Category: Ireland

New study claims that Irishmen descended from Turkish farmers

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A new study has revealed that many Irish men may be able to trace their roots back to Turkey. Photo by: Wikimedia Commons

A new study has revealed that many Irish men may be able to trace their roots back to Turkey. Focusing on the role of the Y chromosome, which is passed from father to son, the research indicates Turkish farmers arrived in Ireland about 6,000 years ago, bringing agriculture with them. And they may have been more attractive than the hunter-gatherers whom they replaced.

The genetic patterns for Irish females differ from those of men. “Most maternal genetic lineages seem to descend from hunter-gatherers,” an author of the study, Patricia Balaresque, told the London Times. “To us, this suggests a reproductive advantage for farming males over indigenous hunter-gatherer males during the switch to farming.

“Maybe, it was just sexier to be a farmer,” she added.

Eighty-five per cent of Irish men are descended from farming people from the Middle East and especially Turkey, according to the research that was conducted by scientists at the University of Leicester.

The switch from hunting and gathering to farming was a crucial one in human development. Increased food production meant that populations were able to grow.

In Britain, 60-65 per cent of the population has the Turkish genetic pattern, while in parts of the Iberian Peninsula it’s almost as the same as in Ireland. The research contradicts what was previously thought about Irish genealogy – that hunter-gatherers from Spain and Portugal who survived the Ice Age were our main genetic ancestors.

“This particular kind of Y chromosome follows a gradient, gradually increasing in frequency from Turkey and the southeast of Europe to Ireland, where it reaches its highest frequency,” Mark Jobling from the University of Leicester told the Times.

We are saying that most of that original hunter-gatherer male population in Ireland was probably replaced by incoming agricultural populations,” he added.

Jane Walsh @irishcentral

*Originally published in June 2014.

November 1, 2014
Irish call to Turkey

DUBLIN – The Irish Presidency of the EU has urged Turkey to comply with its obligation to fully implement the additional protocol and to make progress in normalizing its bilateral relations with the Republic of Cyprus.

Irish European Affairs Minister Lucinda Creighton speaking Wednesday before the European Parliament in Strasburg, during a discussion on Turkey’s progress report, noted that there is no progress as regards the full implementation of the additional protocol, which provides for the recognition of Cyprus.

She also stressed that it is unfortunate that Turkey chose to freeze its relations with the EU during the Cyprus Presidency last July and urged the candidate country to normalize its relations with Cyprus.

Creighton also referred to the need for constitutional changes in Turkey and progress in the human rights issue.

Accession negotiations with Turkey began in October 2005. Turkey has so far managed to open 13 of the 34 chapters.

In December 2006, due to the Turkish failure to apply the Additional Protocol to the Ankara Agreement, the European Council decided that eight relevant chapters will not be opened and no chapter will be provisionally closed until Turkey has fulfilled its commitment.

In addition, France has frozen other five chapters, while Cyprus froze in December 2009 other six chapters. The last time that a negotiating chapter opened was during the Spanish EU presidency in June 2010.

Turkey, whose troops have occupied Cyprus’ northern part since the 1974 invasion, does not recognise the Republic of Cyprus and refuses to normalise relations with Nicosia.

April 20, 2013
Ireland to give further €1m to help Syrian refugees

Mr Gilmore visiting the Nazip camp near the city of Gaziantep, close to the Syrian border, yesterday

Colm Keena

Ireland has announced the donation of a further €1 million towards the work of the Turkish government in dealing with the refugee crisis caused by the war in Syria, bringing the total donated to date to €8.15 million.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore, announced the move in Turkey where he has met with his counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, and yesterday visited a camp near the Syrian border.

He said he wanted to demonstrate Ireland’s support for Turkey’s humane response to the suffering of the people who have been displaced by the widespread violence inside Syria. Without the responsible and charitable actions of the countries neighbouring Syria, the plight of its people would be even greater, he said.

Awaiting registration

He praised Turkey for keeping its border open. The money will go to the Red Cross and the UNHCR. Approximately 1.25 million people who fled Syria have been registered or are awaiting registration as refugees in neighbouring countries, with more than 230,000 of these being in Turkey.

The Ankara government estimates that up to 400,000 people have left Syria for Turkey. The effort to help the refugees has cost the Turkish government approximately $750 million to date and, with the numbers coming into the country having risen by 28 per cent since January, the government and aid agencies are struggling to cope.

Almost 3,000 children have been born to refugees in Turkey since the crisis began two years ago.

Turkey has 17 camps for refugees with another, in Midyat, being established for Orthodox Christian Syrians who are fleeing the fighting. Some of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world are located in southeastern Turkey.

Mr Gilmore visited the Nazip camp near the city of Gaziantep, close to the Syrian border, yesterday.

Temporary home

The camp, which is on stony ground on the banks of the Euphrates alongside the large Birecik Baraji dam, opened late last year and is serving as a temporary home to thousands of Syrians who are living in tents and Portacabin-type homes.

When the Tánaiste walked out of the school compound into the general camp area, he was immediately surrounded by camp residents showing him their identity cards and wanting to tell him of their plight.

Camp resident Ayob Doghouz (26) said that he left Damascus two weeks ago because he did not want to do military service.

“If you join, then your destiny is to kill someone or to be killed. I came here to escape that destiny.” He said he was glad to be in the camp because he was now safe but was unhappy that he was not allowed to go in and out of the camp as he pleased.

“I would rather be in my homeland but here you can say I am secure. But it is like living in a big prison.”

Fadi Al Hadike (16), who walked with the aid of a crutch, said he was injured in his left leg some weeks ago in Aleppo, just across the border in Syria, when a rocket blew up near him. His home was destroyed.

Received treatment

He was taken to Turkey and received treatment, and was now living in the camp with his mother and other members of his family. His mother’s sister was outside the camp and wanted to be allowed in, he said on behalf of his mother.

“She is injured. She is at the gate and wants to get in. She has one dead son and another injured.”

Mazen (47), who did not want his last name used, said he had come to Turkey from Damascus because of the fighting there. A welder who had spent 17 years in the United States, he fled Syria six months ago with his family, staying first in one camp and then being moved to Nazip. “It is better here but it is too crowded.”

A married man with two children, who also has relatives in the camp, he said he did not know when he would be able to return home. “We don’t know how long the problems in Syria are going to last. It is getting worse every day.”

via Ireland to give further €1m to help Syrian refugees – European News | Latest News from Across Europe | The Irish Times – Tue, Apr 09, 2013.

April 10, 2013
Lurgan band move to Turkey and become serious Eurovision contenders

IN tonight’s Lurgan Mail we bring you an exclusive report on a Lurgan band who are bidding for Eurovision glory.

(Their Song : )

Inchequin looked to have called it a day when Hugh O’Neill and Sinead Bradley moved to Turkey, but instead the move has rejuvenated the band to the point where they’ve recruited three new members, all of whom are household names in their native Turkey, and become serious contenders for the Eurovision crown.

Their song ‘Son Kez’ is competing to become Ireland’s Eurovision entry. Read all about it in this week’s Lurgan Mail.

via Lurgan band move to Turkey and become serious Eurovision contenders – Local – Lurgan Mail.

February 14, 2013
UK: Bomb under policeman’s car

A viable bomb placed under a serving police officer’s car in Belfast was a murder attempt by dissident republican paramilitaries, the police have said.

The unexploded device was discovered on the Upper Newtownards Road at about 14:00 GMT on Sunday.

Army bomb disposal officers have been called to deal with the device and have carried out a controlled explosion.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the bomb was “clearly intended to kill the police officer”.

Evacuated

In a statement, PSNI Assistant Chief Constable George Hamilton said: “It is very fortunate that this device was detected before it exploded and that no one was killed or seriously injured.

“Initial investigations would indicate that this was a viable device placed below an officer’s car sometime in the last 48 hours.”

ACC Hamilton added that the officer’s family and neighbours “were also put at risk of serious harm”.

A number of houses in the area have been evacuated. The nearby Stormont Presbyterian Church has been opened for residents forced to leave their homes.

The Upper Newtownards Road has been closed to traffic between the Knock Road junction and Cabin Hill Park.

ACC Hamilton added: “Our belief is that this attempted murder was carried by those opposed to peace from within dissident republicanism.

“They don’t care who they attack, they don’t care who they kill. They are simply anti-peace and determined to carry on bringing pain and devastation to families and communities by maiming and killing.”

Booby-trap

In recent years, dissident republican paramilitary groups have carried out a number of attacks on PSNI officers.

In April 2011, Constable Ronan Kerr was killed when a booby-trap car bomb exploded under his car in Omagh, County Tyrone.

The previous year, Constable Peadar Heffron lost a leg in a similar attack as he drove to work in Randalstown, County Antrim.

The SDLP’s spokesperson on policing, Conall McDevitt, condemned the latest attack, describing it as a “cynical and deplorable act”.

He said: “Those seeking to target police officers are undermining not only the stated will of the people of Ireland who have long since rejected violence, but also the desire for a new beginning for policing in the north, which is shared by the majority of citizens.”

Mr McDevitt urged anyone with information about the attack to contact the PSNI.

‘Cowardly act’

Robin Newton from the DUP said the attack was an attempt to murder.

“Those who placed this potential bomb have nothing to offer the community except heartache and sorrow,” the East Belfast MLA said.

“I pay tribute to the PSNI officers and the bomb squad officers who risked their lives to make the area safe, not only for the intended victim but all who live in close proximity,” Mr Newton said.

The Alliance MLA for the area, Chris Lyttle, said: “My immediate thoughts and prayers are with the officer and the family directly affected by this cowardly act.”

“I’d also give my full support to every serving PSNI officer working to uphold the rule of law at this difficult time,” he added.

BBC

December 30, 2012
Turkey Hopeful during Ireland’s EU Presidency

EU Minister Bagis said Turkey was hopeful its bid to join the European Union would accelerate during Ireland’s presidency of the EU.

DUBLIN — Turkey’s EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis said Turkey was hopeful its bid to join the European Union would accelerate during Ireland’s presidency of the EU in the first half of next year.

Speaking to Irish Times during his Ireland visit last week, Bagis said “Turkey did not expect to become a full member of the EU during the Irish presidency but they were pragmatic and they would work very hard to achieve the goal of putting Turkish-EU relations on a much more reliable track”. He added they thought with strong Irish support they could turn the process around.

Mary Fitzgerald, the Irish Times foreign policy correspondent wrote in her piece Bagis’s statements on Turkey was heartened by signals from Paris that French president Francois Hollande, while stopping short of endorsing Ankara’s candidacy, took a more sympathetic view than his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy, who was strongly opposed to Turkey’s accession.

Turkey began formal accession talks in 2005 but has completed only one of the 35 policy ‘chapters’ every candidate must conclude in order to join the EU. All but 13 were blocked by France, Cyprus and the European Commission said Bagis and added he hoped France would unblock talks over its accession on at least two policy chapters in the coming months ahead of a visit by Hollande to Turkey.

Given Ireland’s position of supporting Turkish accession, Bagis said he believed its six-month EU presidency would mark a ‘historical turning point’ in the process.

He said despite dwindling domestic support, Turkey has continued to push for full membership of the EU, saying it wanted to join before 2023, the centenary of its founding as a republic.

Bagis repeated Ankara’s line that the EU needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the EU. He compared the EU’s economic crisis with Turkey’s soaring growth rate, and said Turkey was crucial for European access to regional energy sources and lucrative markets.

Bagis acknowledged that in several EU states where governments support Turkish accession, including Ireland, public sentiment did not always match the official position. He bemoaned the ‘prejudice’ he said was at the heart of this opposition.

He said he had detected a shift in the personal views of Minister for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton, who had voiced strong opposition to Turkey joining the EU before she became Minister, in an official visit to Turkey earlier this year.

Bagis said Turkey had an image problem, and added that “But when people visited Turkey, they would see that it was different to what they expected”.

Responding the criticism of the EU for shortcomings in free speech and freedom of religion, and has raised concerns over minority rights, Bagis said progress was being made in these areas. He said the reform process was going faster, and Turkey was becoming more democratic and dynamic.

Tuesday, 25 December 2012

Anadolu Agency

December 26, 2012