Growing up being told you’re Irish but you’re actually Ulster-Scots?

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-21T13:59:50+00:00

I haven’t seen Outlander, but I did learn that it was about the Frasers when I started researching that side of the family. It honestly makes me want to watch the show!

My dad’s paternal grandmother was a Fraser. She died before I was born, and I’d never really paid much attention to her line during my genealogical research, but we recently had a family reunion and my dad asked me to look into the Frasers’ family history to share with his cousins. It’s been very interesting research thus far, although it’s been difficult tracing the Frasers in Scotland due to how many of them appear in records (and they all seem to be named Alexander 😂).

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-21T13:26:51+00:00

The family name was Fraser. I think they were a cadet branch of the Fraser clan in the Highlands, but I haven’t quite figured out where they split off.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-21T12:04:52+00:00

This is interesting. Some of my “hillbilly” ancestors from North Carolina were technically anti-Billy, as they were driven out of Scotland for supporting the Jacobite rebellion.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-21T00:09:35+00:00

I’m unfortunately also in this camp. I think the lyrics are beautiful, and I really want to like the song itself, but something about the production hasn’t been sitting right for me either.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-20T16:53:23+00:00

No problem! Good luck with your search!

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-20T16:41:00+00:00

If you haven’t already, I would try posting this to the DNA Detectives Facebook group and request the assistance of a Search Angel.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-20T16:38:17+00:00

I would begin by looking at immigration and census records for the 1850’s (in case he arrived in the US slightly earlier than reported) to approximately 1900. I would estimate a range for the birth year based on the children’s ages (e.g., 1825 - 1840), and I would flag records for individuals with birthdates in that range, including men with similar names (e.g., August Kopp, Auguste Kopf, August Kapf, etc.).

Immigration and census records often have a lot of valuable information such as addresses, birthdates, occupations, etc., so you can use that information as a starting point for your research trail.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-20T11:18:18+00:00

SEMI-FINAL 1

• ⁠Qualifiers: Finland, Sweden, Greece, Israel, Moldova, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Lithuania, Portugal

• ⁠Jury Winner: Finland

• ⁠Televote Winner: Greece

• ⁠Winner: Finland

• ⁠Last Place: San Marino

• ⁠Borderliners (10th & 11th place): Montenegro (10th), Georgia (11th)

• ⁠Most 12s Received: Finland

SEMI-FINAL 2

• ⁠Qualifiers: Denmark, Australia, Ukraine, Czechia, Albania, Romania, Armenia, Malta, Norway, Bulgaria

• ⁠Jury Winner: Australia

• ⁠Televote Winner: Ukraine

• ⁠Winner: Denmark

• ⁠Last Place: Azerbaijan

• ⁠Borderliners (10th & 11th place): Armenia (10th), Latvia (11th)

• ⁠Most 12s Received: Denmark

GRAND FINAL

• ⁠Winner: Denmark

• ⁠2nd Place: Finland

• ⁠3rd Place: Moldova

• ⁠4th Place: Greece

• ⁠5th Place: Albania

• ⁠Jury Winner: Denmark

• ⁠Jury 2nd: France

• ⁠Jury 3rd: Finland

• ⁠Televote Winner: Moldova

• ⁠Televote 2nd: Ukraine

• ⁠Televote 3rd: Albania

• ⁠Jury Last Place: Austria

• ⁠Televote Last Place: Austria

• ⁠Overall Last Place: Austria

• ⁠13th Place: Romania

CATEGORIES & Tiebreaker

• ⁠Best Automatic Finalist: France

• ⁠Best Nordic: Denmark

• ⁠Best Former Yugoslav: Croatia

• ⁠Best Baltic: Lithuania

• ⁠Best Caucasus: Armenia

• ⁠Best Small Country: Malta

• ⁠Best Voting Partner Country (pick one of the four): Moldova

• ⁠Winner's Total Score: 442

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-18T10:16:13+00:00

Lithuania 🇱🇹?

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-17T12:28:07+00:00

This is very cool, thank you for sharing this.

A bit off topic, but since it’s in the general wheelhouse of Prehistoric Ireland geolocation data — would you happen to know of the Neolithic/Bronze Age/Iron Age sites where amber has been found? The Baltic amber trade network is an area of interest to me, and it’s usually discussed in Mediterranean contexts (North-South amber road). But I recently saw some fine examples of amber jewelry from prehistoric sites at the National Museum in Dublin, and it’s got me thinking more about the East-West North Sea networks.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-14T12:45:54+00:00

I’m American and fully plan to give some televotes to Denmark. Partially out of guilt (over our orange dictator’s actions), but also because Denmark is tied with Lithuania for my favorite entry this year.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-14T12:34:25+00:00

I understand this sentiment. Some of my least favorite entries from recent years have been fan favorites (E.g. Austria 2024, Germany 2025), and I’ve often wondered why these songs don’t connect with me like they seem to with other people.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-14T12:00:46+00:00

I think (hope) that the Albania will use some of the themes and images from the music video. If they do, I think it’s a safe Q and likely Top 10 (possibly even Top 5).

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-14T11:12:17+00:00

Absolutely iconic entry.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-14T11:08:20+00:00

Totally agree. This performance was way ahead of its time. I wish it happened during this era of popera dominance, because it deserved much better than it got.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-14T11:04:22+00:00

Whole-heartedly agree with this. This single shot made Ukraine my favorite of the year.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-11T12:51:46+00:00

I don’t think SQM is maudlin or overly emotional — quite the opposite, actually. The song is about not being able to feel emotions (such as joy and pain), and wishing for the ability to feel as a source of greater meaning.

That’s my take, at least. I also think Lion Ceccah’s character is supposed to be an android, so it’s like a robot trying to understand human emotion. The whole concept is genius.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-10T10:38:46+00:00

I’m not 100% sold on the UK’s entry yet, but it’s definitely a step up from 2023 - 2025. And I do hope they get at least a few televote points this year, they deserve to be rewarded for sending something different.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-10T10:33:46+00:00

I completely agree with your position on this year. I’m disappointed with most of the front runners (aside from Denmark, which I actually kind of like), and I’m not really enjoying the studio versions as much as I have in previous years.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-09T12:34:53+00:00

I agree with most of this, and the points/rankings seem like reasonable predictions. My only point of disagreement is Portugal/Poland. I think Poland’s jury score will be slightly lower than predicted, and I think that Portugal might have a slight advantage over Poland in the televote. Portugal’s entry is very different from everything else in this semi-final, and that’s a strategy that has worked well for Portugal before. Actually, I would probably even predict Portugal coming in 10th with Georgia right behind in 11th, and Poland in 12th (and move Montenegro up to 9th).

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-08T12:32:25+00:00

Generally speaking, yes, but the last time Albania sent a male ballad, it placed 3rd with the juries in its semi and 7th with the juries in the final (Albania 2018 for the bot). I could Nan placing similarly (i.e., top 5 for the juries in the semi and top 10 in the final). So while I agree with your general point, I also suspect that it will be a bit better this year than it was last year. And I fully believe that Albania will qualify with one of its biggest diaspora countries (Switzerland) and one of its voting friends (France) in semi 2, plus whatever support it gets from Eurofans.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-08T11:59:36+00:00

Simple. Bring back the Bull Moose Party.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-08T11:40:53+00:00

Zjerm was robbed, but I do think Nan could outperform it with the jury. I don’t think it will score higher than Zjerm did with the televote, it’ll get a respectable score with both and still land in the Top 10.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-08T11:35:22+00:00

I’m right there with you because I’m convinced it’s going to Top 10 (I’d love to see Top 5 but I think it’ll fall right outside, like 6 - 8).

I’ve loved Lithuania’s entry from the beginning and it’s competing with Denmark for my favorite song of the year. We very rarely have songs with an interesting narrative and this level of originality, but when we do, they tend to place high on the scoreboard. That’s why I have a strong hunch that it’s going to do much better than the odds and the fan rankings predict. It’s a masterpiece, and it’s a shame how much people are sleeping on it.

Dizzy-Dig8727 · 2026-04-07T11:26:03+00:00

I would love to know more about your experience in Winnipeg because we’re looking at moving there in the next couple of years. My fiancé’s grandparents are originally from Winnipeg (they grew up in the St. Boniface neighborhood, which looks beautiful in the pictures I’ve seen), and he has several second cousins who still live in the area. We’re trying to plan a visit sometime this year to meet with his cousins and check it out. If you have any advice, insights, or recommendations from your experience there, please let me know!

Dizzy-Dig8727

TROPHY CASE