First, let me talk about St. Patrick’s Day; you know, my general thoughts on it, since I love to give my opinion on everything. 
I really dislike this holiday. I like the idea of a day to celebrate Irish heritage, since so many Americans have it. What I don’t like is people running around getting drunk and screaming “I’M SO OIRISH GUIZE! ERIN GO BRAUGH! SHAMROCKS!” It’s too much.
Conwal Parish Church: This is where my great great grandfather and great great grandmother likely got married
First, you aren’t Irish. I’m sure you don’t even know where in Ireland your family came from. (Putting my money where my mouth is: My Irish ancestry, through my grandmother, is from Carrickatimpan, Gartan, Donegal, Ireland. They came over a little later than most others; 1893, through Glasgow port to New York on the SS Anchoria. I can’t get any farther back than 1817 on one branch and 1839 on another; McLaughlins and Dohertys are a dime a dozen over there.) Anyway, I have a great distaste for drinking to the point of drunkeness (or drinking in general, really), so this isn’t exactly my holiday. However, it might be a nice idea to look at some decidedly Irish names I like. Since I am proud of my heritage, and don’t need green beer to show it.
Yeah, I didn’t feel like saying much, so I think I’m just going to list. I know I’m being lazy.
Girls
- Áine (awn-ya)
- Aoibhe (like Eva)
- Aoife (ee-fa)
- Brighid (breed, pity that it’s an English word)
- Caoimhe
- Ciara (keera)
- Finola (anglicised from Fionnghuala)
- Oona
- Róisín (rosheen)
- Saoirse
Boys
- Angus (Anglicised from Aonghus)
- Ciarán (keer-an, even if it is dreadfully trendy)
- Conan
- Declan (anglicised from Deaglán)
- Éamon
- Éanna (AY-na, probably too girly for a boy in the US.)
- Faolan (either fee-lawn or fay-lawn)
- Fionn (finn)
- Fintan
- Lorcan
- Oisin (OSH-een)
- Ronan
Yeah, I’m lazy. What are your favorites? Also, how long until this becomes my most viewed page because people want Irish names that mean “radiant princess from the valley of cupcakes?” *rolls eyes*
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Irish names are nice, but I’m getting so tired of everyone using them. I have no Irish ancestry worth mentioning (other than the 1/64th or something present in probably every Caucasian American whose family has been in the U.S. for some time).
My favorite Irish names at the moment are probably Eilis for girls and Finan for boys.
Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 8:26 pm
Yeah, I feel the same way about Irish names. They bore me anymore.
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
I like a small handful of them, but being Scottish, rather than Irish makes it a bit weird using them.
If I had to choose one Irish girl name and one Irish boy name, I’d say Niamh & Malachy. I like their simplicity.
Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 8:27 pm
I’m Scottish, too, actually, but it’s a lot more distant than the Irish. I don’t care overly much for Niamh but I’ve been warming to Malachy lately.
Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 9:32 am
First, I’m Mia, or Saoirse from NameThatBaby. (Finally got a word press account…)
St. Patrick’s day in the US is about the real Ireland in the same way that Mardi Gras in New Orleans is about Lent.
I am a bit of a language nut, and Irish has been one of my hobbies for a couple of years. (Actually, taking a break from it to learn Esperanto…) This is actually the source of my interest in Irish names, rather than my rather distant Irish ancestry. I like Spanish (and other Romance language) names for similar reasons… but Juan Soderquist isn’t going to fly, no matter how you slice it.
I like most of your list for girls, except for Brighid, due to it sounding like an English word, and not necessarily the kind of English word you’d want to name your daughter. Aoife is my favorite, and I hear it is very common in (the real) Ireland.
I’m not overly fond of most Irish boy names, despite having a son named (the dreaded) Liam, though I think Lorcan is a cool name for a character in a roleplaying game.
Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Good to see you, Mia! I hate that Brighid is breed, because I think the sound of the word is incredibly pretty. I think Aoife is something like top 10 (#2, I think?) in Ireland.