As you probably already know (from having told you before), I have an interest in genealogy and have been tracing my family tree for some time. I have a very extensive tree on Mum's side of the family, but my Dad's side has been a bit shallow until recently. Luckily, I found an ancestor who was a member of an important family (the Vernon Family of Cheshire) and managed to go back from there. Needless to say, I found out what I'd already suspected that Mum and Dad were distantly related, however something else had come up which has confirmed old family stories.
I'd always heard stories from my grandmother (Dad's mother) that her side of the family had direct connections back to the High Kings of Ireland, as well as a number of other important families in the UK. The stories I heard were that her family were specifically related to Brian Boru and Niall Noigiallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages....progenitor of the O'Neill's and others). I already knew I had connections back to Brian on Mum's side, and Niall as well, but it came with great satisfaction to finally put the pieces of the puzzle together over the last few days to find out that Grandma was right
. I'm a direct descendant of both Brian and Niall on both sides of the family
Niall is my 47th Great Grandfather (through both sides) and Brian is my 32nd Great Grandfather (also through both sides).