Quote Originally Posted by bdkilted View Post
Kevin;
I'm married to a Murphy so we've done some research on the family. If your Murphys are from the south of Ireland, then MacArthur would be acceptable as the Murphys in County Cork were a sept of the Irish MacArthur Clan. If you family came from the east of Ireland they were a sept of the Scottish McDonald Clan and the MacArthur tartan wouldn't be appropriate.
Hope this helps.
BD
Thank you! I had no idea that the MacArthurs had any connection to the Murphys in Munster.

The overwhelming majority of any Murphy men who have traced their lineage to the Province of Munster in general fit into the modal Murphy family of the project through Y DNA testing.

The Wexford, Leinster Murphys in general, cluster with the modal Cavanagh family of their DNA project and a large number of Kinsella men. They are certainly descended from Diarmaid Mac Murchadha the King of Leinster as these families are descended from two of Diarmaid's sons who are the progenitors of those families.

Interestingly enough both of these families descended from Énnae Censellach, King of Leinster in the 5th Century, according to historical sources. So both families independently adopted the same surname albeit through a different evolution. The Y DNA SNP/Haplogroupe that both of our families share dates to the time contemporary with Énnae Censellach.

The oldest SNP that can be confidently stated as Murphy in origin, pertaining to the Munster Murphys, is R-Z18138. Interestingly enough the age estimation methods put this SNP in the window of time that Dermod Muimneach O'Moroghoe, said to be the first of the family to enter Munster, lived. It is said he brought his family to Munster in the 13th century.

Thanks again B.D. Marshall!