Hello,

By way of introduction my name is Damian Stewart Downie and I am part of the family tree at http://members.freezone.co.uk/dunoon/ , living in Melbourne Australia. I am seeking to encourage members of the various Dooney, Down, Downer, Downes, Downey, Downs, Downy, Downie/Macildownie/M’ildownie/MacGildownie/MacKildownie/MacEldownie, Downey/Macildowney/M’ildowney/MacGildowney/MacKildowney/MacEldowney and Mac Gillie Domhnaich/Mac Giolla Domhnaigh families to get their DNA profiles completed (in particular the male YDNA markers and haplogroup). I have to say upfront that I do not support, receive commissions or suggest any one DNA supplier. My reasoning behind the request is that there appears to be a number of different Downie (and all name variations) family trees that do not appear to intersect as far as the records go back and I firmly believe that DNA may be able to assist.

I recently had my DNA done with Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) https://www.familytreedna.com/ and am happy with their services (again please shop around and find the best deal for you).

There currently exists a Downey FTDNA project which includes the following names: Dooney, Down, Downer, Downes, Downey, Downie, Downs, Downy, Maceldowney, Macildowney, Macildownie at: https://www.familytreedna.com/group-join.aspx?Group=Downey

However you get your DNA analyzed, what is important is that regardless of which DNA Company you choose, that this information is uploaded to a public site such as YSEARCH http://www.ysearch.org (a free public service).

While this path of investigation will never replace a good document trail, I believe that it does provide some avenues of perhaps grouping some of the Downie (and all name variations) families together that may assist in the genealogical process. What I can say is that the test has revealed some very interesting information regarding my genetic background.

Best Regards,

Damian Stewart Downie