Corlew match to the Curleys is no surprise, given what we've learned over the past few months regarding the MacOirghiallaigh origin of the Irish Curley family.  Although there was still the chance of a connection to the English Kerley family.

We've also added another member to our Irish Curley group of counties Galway and Sligo.  This group continues to expand in size, strengthening the case that this lineage represents the original MacOirealla lineage.  We've also learned that this lineage has pre surname matches, circa 14th-15th century, to families of the east Breifne and Airghialla territories, including the family names O'Reilly and MacGauran, which are both mentioned in the Annals of Ulster in association with MacOirealla.

The Curley surname research project is growing!  We now have 28 test kits included in the DNA data, with several more in process.  There are several recent test results that call for a news update.

First of all, one of the three Irish groups, "Irish Curley 3", is shaping up as an old lineage, with an ancestor estimated at around the 16th century.  This is around the time that M'Curleys first appear in records in the area of counties Galway and Roscommon, probably recently arrived from the northern kingdom of Airghialla.  So this lineage probably has an intact genetic lineage from one of the first M'Curley settlers in the area, possibly from the first M'Curley progenitor.  This group belongs to the M222 haplogroup, which is concentrated in northern Ireland and Scotland, probably originating in this area.  So this group is a strong candidate for being descendants of the 15th century MacOirghiallaigh family of the Airghialla kingdom who migrated to the Galway and Roscommon area around the 16th century.

Based on the new M222 results, I've reorganized the members of this group.  It is now clear that we have several distinct, unrelated groups of M222. There are the Irish Curleys, with lineages from counties Galway and Sligo.  There is a separate group of Ulster Scot McCurleys.  There's a single English Curley individual, unrelated to the other groups.  And, finally, there are a couple other M222 Curleys with 12 marker tests whose placement is not clear, but who probably belong to either the Irish Curley or Ulster Scot McCurley group.

We also have additional test results from the "Irish Curley 2" group.  This group has turned out not to belong to the Clan Colla haplogroup.  The hypothetical match to Clan Colla was a long shot, so this test outcome is not too surprising.  The MacOirghiallaigh origin in the Airghialla kingdom is based on documentation evidence (and exclusion of other supposed origins that contradict the documentation), so the fact that this particular genetic lineage is not Clan Colla does not refute the MacOirghiallaigh origin for the Irish Curleys.  The latest test results from the "Irish Curley 3" group suggest that it may be this group from the north, rather than "Irish Curley 2", which represents the original lineage from MacOirghiallaigh.

I've been busy recruiting testers from the area of the Airghialla kingdom.  If we could identify one of the Curley lineages as being widely spread throughout all of Ireland, with a 15th century MRCA, it would establish that lineage as the likely original Curley lineage.  We have a couple tests in the works from counties Louth and Monaghan.  These could tie in to one of the existing southern Curley groups of counties Galway and Roscommon.  Although the risk of non paternity affecting any individual lineage is, as always, significant.  Ideally, I'd still like to get a couple more testers from the northern counties to maximize the odds of finding a lineage unaffected by non paternal events.