Maurice is Education Ambassador for ISOGG (International Society of Genetic Genealogy), a member of the APG, and organiser of Genetic Genealogy Ireland (the annual national conference on DNA & genealogy). He was born in Dublin where he trained as a medical doctor. He is currently a psychiatrist, a pharmaceutical physician, and a part-time actor as well as a genetic genealogist.
His father had been researching the family tree on and off for 30 years and in 2006 Maurice decided to join in the fun, quickly becoming addicted. Together they have toured Ireland, found a variety of ancestral homelands, and reconnected with cousins internationally, both through traditional genealogical methods and through DNA. It continues to be a wonderful adventure. Most recently Maurice has discovered he is probably a direct relative of JP Morgan and Princess Diana.
Maurice did his first DNA test in 2008 and has never looked back. Now he is administrator of several Surname DNA Projects, including the Gleason, Spearin, Farrell, O’Malley, & Maloney Projects. He also works with adoptees and with people of unknown parentage to help them reconnect with their biological family. In association with this work, he has appeared on Irish TV as a consultant for the TV series Adoption Stories. He authors several blogs (DNA and Family Tree Research, Genetic Genealogy Ireland, and blogs associated with his surname projects) and is a regular contributor to genealogical magazines (Irish Roots, Irish Lives Remembered). His YouTube videos on genetic genealogy are very popular and have won him international recognition (his YouTube channel is called DNA and Family Tree Research).
He has organised the DNA Lectures for “Genetic Genealogy Ireland” in Dublin and “Who Do You Think You Are” in the UK since 2012, and has given talks all over Ireland, the UK, and internationally. He was voted “Genetic Genealogist of the Year 2015” (SurnameDNA Journal) and “Superstar Genealogist, Ireland” in 2016 and 2017 (Canada’s Anglo-Celtic Connections).
Unlock the Past Cruises – 14th
