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Irish Surname question

  • 02-02-2021 10:53pm
    #1
    pummice
    Registered Users Posts: 240 ✭✭


    Can someone enlighten me why 2 brothers might have different surname prefixes - Irish poets Seosamh Mac Grianna and Seamus O Grianna


Comments

  • #2
    ari101
    Registered Users Posts: 2,835 ✭✭✭ari101


    pummice wrote: »
    Can someone enlighten me why 2 brothers might have different surname prefixes - Irish poets Seosamh Mac Grianna and Seamus O Grianna

    http://www.irishlanguageforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=4015

    Supposedly Seamus took some poetic licence and used Ó for a pen name. Not sure how accurate the source in that thread is, but the family name was definitely Mac.

    Ó (from), and Mac (son of) while not interchangeable, both mean the same thing (male descendent of X), and some names are translated in more than one way, just not usually in the same family.

    *runs from the gaeilgeoirí for fear info is not spot on ;-)


  • #3
    An gal gréine
    Registered Users Posts: 941 ✭✭✭An gal gréine


    Séamus felt that he was correct, but he was on his own in that.
    His pen-name was 'Máire'.
    His local name in Rann na Feirste was Jimí Fheidhlimí.


  • #4
    Imreoir2
    Registered Users Posts: 2,435 ✭✭✭Imreoir2


    pummice wrote: »
    Can someone enlighten me why 2 brothers might have different surname prefixes - Irish poets Seosamh Mac Grianna and Seamus O Grianna

    They hated each other.


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