Saoirse?

I think it's well know enough in England now to not be mispronounced. Everyone knows Saoirse Ronan

Totally agree with this

Love the name ! I named my cat Saoirse and then regretted it when I had kids LOL! Never use your favourite name on a pet if you haven’t had kids yet hehehe

Fine if you're in Ireland - outside of Ireland I think most people wouldn't know how to pronounce the name. I certainty wouldn't have a clue, just being honest.

I LOVE the sound of Saoirse when pronounced by an Irish voice.

I also like hearing Caoimhe, Bridget, Catherine, Bridie and Mary. The soft Irish accent makes many names delightful.

• aren’t segregated!!!

sorry on phone can’t edit

And yes it’s really bloody sad, I loved Oisín and Aodhan as well for boys.

I think some progress is being made, they need integration of the schools really so the kids are segregated.

Tell that to Sara (“Sair-a”) Cox.

Michael McIntyre does a good skit on all the different (equally valid) pronounciations of Sara.

@LizzieAnt his family comes from the most entrenched republican areas, and today they would be a mix of republican/nationalist…. The family is a bit partitioned with one half still pretty republican and the other nationalist…. or as the other side of family would call it “the ones who let the Brits in 😉”

Irish families are complicated.

Okay thanks. I was just a bit taken aback as you seemed so anti-violence but then said your husband's family was republican. So that surprised me.

It's sad that the names are seen as labels still isn't it? Hope things improve given time. I guess a lot depends on what part of Ireland OP lives in. There would be no issues where I am in the south.

And the Saoirse newspaper is quite clearly republican @LizzieAnt …. “The voice of the republican movement”
Baffled why you would think I meant nationalist.

And no @LizzieAnt I do not mean nationalist… that would be like SDLP, in favour of non-violent force, you don’t hear about dissident nationalists bombing the place today now do you?! It is republican politics that has been historically linked to issue of support for physical force.

@LizzieAnt as I said previously it depends where on the island you are, ROI it isn’t really going to be an issue.

Although we did witness a girl called Saoirse be physically assaulted in a bar in Donegal (of all places), started off “so you’re a freedom fighter are you?” then escalated and we and others had to step in to protect her.

Unfortunately, while time has moved on, there are still a lot of prejudiced people and safety concerns. We still are in the north quite regularly so it was a concern for us.

Yes, he vetoed all Irish names, despite most of the kids in his immediate family having them. Saoirse got a particularly big no (citing what we’d seen happen), which is a shame because it’s gorgeous. Personally I love Irish names and had quite a lot on my list. But then I haven’t been beaten to a pulp for having an Irish name - he has.

Also, do you mean nationalist when you say republican by any chance?

Would you and your DH consider all Irish language names to be labels in a similar way@Sparklecats? Or is just the meaning of Saoirse that makes it particularly problematic for you? Would you have considered other Irish language names for your DC, for example?
Sorry, just curious really.

What part of I am Irish too did you not hear?!? Same passport as you.

And believe me I had to live through it, it was shit.

My point was my DH is from a republican background and even he vetoed it because he felt it would make our daughter a potential target for sectarian attack. Or that she would be ostracised to certain groups if for example she wanted to live in Ireland/attend Uni there.

That’s it.

I don't care, love. It doesn't give you the right to lecture to me, an Irish person, on things you don't seem to have a whole lot of knowledge on.

p.s try and develop an identity beyond 'I have an Irish husband and he says..'

@Scruffington I have NI/Scot’s background too and grew up in the murder triangle.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

What the actual fuck are you talking about now?

How the hell did I dismiss the atrocities? That's an offensive thing to claim.

I was dismissing your trite 'a lot of people died' line. I was dismissing you and your 'my Irish DH said...' as if marrying an Irish man gives you some greater insight and the right to lecture Irish people.

Run off and tell your husband that.

Same here. My daughter was almost Saoirse but being from NI and living in Scotland with all the independence chat ramping up when my daughter was born I decided against it. In ROI though not an issue.

Also @Scruffington absolutely ghastly for you to dismiss the atrocities that happened and what that meant for people’s families and livelihoods. Horrific.

My DH was conscious of trying not to exacerbate tensions or make DC a target when visiting relations.

It depends where you are on the island as to what people think of it.

@Scruffington

The point I was trying to make to OP is that northern Irish in particular, maybe some Scot’s will associate it with republicanism. And not in a good way.

I wasn’t saying that the name glorifies terrorism but that that publication of the same name does.

I thought it was a beautiful name but DH didn’t like the connotation/label.

OP should know that the name has that connotation.

It's the name of that particular publication @Sparklecats, but most people who choose the name Saoirse absolutely do not support anything to do with terrorism.

It does probably depend where you live but where I am at least (quite far south in ROI) Saoirse is just considered a nice Irish name now and doesn't really carry political connotations.

Love Hazel too OP.

'a lot of people died'

this is what I imagine a history lesson from Paris Hilton would be like.

Wanting a united Ireland and calling a daughter Saoirse does not mean a person is glorifying terrorism. Which is what you are saying.

The Sinn Féin newspaper first appeared in the late 80s, the name had been popular for decades before that.

Your husband is entitled to his opinion on a name, and you're entitled to take on his opinion, but please spare me the lectures.

I think it goes beautifully with Hazel OP. And being from Scotland I have heard plenty Catholic families use it, it's a gorgeous name.