What's In A Name?

Much has been written over the years about the significance of names. I hated my name when I was growing up. I was the only Kim in town and I desperately wanted to be a Debbie. The only other Kim people had heard of was an actress named Kim Novak… unless, of course, they had been to Korea where I might have been a royal… (maybe murdered by now).

In my church in the ‘70s there was a 10 year old boy who had been recently adopted from Korea. He spoke little English but was told my name was Kim. He seemed to find that just as puzzling as the fact we didn’t eat kimchi every day. But he smiled at me a lot.

Apparently, here in Ireland, there is a relatively small pool of given names and surnames. I’ve noticed that there is a glut of Paddys, Michaels, Seans, and Seamuses (pronounced shame-us). As for the women, if I forget a name, it’s pretty safe to take a chance on Mary, Anne, Margaret or Bridgett (in my generation anyway).

And there are, of course ,variations on each name: Patrick, Pat, Paddy, Padraig, Paraic, Paudy and Michael, Mick, Mícheál (pronounced mee-haul), for instance. I’m getting comfortable with the Irish versions which seemed so foreign to me a couple of years ago.

For surnames, there seems to be a Ryan, Maher, Dwyer, or Butler lurking around every corner.  But it goes by region. I can only speak for Tipperary.

So if you want to talk about what a great goal Sean Ryan scored in the hurling match or how sad it is that Paddy Maher’s cow was lost in the bog, how do you specify WHICH Sean Ryan or Paddy Maher you’re talking about... because there will be several?

The answer is nicknames! They're as common as Guinness. I mean, who knew that a woman from the deep south would wind up with a mad Irishman named Dixie? (His mother named him Michael but that just didn’t stick).

Referring to families, there are the Ryan Buckets (as in… “Michael Ryan Bucket was in the pub last night”), Ryan Billabones, Ryan Agents, Ryan Fatteners, Ryan Dicks, Ryan Moons, Ryan Angels, Ryan Giants and many more. And that's just the Ryans around Thurles.

Some individual nicknames include Raz (Dixie’s brother), Puddy (rhymes with goody), Split the Sod, Drop o’ Blood, Shit in the Haggard, God in the Bottle, Willie Nod, Swags, Small Lemonade, Rubber Man, Dilly Dally, Fancy Johnny, Crock Dwyer, Mickey the Brute, Windy Britches, Sooty Carroll, Soup Keane, Nick the Scholar, John Joe the Grabber, Tom the Deal, Lead Eye, Sniper Bourke, Pony Bourke, Drippin' Arse, Paddy the Cruelty Man, Hookit, Tom Maher Pus, Paddy Maher Best, the Goat Maher, Danny the Web Maher, Timmy Ryan Good Boy, The Glamour Walsh, The Saint Walsh, Willie Shittyfoot, Ton of Soap, Hands Up, Miracle Man, Glassy Bags, Bluelugs, Sorry for Coming, Hole in the Wall, The Graveyard, Pinch o' Pepper and Slippery Tits.


There are the three Cummins brothers: Bun, Shift and Wax... as well as the three Bartleys who worked together:  Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

My source of local information

My primary source (but not the only one) for all this is an older gentleman named Tony Power who plays a very sweet button accordion every week in the pub. He is something of a legend in these parts, having played traditional music for decades and played with some of the best. According to Tony, these were not occasional nicknames but were the only names these folks were known by. He said in most cases, no one knows or remembers their given names. 

And yes, there are stories that go with each name. When you come visit me, we'll sit down with Tony and the lads and hear them over a few pints. But beware, you might not return home as yourself.