Welcome to my site

Click to see a message for you, recorded at my desk when I really should have been writing…

Posted by admin on 02/01 at 12:18 AM - (0) ADD / VIEW COMMENTS

Iveagh Market

I’ve always been proud of our family shop in the Iveagh Markets. This clip was taken by my Dad and shows my Mum and a friend called Joe who used to work in the shop. I couldn’t resist getting into the shot - aged 4! 

Posted by admin on 01/01 at 12:13 AM - (0) ADD / VIEW COMMENTS

Irish Names

A lot of overseas readers have asked for information on the Irish names of many of my characters. This sections gives you the history of some of the names…

One of the most difficult things to do is to come up with the right name for the characters in my books. It’s really important for me to get to know the character and giving him or her the right name is part of that process.

Some of my overseas readers (and I’m so glad you’ve all got in touch!) have asked about the Irish names of some of the characters. So I thought I’d give you a run through on them. If I’ve missed any out, please let me know.

Clodagh (Jane’s daughter in Dreaming of A Stranger)

This name is now popular outside Ireland too and it pronounced Klo-dah. In ancient times, rivers in Ireland were given names of local deities and children were then named after them. This name comes from the river Clody in Tipperary.
Hugh (Jane’s lover in Dreaming of A Stranger)

This name is equally popular aborad. The Irish spelling is Aodh, which means fiery. It’s also my godson’s name!

Conor Gallagher (Caroline’s Sister)

This is a popular name outside of Ireland too with this spelling, though its original Irish spelling is Conchobhar and it means ‘lover of hounds’. It was the name of one of Ulster’s High Kings.

Orla (David’s second wife in Far From Over)

It’s pronounced as you spell it, although often it’s also spelled Orlagh or Orlaith. It’s one of my favourite Irish names and it means ‘Golden Lady’.

Keelin (Gemma’s daughter in Far From Over)

I’ve used the Anglicised spelling of an Irish name because otherwise lots of people would have trouble with this. It’s original Irish spelling is Caoilfhionn though now you sometimes see it as Caoilinn. For any of you Irish students out there the original spelling gives the meaning away because it comes from Caoil (which means slender) and fionn (fair) – although in my story Keelin is dark but she’s very, very slender.

Ronan (Gemma’s son in Far From Over)

Obviously the fame of Boyzone’s Ronan Keating has made this name more recognised outside Ireland, certainly in the UK at any rate. So I probably don’t need to tell you how to pronounce it (Row-nan for those of you who haven’t heard it before). Interestingly, though, it means ‘little seal’ and was a very popular saint’s name!

Aisling O’Halloran (My Favourite Goodbye)

This is another one of my favourite Irish names. It’s original spelling is Aislinn but it’s pronounced Ash-ling and often spelled that way both in Ireland and overseas. It means ‘dream’ or ‘vision’.

Nessa Driscoll (He’s Got To Go)

Nessa is the eldest of the Driscoll sisters – in Irish mythology she was the mother of Conor (see Conor Gallagher). Unlike my Nessa, she was a powerful and ambitious woman and managed to get her son on the Irish throne.

Bree Driscoll (He’s Got To Go)

Bree is the youngest Driscoll sister. We’re not quite sure whether Bree is simply an abbreviated version of Brigid (Ireland’s favourite female saint whose feast day is 1 February!) The name means ‘exalted one’.

Finn (Cate’s fiancé in He’s Got To Go)

I explain a little about the origin of this name in the book and you can click on the link to read more. The legend of Fionn MacCuhaill is one of our greatest folk stories. It means ‘fair’ and the name of one of the great Irish folk heroes – Fionn MacCuhaill (pronounced Mac Cool). He was a much loved warrior and brave, wise, good-looking….a real catch!

Declan (Bree’s boyfriend’s father in He’s Go To Go)

Another name which is very popular outside of Ireland and comes from Dag (good) and Lán (full) so it means full of goodness. St Declan is a well known foklore figure.

Doireann (Cora’s sister-in-law in Anyone But Him)

Another Irish name which I really like, it’s pronounced Deer-Ann. It’s thought that it may actually be a corruption of Der Finn (daughter of Finn, or Fionn as I’ve mentioned earlier) although it’s been translated as meaning ‘sullen’. I would never make a Doireann character sullen, although I do think that it describes a dark person!

Áine (an acquaintance of Jin in Anyone But Him)

This is the Irish form of Anne and it’s pronounced Awn-nyeh. It means ‘brightness’ or ‘splendour’ and most of the girls named Áine that I know are blondes! Áine was also the name of one of Fionn’s wives and Áines are supposed to be lucky in both money and love!

Kevin (Jin’s husband in Anyone But Him)

This name is hugely popular throughout the world but it’s of Irish origin. It means ‘gentle child’ and was the name of another of our most loved saints. St Kevin founded the magnificent monastery at Glendalough (worth a visit if you’re a tourist!)

Cian (Kevin’s son in Anyone But Him)

This Irish name is pronounced Keen. It means ‘ancient’ and was the name of the son-in-law of one of Ireland’s best known High Kings, Brian Boru. Unfortunately both Brian and Cian were killed fighting the Vikings in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Given that I now live in Clontarf I felt that Cian had to make an appearance in one of my novels!

Jin (Anyone But Him)

OK – obviously Jin is very much not an Irish name. But a few people have asked me where it came from. The answer is that her name is Virginia but when she took up modelling she called herself Jin. This was explained in one of the early drafts but eventually got edited out. Hopefully this puts your minds at rest.

Eavan (How Will I Know?)

I’ve used the Anglicised version of this name because the Irish spelling is Aoibhinn which would cause some problems for overseas readers. It means ‘radiant beauty’ and was a popular name for Irish princesses!

Sive (one of Georgey’s friends in How Will I Know?)

Another Anglicised spelling here. The Irish spelling is Sadhbh and it means ‘goodness’ or ‘sweetness’. Sive has folklore links to Fionn – she was his lover but was turned into a deer. Years later Fionn found a child in the woods who had been raised by a dear and realised that the child must have been his by Sadhbh. He named the child Oisin (little deer). I have a nephew named Oisin and he is a dear, but also a terror!

Gráinne (Steve’s mother in How Will I Know?)

Pronounced Graw-neyh it’s another name connected with the great Fionn. She’d been promised to him in marriage but reckoned he was too old for her and so put a spell on his nephew, Diarmiud (pronounced Deer-mud) instead and ran off with him. The legend of Diarmuid and Grainne was compulsory reading in schools for a long time (I don’t know if it was meant to warn us off running away with boys!)

Dervla (Mirror Image : Destinations short story collection)

This is a name which has become common outside Ireland. Its Irish spelling is sometimes Deirbhile (which means poet’s daughter) or Dearbhail (which means true desire) but nowadays in Ireland you often see it spelled as Dearbhla which is a kind of Irish combination of the two!

Bronagh (Valentine’s Day : Destinations short story collection)

This comes from the Irish word brónach which means ‘sorrowful’ and it’s a very common name in Ireland. The Anglicised version is simply spelled Brona – and that is now apparently very popular in the US.

Nieve (Bad Behaviour)

Spelled Niamh in Irish, she was the daughter of the Sea God Mannan who fell in love with Fionn’s son, Oisin (link to that legend) and brought him to live with her in Tir na nOg. She was known as Niamh of the Golden Hair, although in Bad Behaviour Nieve is actually dark-haired.

Posted by admin on 11/01 at 09:16 PM - (0) ADD / VIEW COMMENTS