Treinfhir DNA

Welcome to the home page of the Treinfhir Y-DNA Initiative.

Some Treinfhir-specific information is provided and only available to registered users. To see the hidden parts, please log in below and then come back to this page. You will end up at your Dashboard, so click on the Treinfhir Clan link (upper left) to return to viewing the website. LoginPress login

Click this image to watch the June 12, 2022 Video

Pre-recorded June 10, 2022

As many of you know, in May 2019 in Monaghan we launched an initiative to begin building a bridge between the Treinfhirs around the world. A description of the initiative follows:

The History of the Treinfhir Y-DNA Initiative

Niall Noigallech

The Treinfhir clan’s fascinating history dates back over 4000 years in Ireland, back the time when the great pyramids were being built in Egypt. We are descended from ancient kings like MaineMor of the UiMaine, or High King Niall Noigallech, and Irish saints like Saint Macartan. But what do you know about your connection to the wider Treinfhir clan?

Saint Macartan

The Treinfhir DNA initiative uses “Y-DNA” which Treinfhirs  inherited from their distant male Treinfhir ancestors and seeks to answer key questions like “What Treinfhirs and family groups am I connected to in Ireland?”, “How long ago did my ancestors branch away from other families?” and “How are the Treinfhir families in Ireland related to each other?”

In our Irish homeland, there were so many Treinfhir families that we used family “Nicknames” to tell one Treinfhir family clan from another. Nicknames give us a wonderful opportunity to connect Irish and Emigrant families together using ancestral DNA. By matching Y-DNA to family Nicknames, connections between long sundered families can be made. Irish families can understand how their family fits in the great map of the Treinfhir clan.

In May 2019 in Ireland, we had six names and a skinny little sapling. We committed to this project and said we hoped we could begin to map the tree and nicknames with 50 testers.

March 2023 Update

Today we have 46 completed Big-Y tests and our tree is getting so big we have to use multiple pages. With two Treinfhir lines and seven Treinfhir branches dating back to the 1300s, we have begun to map the Treinfhir family not only in terms of genetic adjacency but in terms of nicknames and geographic origin as well.

The UiMaine and UiNeill Treinfhirs as of March 20, 2023 (click the tree to see where Treinfhirs originated))

The Aedh Branch of the UiMaine Treinfhirs

Click on the above tree to explore the Aedh branch

The Breandain Branch of the UiMaine Treinfhirs

Click on the above tree to explore the Breandain branch

The Cormac Branch of the UiMaine Treinfhirs

Click on the above tree to explore the Cormac branch

The Diarmuid Branch of the UiMaine Treinfhirs

Click on the above tree to explore the Diarmuid branch

The Eanna Branch of the UiMaine Treinfhirs

Click on the above tree to explore the Eannan branch

The Fionn Branch of the UiMaine Treinfhirs

Click on the above tree to explore the Fionn branch

The UiNeill Treinfhirs

Click on the above tree to explore the UiNeill branch

The Treinfhir Tree has been updated through March 2023. Recent additions include Dan Traynor, Niall Treanor, Ian “Crush” Treanor, Russ Treanor, & Paul “Paramore” Treanor in the UiMaine Treinfhir Tree; and Christopher Trainor and Brian Trainor Jr. in the UiNeill Treinfhir Tree. Stand by, more tests are on the way! Sláinte!

But we need your help. With more DNA testing, we can provide a family tree for the entire Treinfhir clan. We need the Trenors of Spain to join the project, and the McCreanors, so that we can understand their branch in the tree.

Emigrants who don’t know their Irish family history can contribute to the initiative by taking a Family Tree DNA “Big Y” test, and by contributing to the family testing fund.  Irish Treinfhirs who know their family history and family nicknames can contribute their Y-DNA and their known family history, like nicknames and townlands, to the project. Because this information is so valuable, Irish families who know their history may be subsidized.

Y-DNA changes minimally over several generations, so only one male within each family group (3rd or 4th cousins) need to be tested. Within that range, results will be virtually identical, so males within a family can split the cost and share the learning, making testing more affordable.

The test is simple.  You swab your cheek with a plastic wand, put it into a plastic vial and send it away to Family Tree DNA.  Your Y-DNA will be analyzed and added to the Family Tree DNA database. 

Your results are provided to you online under a secure user ID and Password. More importantly, Family Tree DNA doesn’t share your information with any outside company, research organization or government agency, so your confidentiality is assured.

One “Big Y” test is usually priced at $449(US) but during the sale periods can be reduced to $379.  Moreover, by sharing the cost between family members the per person cost can be substantially lower.

We are encouraging all Treinfhir males who haven’t had a close relative test to consider testing, and contributing to the Treinfhir testing fund which subsidizes special cases, but we are placing special priority for subsidies on disappearing or rare male family lines.

To purchase a Family Tree Big Y test on your own,  go to https://www.familytreedna.com/group-join.aspx?Group=Treinfhir

If you’d like to donate to the Treinfhir Initiative Fund, click here

For more information on Big Y testing, go here; https://www.familytreedna.com/products/y-dna or here: https://www.familytreedna.com/groups/treinfhir/activity-feed

Note: We do not recommend Y-37, 67 or 111 tests.  They do not yield adequately detailed results to match families.

For more info, Email John Traynor ([email protected])


AUGUST 2019 UPDATE

Hi Treinfhirs! The Treinfhir Y-DNA Initiative Research Fund is officially open.

In May, several people expressed a desire to make contributions to fund Big Y Treinfhir Y-DNA Research.

With a contribution from Scott Trainor, (hooray Scott!!!) that initiative is officially underway. I’m jumping on the bandwagon and sponsoring a Big Y test with a Myles family member in Ireland.

Regardless of whether you are an existing FTDNA member or not, you can make a contribution directly at the Treinfhir Family Tree DNA donation site.

If you are not currently a member, you can also join FTDNA by taking a test. If you wish, you can make a contribution through a known member including Ted Trainer, Noel Treanor or me or one of several others.

If you have a specific target for your contribution (a family nickname, a town land or an individual) your directed donation will be honored. Contributions can also be made anonymously.

For more information reach out to Ted, Noel or me, John Traynor (DNA John).




Older videos about the Y-DNA project

A video launching the Treinfhir DNA initiative by John Traynor – Ireland, May 2019
September 2019 update to the Treinfhir DNA Initiative

Treinfhir Y-DNA Initiative January 2021 Update

Potentially higher resolution video.