I am puzzled

[jim234j]

One of my great grand parents on my maternal side was born in Drogheda Ireland and had two sisters and two brothers.
 This has been proved to be correct by a paid genealogist in Ireland and all census records in Canada indicate the family in question was Irish.
His father was a servant on my great grandfathers birth certificate in Drogheda Ireland
The family moved to Canada in 1848 except for two older brothers who joined the English military and lived in the UK coming to Canada in the 1860s and then moving to Australia. 
 However Canadian census records show my g g grandfather as being Irish.

One of my first cousins had his dna done and neither of us had any Irish DNA
Two of my second cousins had theirs done who are related through this line and one had 5 percent and the other 1 percent Irish


I was wondering why my cousin and I are showing zero Irish DNA and my second cousins are showing very little Irish DNA and am wondering if anyone can enlighten me on this.
This is my DNA
Scotland  50
England and Northwestern Europe  48
Sweden    2

This is my g g grandfather on the 1861 census for London Ontario
NameGeorge QuintonGenderMaleMarital StatusMarriedAge48Birth Date1813Birth PlaceIrelandHome in 1861London, Middlesex, Canada WestDistrict Number01Relation to HeadHeadReligionChurch of England

Thank you

Jim

[Ruskie]

The simple explanation could be that the family lived in Ireland, had a couple of children there, but earlier generations hailed from elsewhere, however I found this which might offer some insight:

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/irish-dna-atlas-maps-genes-of-the-people-of-ireland-1.3331369

An internet search will find many articles on “Irish DNA”.

[jim234j]

Thanks Ruskie.
Much appreciated.

I have 5 aunts and uncles still living on that side and I am  in mid 70s.   They always talk about their Irish Grandfather.
I don't think I will tell them this news. 

[Ruskie]

If their grandfather was born in Ireland, he can probably be classed as Irish. 

Ethnic percentages are not be be relied upon, and are generally just for interest, despite the advertising you see. Some people find the percentages relate quite accurately to what they know about their ancestors, but others not so. It relates to sample populations and other criteria that the companies use to categorise the results. The percentages also change over time.

There was a lot of movement between Scotland and Ireland so that may go some way to accounting for the 50% “Scottish”.

[Galium]

The surname Quinton is of English origin.

[melba_schmelba]

Thanks Ruskie.
Much appreciated.

I have 5 aunts and uncles still living on that side and I am  in mid 70s.   They always talk about their Irish Grandfather.
I don't think I will tell them this news. 

All the Quintons I checked on the 1901 Irish census were not Catholics. As others said they were probably of English origin but may have lived in Ireland for some time, or only arrived perhaps in the early 1800s. Unfortunately it is very difficult to trace genealogy in Ireland beyond 1800 as so many records have been destroyed or never even existed. There are some early will extracts of Prerogative Court of Ireland wills, up to about 1805 on findmypast. You may also find some Irish wills proved at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury in London.
 There are full wills of a Hugh Quinton, 1869, and Johana Quinton, 1857 available on the 'Ireland, Original Will Registers 1858-1920' record set on findmypast.

[Flemming]

There was a lot of movement between Scotland and Ireland so that may go some way to accounting for the 50% “Scottish”.

We have this in several of our lines. Two go back very strongly to Donegal (many, many DNA matches) and yet our ethnicity is low Irish, high Scottish. Given Donegal was a plantation county, perhaps the ancestors were actually Scots but, as Ruskie also says, ethnicity estimates can be a bit flaky.