ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 3032
http://www.s-gabriel.org/3032
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7 Apr 2005
From: Aryanhwy merch Catmael (no address)

Greetings from the Academy of S. Gabriel!

You wanted to know if <Aodh O'Hoolighan> is an appropriate name for an
Irish man living in Co. Galway in the mid 16th century.  Here is the
information we have found.

Your choice of given name is fine for your period.  We found four
examples of <Aodh> in the late 16th century, in 1554, 1562, 1588, and
1594. [1] In your period <Aodh> was rendered in English as <Hugh>.
[2,3,4] Determining the pronunciation of this name in the 16th century
is tricky, because it varied from dialect to dialect.  You asked
specifically about County Galway; for that region, the best we can
recommend is this: \wEE\ or \ooEE\ without rounding and pursing your
lips at all.  This rough approximation is appropriate for Connacht,
but not necessarily other parts of Ireland.  In Munster, the name was
probably \AY\, and elsewhere it might have been pronounced like \OO\
but without rounding your lips at all [5].

<O'Hoolighan> is a modern English form of the Gaelic byname <O/
hUallacha/in>, where the slashes represent acute accents over the
previous letters. [2,3]  The only examples in and after your period
that we have of this byname come from English records, where it is
spelled <O Huolighane>, <O Holeghane>, and <O Holohan>. [2]  <O/
hUallacha/in> is the standard Gaelic spelling of the byname for your
period; it was pronounced roughly \oa HOO@-l@-khahn^\, with \oa\ as in
<boat>, \@\ as <a> in <soda> or <about>, \kh\ as <ch> in Scottish
<loch> or German <Bach>, and \n^\ as <gn> in French <montagne> 'mountain'.

In sum, <Aodh O/ hUallacha/in> is a fine name for a 16th-century
Gaelic man.  In English, the same man might have been called <Hugh O
Huolighane>, <Hugh O Holeghane>, or <Hugh O Holohan>.

We hope that this letter has been useful to you and that you won't
hesitate to write us again if any part was unclear or if you have
further questions.  Research and commentary on this letter was
provided by Arval Benicoeur, Talan Gwynek, and Juhetta Copin.

For the Academy,

-Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 07 April 2005

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References:

[1] Mari Elspeth nic Bryan, "Index of Names in Irish Annals" (WWW:
Academy of S. Gabriel, 2001-2002).
http://www.s-gabriel.org/names/mari/AnnalsIndex/

[2] Woulfe, Patrick, _Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and
Surnames_ (Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation). s.nn. mac
Aoidh, O/ hUallacha/in

[3] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin:
The Lilliput Press, 1990). s.nn. A/ed, Uallacha/n

[4] Black, George F., _The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning
and History_, (New York: The New York Public Library, 1986). s.n. Aodh

[5] Woulfe, op. cit., pp. XLII-XLVI