Modern depictions of Vikings typically show the natives running away at speed but new research has shown the Irish might have become cosier with their invaders than previously thought.
A study of the DNA from 7,000 people has found genetic evidence that the Norse DNA is still common among modern Irish people and suggests interbreeding between the groups was more common than has been suggested.
Research had assumed a strong connection existed but genetic analysis had found little trace of Viking DNA among Irish people.
Russell McLaughlin, assistant professor of genome analysis at Trinity College Dublin, said this was because the analysis had relied on only Y-chromosome data, or the genes that are passed from a father to son.
He said the new study, conducted over the course of a year, utilised the 22 other chromosomes. It also cross- compared DNA in European people to see if Irish genes were also found among them, and identified 50 genetic clusters within Ireland and Britain, representing people with similar ancestors.
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The first Vikings arrived in Ireland at the end of the 8th century, with other later invasions, which resulted in the colonisation of coastal cities. Dr McLaughlin said that the analysis showed a two-way connection between modern Norwegians and Irish people.
“We believe this also correlates to the original invasion and the lasting impact that it had on Irish people,” he said.
“We can’t say for certain exactly how much Viking is in modern Irish people, but we can say that it was found among people from all different parts of the island, signifying a compelling connection among the population as a whole.”
Similar research was done at the University of Warwick last year, which rebutted the claim that British people did not have much Viking DNA. It found that the average English person might owe up to 20 per cent of their genes to the Vikings.
Dr McLaughlin said the Irish research was especially helpful because it could in future help to isolate which genes were behind which diseases. During the study it was noted that the “genetic signatures” of Irish people could be mapped along the lines of provinces, meaning people from Munster had similar genetic traits to people from Leinster.
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“The fact that the Irish people can be sub-divided so easily means that if we have a rare gene which is only found in a handful of people who are all from the same part of Ireland, then this may be attributed to their genetic location rather than the disease,” he said.
“It is vital that research in this area does not accidentally make incorrect correlations. We want to discover the genes which are causing a disease, not the genes which make you a person from Munster.”
The study also found a “striking correlation” between people in Northern Ireland and Scotland, which it noted meant the two populations were to a point indistinguishable.
It credited the “enduring impact of the plantations” with this discovery as well as a longstanding close relationship between Ulster and Scotland.
The plantations refer to the 17th- century colonisation of Ulster by people from England and Scotland during the reign of King James I of England and Ireland — VI of Scotland.
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Dr McLaughlin said there was also an ancient contact between northern Ireland and Scotland with the Dál Riata, a kingdom of Irish origin located in both countries. “These historic contacts have left an indelible mark in the genes of Irish and Scottish people.”
The study is published in PLOS Genetics, an academic journal.
The research team said: “Genetic data alone can virtually redraw a map of Britain and Ireland.”