Alasdair Macdonald from Currie Midlothian, sent me some interesting stuff about genealogy research. Alasdair runs the Scottish DNA Project on behalf of the University of Strathclyde and he is also co-admin of the project which is focusing on the Norse Viking group. They are always looking for new recruits to their projects which are hosted by Family Tree DNA the world leader in genetic genealogy. New research into the ancestral origins of some though probably not all of the Buies from Jura, has shown that they have Norse Viking ancestry. They also have kinship with the MacNeils of Barra and a group of MacDonalds from the Northern Highlands. New results have come in that show that some of the Carmichaels from the Isle of Lismore also match the Buies from Jura. Now I myself am not into genealogy at all but I’d like to help out anyone who does. Below is more information I received from Alasdair and links to projects where some Buies participants can be found:
- Black sub-group of the Clan Donald DNA Project
(The group can be found a little below halfway down the page) - Barra R1b group (orange coloured) in the MacNeil Project
- Scottish DNA Project
(Group R1b1a2a1a1b5b – this is a very large project with 3000+ results. You need to put 4000 in the “Page size” on the top row and refresh to see all results) - L165/S68 subclade project
Both the Scottish DNA Project and the L165 (also known as S68) project are keen to recruit new participants especially those who know their ancestors came from the Inner Hebrides. Some of the Buies from Jura are now confirmed as carrying a marker indicative of Norse Viking ancestry. S68 is mentioned in Alastair Moffat and Dr James F Wilson’s new book, The Scots: A Genetic Journey. Anyone interested in finding out about how Y-DNA can help with their family history can contact Alasdair at scottishdna@strath.ac.uk
Posted on July 18 2011
Ardlussa House at the north end of the Isle of Jura will be opening its garden and woodland walks for a couple of weekends in June to raise money for Small Isles Primary School on Jura.
Let me start by saying that I know just as little as most people do about Jura House Gardens but recently I found out from people I met on Jura and Islay that they weren’t aware of the situation with the gardens at all. Fact is that the Jura House Gardens have been closed “until further notice”. So far I found out that this “further notice” means that the gardens will remain closed for the remainder of 2011. But what about next year? Let me try to explain what the situation is using information from an article in the
When I read the sad news about the Jura Passenger Ferry on Friday
James Deane is from the neighbouring
The Oban Times 
During our last trip to Jura, in May 2010, we had beautiful weather and on such lovely spring days a visit to