ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1012 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1012 ************************************ 24 Jun 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information about the Irish name and how it could be used in your Society name along with the given name . Here is what we have found. is a modern Irish surname from Cork and Mayo, possibly related to . We find a Gaelic form (not necessarily period) , which is an adjective meaning "of the Decies" in County Waterford [1]. The slash in the word indicates an accent on the preceding letter. The word is pronounced something like \JAY-shahkh\, where the \kh\ represents the harsh, rasping sound in Scottish or German . We find another Gaelic surname "son of the Deisech", recorded around 1600 in the anglicized form [2]. Both these names seem to derive from , an adjective which means "belonging to the Deisi". is a tribal name which appears in personal names such as , record in 1060, and "Patrick of the Deisi" [3]. You could use one of these Gaelic forms in your own name, modified as appropriate for a woman's name. "Deirdre of the Deisi" is the possibility best supported by our evidence; it is pronounced \DER-dre YAY-shahkh\, where \GH\ represents the voiced version of the \kh\ sound I described above. Another possibility is "Deirdre, daughter of the Deiseach", pronounced \DER-dre IN-yen ahn YAY-shee\. I hope this letter has been useful. Please write us again if any part of it has been unclear or if you have other questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 24 Jun 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] MacLysaght, Edward, _The Surnames of Ireland_ (Dublin: Irish Academic Press Ltd., 1985, ISBN 0-7165-2366-3), s.n. Deasy. [2] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), s.n. Mac an De/isigh. [3] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin : Royal Irish Academy, 1983). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -