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Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel!
You asked for information on the Irish name <Samhthann>. Here is what we have found.
Before I start, I would like to explain just what services the Academy offers. We try to help Societyfolk to choose and use names and armory that are historically appropriate to the medieval cultures they want to re-create. Our results can often be used as documentation to support a submission to the College of Arms, but registration with the College is not our goal.
<Samhthann> is a late-medieval (roughly post-1200) spelling of the earlier name <Samthann>. Saint Samthann, the founder of a monastery, died in 739 [1]. Our sources do not tell us whether the name was used later in history, but we think it is reasonable that it could have been used at least until the 12th or 13th century. It is highly unlikely that the name was used outside Ireland.
In her own lifetime, in Old Irish, the saint's name was probably pronounced something like \SAHMH-thahn\, where \MH\ is a nasalized version of the sound of <b> in Spanish <lobo> 'a wolf' and of <v> in Spanish <uva> 'a grape', and the \th\ pronounced as in <thing>. [2] Later in period, in Middle Irish, the <m> was pronounced as a \v\ and the <th> would have softened, so that the name became \SAHV-hahn\.
To construct a complete Irish name, you need to add a byname. Most women in period Ireland were primarily known as their fathers' daughters. For example, <Samhthann ingen A/edha> "Samhthann, daughter of A/ed". (The slash represents an accent on the preceding letter.) The change in spelling and pronunciation of <A/ed> is required by Gaelic grammar. It is equivalent to <John's> vs. <John>. You could also use a simple descriptive byname, like <Ruad> "red". If there is some specific meaning you'd like to express in your byname, write us again with details and we'll be happy to do our best to help.
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 no one as yet.
For the Academy,
Arval Benicoeur
References
[1] O/ Corráin, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990).
[2] To make this sound, set yourself to say \b\, but relax your lips slightly so that the air can escape between them with a sort of buzzing sound. It's rather like blowing out a candle, except that your vocal cords are vibrating. Since the sound is nasalized, some air should also escape through your nose.
Correction by Aryanhwy, 09 October 2007: Corrected the pronunciation of <Samthann>.