A bit of Irish in Spanish Pearls

Genealogy is oftentimes defined by family folklore, photographs and documents.  Sometimes, it is only a name, a town where our ancestors immigrated from or a photo of an ancestral family member.  Old family portraits are rare, but when one finds one, it is fascinating to study it, ponder where the threads of our DNA started and wonder what tiny point of DNA exists within us to match the photo. I've done this many times.  When I went to Spain to eke out my family history three years ago, I romanticized that I must surely resemble some of the country's women.

When I returned home, I submitted my DNA to ancestry.com, anxious to see how much Spanish blood that actually flowed through my veins.  I knew my lineage included English, Dutch and a bit of German through my mother's family tree, but, wait!  When my DNA report arrived, I was stunned to learn 17% of my DNA was Irish!  

Thinking back to photos, folklore and family stories, I remembered my mother telling me that my blue-eyed Spanish grandfather, Bernardo Ruiz, "looked more Irish than Spanish."  Really?  He was from the southern part of Spain near Malaga.  That was a long way from Ireland.  Doing a bit of research into Irish history tells me that an Irishman named Eoin O'Duffy led a brigade of 700 Irish volunteers to fight for General Francisco Franco during the Spanish Civil War and that Frank Ryan led the Connolly column who fought on the opposite side, with the Republican International Brigades.

Remember, I said I'd romanticized that I looked a bit like those Spanish women?  After reading that Irishmen fought for Franco and also against Franco, I returned full circle to Spain.   Despite liking four-leaf clovers and wearing green on St. Patrick's day, deep in my psyche, I've rolled that 17% all the way back to my Spanish history, where I'm sure it belongs.