Recently, I had my maternal mitochondrial DNA (also known as mtDNA) tested through the web site 23andme.com. I had been interested in genetics and the connection to genealogy, and in learning about the earliest generations and what their lives were like. I was somewhat surprised to be categorized in the U5a1a supgroup of U5, because it seems like only a small population of that subgroup were “Irish”, but there is a percentage nonetheless and it is interesting to know about these roots. The haplogroup is strongly linked to Finland and later *cough cough* Scotland and England, basically the extreme Northern sections of Europe which early people migrated to as the ice retreated after the ice age. There is even a U5a connection to Cheddar Man in England, who besides the great name was a pretty interesting guy.
A collage of photos taken of all the M.E.’s around age 17.