ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 2348 http://www.s-gabriel.org/2348 ************************************ 11 Jun 2001 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked whether "Sinech daughter of Cumall O/ Briain> is an appropriate name for a 9th century Irishwoman from Connaught. This letter is a brief answer to your question. Unfortunately, some parts of your name are not appropriate for your period. We'll discuss each element in detail and suggest some alternatives. Note that we'll use different spellings of some elements throughout this letter. Irish spelling underwent a significant change around 1200; some of the spellings you've used are late medieval forms. The spellings we'll use below are typical early medieval forms. We aren't sure whether was used in your period, but it is a plausible choice. Early medieval Irish genealogies and hagiographies list several people named ; however all the people in these lists are said to have lived long before your period [1, 3]. We haven't found an example of the name in your period or after, so we can't be sure it remained in use. However, it is possible that it did. If so, it would have been pronounced \SHEEN-y@kh\ in your period. The word was also an adjective meaning "having large teats or paps", and it was used in Irish legend as the name of a monster [7, 9]. We can't recommend as a good name for your father. We have found only two examples of the name, and neither appears to refer to a real, historical person. One is the father of the legendary hero Finn mac Cumaill; the other an apparently mythological figure whose family includes supernatural beings [4]. Early Irish annals and genealogies mention a couple legendary figures named , supposed to live in the early 6th century [5, 10]. The earliest example we've found of a real person using this name is Brian Boru, mentioned in 978 as [11]. While we can't recommend this name either as the best choice for your period, it is not implausible. However, surnames of the form "grandson of Brian" came into use only in the 10th century, after your period [6]. This particular surname was first used by the grandsons of Brian Boru, who died in 1014 [7]. You might consider a name that means "Sinech daughter of Brian"; that would be , pronounced \SHEEN-y@kh EEN-y@n VREE-ahn~\. If it is particularly important to you to have a form of in your name, then you might want to move your persona to the 11th century, when a name with the overall construction you wanted would be appropriate. For example, taking individual elements known to be in use in 11th century Ireland [8], we might suggest "Sadb daughter of Cu/a/n u/a Briain". If you'd like to consider a later-period name, please write us again and we'll be happy to help. We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek, Adelaide de Beaumont, Mari neyn Brian, and Aryanhwy merch Catmael. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 11 Jun 2001 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] O'Brien, M. A., ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976). He lists 'Sinech mother of O/engus Tuile'; she was the daughter of Cormac Cochin mac Ca/irthind of Da/l Cais. Cormac had a brother Eochaid Ballderg, who is the legendary ancestor of the Da/l Cais [2]. [2] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990), s.n. Eochaid. [3] O/ Riain, Pa/draig, ed., _Corpus Genealogiarum Sanctorum Hiberniae_ (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1985). The text mentions several saints of this name: , , , , , , , , , , , and . [4] O'Brien, index under Cumall. Finn's father is named but his given name also appears as and . O'Brien also takes to be the standard form of the name that appears in or . This man is identified as a grandson of Meircell who is the eight-times-great grandfather of Bress mac Elathan of the Tuatha De/ Danann (a supernatural race). O/ Corra/in and Maguire s.n. Bress also note that only occurs as the name of mythological or legendary characters. One of Meircell's ancestors, 14 generations back, is "Ham son of Noah". [5] O/ Corra/in and Maguire, s.n. Brian. [6] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin : Royal Irish Academy, 1983), s.vv. sinech (2), u/a. [7] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation), p.xv. [8] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Dated Names Found in O/ Corra/in & Maguire's Irish Names" (WWW: J. Mittleman, 1999). http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/ocm/ [9] Coghlan, Ronan, _Irish Myth and Legend_, The Appletree Press Ltd., Belfast, 1985, s.vv. Sineach, Muirdris. "The Sineach: a name given to the lacustrine monster killed by Fergus mac Leide. It was also called 'the Muirdris'." [10] Donnchadh O/ Corra/in & Mavis Cournane, "The Annals of Ulster" (WWW: CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork, Ireland, 1997), entries U.553.2, 576.4, 577.4. http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/G100001/ [11] The Annals of Ulster, entry U978.2.