J. S. D.

[3] Animals are divided by naturalists into two classes, cold-blooded and warm-blooded; the latter breathe by lungs, through which all the blood of the body is continually passed, and which has direct communication with the air. Cold-blooded creatures, such as fishes, breathe by means of gills, and the air, instead of coming into direct contact with their vital fluid, is absorbed from the water. In the case of reptiles, which are cold-blooded, although the air may come into direct contact with the blood, as in the respiration of the frog, yet, by the peculiar structure of his lungs, only half the blood is sent to them to be purified; and thus his superiority over the fish in receiving air direct, is balanced by the circumstance that his blood is only half purified, in consequence of being only in part exposed to the action of the air. The temperature of animals is found to have relation to their activity and vital energy. The following list exhibits the temperature of the animals mentioned.—

Birds,105degreesFahrenheit,
Sheep,100degrees—
Worms,36degrees—
Frog,40degrees—
Snail,36degrees—
Fish,60degrees—

Society makes criminals, and then punishes them for their misdeeds.

ORIGIN AND MEANINGS OF IRISH FAMILY NAMES
BY JOHN O’DONOVAN.

The Seventh and Concluding Article.

At the present day very few of the original Irish names remain without being translated into or assimilated with those borne by the English. Of this I shall next furnish instances, the truth and correctness of which cannot be controverted. Among the O’Conors of Connaught, the name Cathal, which is synonymous with the Welsh Cadell, and signifies warlike, was changed to Charles after the accession of Charles I. to the throne; for the Irish, who were attached to this monarch, went great lengths to assimilate several of their Christian names to Charles. Thus, while among the O’Conors of Connaught, Cathal was manufactured into Charles (with which, it will be readily granted, it has nothing in common, either in meaning or sound), among the O’Conors of Faly in Leinster, Cahir, which signifies warrior, was metamorphosed into the same: and at the same time the Mac Carthys of Desmond substituted it for their Cormac, and the O’Hagans and other northern families for their Turlogh. This was paying their court to the king with a vengeance!

In the families of Mac Carthy, O’Sullivan and O’Driscol, Finghin [Fineen], a name very general among them, and which signifies the fair offspring, has been anglicised to Florence. Among the same southern families the name Saerbrethach, which prevails among the Mac Carthys in particular, and which signifies the noble justice, is translated Justin. In the family of O’Donovan, as the writer has had every opportunity of knowing, the name Murrogh has been metamorphosed to Morgan; Dermod, to Jeremiah; Teige, to Timothy; Conor or Concovar, to Cornelius; Donogh, to Denis; and Donnell, to Daniel. In the family of O’Brien, the hereditary name of Turlogh has been changed to Terence; Mahon, to Matthew; Murtogh or Moriertagh, to Mortimer (but this very lately); and Lachtna and Laoiseach, to Lucius. Among the O’Gradys the name Aneslis is rendered Stanislaus and Standish. In the families of O’Donnell, O’Kane, and others, in the province of Ulster, Manus, a name borrowed by those families from the Danes, is now often rendered Manasses. In the families of Mac Mahon and Mac Kenna, in Ulster, the name Ardgal or Ardal, signifying of high prowess or valour, is always anglicised Arnold. In the family of O’Madden of Shilanamchy, in the south-east of the county of Galway, the hereditary name of Anmcha, which is translated Animosus by Colgan, is now always rendered Ambrose, to which, it will be readily granted, it does not bear the slightest analogy. Among the families of Doyle, Cavanagh, and others, in the province of Leinster, the name Maidoc, or Mogue, which they adopted from St Maidoc, or Aidan, the patron saint of the diocese of Fernes, is now always rendered Moses among the Roman Catholics, and Aidan among the Protestants! (any thing to make a difference.) Among the O’Neills in the province of Ulster, the name Felim, or Felimy, explained as meaning the ever good, is now made Felix; Con, signifying strength, is made Constantine; and Ferdoragh, meaning dark-visaged man, is rendered Ferdinand. Among the O’Conors of Connaught, the name Ruaidhri, or Rory, is anglicised Roderic, but among most other families it is rendered Roger. In the same family, Tomaltach is rendered Thomas; Aodh, Hugh; and Eoghan, Owen. In the families of Mac Donnell and others in Scotland, and in the north of Ireland, the name Aengus, or Angus, is always rendered Æneas. Among the O’Hanlys of Slieve Bawn, in the east of the county of Roscommon, the name Berach, which they have adopted from their patron saint, and which is translated by Colgan, directe ad scopum collimans, is now always and correctly enough rendered Barry. Throughout Ireland the old name of Brian is now rendered Bernard, and vulgarised to Barney, which is more properly an abbreviation of Barnaby than of Bernard. Among the O’Haras and O’Garas in the county of Sligo, the name Kian, which they have adopted from their great ancestor Kian, the son of Olioll Olum, king of Munster, is now rendered Kean; and I observe that the chief O’Hara has suffered himself to be called Charles King O’Hara in a book lately dedicated to him! In the family of Maguire, Cuconnaught is rendered Constantine, while in other families Cosnavy undergoes precisely the same change. In the family of O’Kane, the name Cooey written Cu-maighe in the original language, and signifying “dog of the plain,” is now rendered Quintin. In the family of O’Dowd, the ancient name of Dathi, which they have adopted from their great ancestor of that name, who was the last Pagan king of Ireland, is now rendered David, a name with which it is supposed to be synonymous. In the north and west of Ireland the names Duval-tach, Duv-da-lethe, and Duvdara, are all anglicised Dudley. In the family of Mac Sweeny, the very ancient name of Heremon is anglicised Irwin, but it is now almost obsolete as a Christian name. In the families of O’Hanlon, O’Haran, and O’Heany, in the province of Ulster, the name Eochy, signifying horseman, and which was latinized Eochodius, Achaius, Euthichius, and Equitius, is anglicised Auhy and Atty; but this name is also almost obsolete, the writer having never met more than one person who bore the name, in his travels through Ireland. Among the O’Mulconrys, now Conrys, the names Flann, Fithil, and Flaithri, have been anglicised Florence. In the family of O’Daly, the name Baothghalach, which was formerly latinized Boethius, is now always rendered Bowes; and in that of O’Clery, the name Lughaidh is anglicised Lewy and Lewis. Among the O’Reillys of Cavan, the hereditary name of Maelmora, which signifies majestic chief, is now invariably rendered Myles, and among the O’Kellys of Hy-Many, the name Fachtna is rendered Festus. In every part of Ireland, Maelseachlainn, or Melaghlin, which signifies servant of St Secundinus, has been changed to Malachy, to which it bears no analogy whatever, excepting some fancied resemblance in sound. In every part of Ireland the name of Gilla-patrick has been changed to Patrick; and, by the way, it is curious to observe, that common as the name Patrick has now become in Ireland, especially among the lower classes, it was never in use among the ancient Irish, for they never called their children by the name itself of the Irish apostle, deeming it more humble and more auspicious to call them his servants; and hence we find the ancient Irish calling their children, not Patrick, but Maelpatrick, or Gillapatrick; and these names they latinized Patricianus, not Patricius. The name of Patrick is now looked upon as the most vulgar in use among the Irish, which is a very strange and almost unaccountable prejudice, for Patricius was one of the most honourable names in all antiquity, as the reader will see if he will take the trouble to read the work on the antiquity of British Churches, by Ussher, pp. 841-1046, in which that learned primate gives the history and derivation of the name.

The names of women have been also very much metamorphosed, and many of the most curious of them entirely rejected. I have now before me a list of the names of women, drawn up from the authentic Irish annals, and from the History of Remarkable Women—a curious tract in the Book of Lecan, fol. 193; but as the limits allotted to me in this Journal will not allow me to furnish such a list, I must rest satisfied with giving such names as are still retained, with a selection from the most curious of those which have been rejected, adding their meanings as far as they are certain. The following are the ancient Irish names of women still retained, as the writer has determined by examining the provinces of Ulster, Connaught, Leinster, and the greater part of Munster:—

1. Ainé, now Hannah.