Joe Hart Meets Jimmy Harte, Who Consults with His Cousin Norbert: Enter DNA
Editor’s Note: Here Joe tells how DNA testing entered the picture. It was Jimmy Harte, in one of their later contacts, who suggested that the two of them have their DNA tested. Joe, still living in Ballinamore and unsure where to start, mentioned the idea to a friend, who put him in touch with Michael Tiernan, an American who periodically came to the area recruiting people of the Tiernan surname for testing. Tiernan used the Family Tree DNA lab in Houston and, because he was tracing his direct male line, relied on the Y chromosome test — the same approach Joe and Jimmy would adopt.
Transcript
Speakers: WJB — William J. Bowe; JH — Joseph Hart. Transcribed from the recording; punctuation added and obvious mis-hearings corrected.
JH: Okay. I’ll tie that in in a sec. But in one of my later contacts with Jimmy Harte, he suggested that we get our DNA tested, and I thought, “That sounds like a great idea.” And so I didn’t know exactly where to start. I brought up the idea with a friend. I was still living in Ballinamore, and I brought it up with a friend, and he said, “Well, there’s an American who comes here periodically, and he’s using DNA to trace his Tiernan roots.” His surname was Tiernan, and they lived in the area around Ballinamore, and he would come and recruit people with the Tiernan surname to get their DNA tested. So this friend said, “He’s actually here now, and he stays with my cousin. Would you like to meet Michael Tiernan and just get some advice about DNA from him?” So I did meet with Michael Tiernan. He was using a lab in Houston, Texas, called Family Tree DNA for the DNA testing that he was doing. And Michael explained that since he was trying to trace his direct male line, and he was interested in the Tiernans, that he was using a Y chromosome test.
