Tadhg (, ),
[ (pronunciations given for the name ''Tadgh'' separately from those for the slang/pejorative ''Teague''.)] commonly misspelled
"Taig" or "Teague",
is an
Irish and
Scottish Gaelic masculine name that was very common when the
Goidelic languages
The Goidelic or Gaelic languages ( ga, teangacha Gaelacha; gd, cànanan Goidhealach; gv, çhengaghyn Gaelgagh) form one of the two groups of Insular Celtic languages, the other being the Brittonic languages.
Goidelic languages historically ...
predominated, to the extent that it is a
synecdoche
Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy: it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole (''pars pro toto''), or vice versa (''totum pro parte''). The term comes from Greek .
Examples in common Engl ...
for Irish-speaking man. The name signifies "poet" or "philosopher". This was also the name of many
Gaelic Irish kings from the 10th to the 16th centuries, particularly in Connacht and Munster. Tadhg is most common in south-west Ireland, particularly in
County Cork and
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
.
The name has enjoyed a surge in popularity recently; in 2005 it was the 69th most common name for baby boys and in 2010 the 40th, according to the
Central Statistics Office in
Ireland.
[ ]
Etymology
The commonly accepted meaning of Tadhg is "poet"
[Babies' Names, Oxford University Press, 1995, , entry for "Tadhg"] or "storyteller". The ultimate derivation is from the Celtic , who were poets in early Celtic society. In any case, the name is widely attested in Gaulish and early British names.
When the whole of Ireland was part of the United Kingdom, many Irish names and place-names were given English meanings. Due to similarity in sound, Tadhg is often listed as an Irish equivalent of the English-language names
Thaddeus
Thaddeus (Latin ''Thaddaeus'', Ancient Greek Θαδδαῖος ''Thaddaĩos'', from Aramaic תדי ''Ṯaday'') is a male given name.
As of the 1990 Census, ''Thaddeus'' was the 611th most popular male name in the United States, while ''Thad'', ...
,
Timothy (Tim) or sometimes
Thomas, but these names are not actually related.
The name is also spelled "Taḋg" in
Gaelic type with an
overdot
When used as a diacritic mark, the term dot is usually reserved for the ''interpunct'' ( · ), or to the glyphs "combining dot above" ( ◌̇ ) and "combining dot below" ( ◌̣ )
which may be combined with some letters of the ...
over the ''d'' to indicate it is
lenited; the "dh" serves a similar purpose in the modern spelling. Tadhg has been
anglicized as "Taihg", "Tighe" and "Teague". Alternative spellings are "Tadgh" and "Tadhgh".
Synecdoche
Tadhg is also a
synecdoche
Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy: it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole (''pars pro toto''), or vice versa (''totum pro parte''). The term comes from Greek .
Examples in common Engl ...
and was once so common as an Irish name that it became synonymous with
the typical Irishman in the same way that ''
Paddy
Paddy may refer to:
People
*Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname
*An List of ethnic slurs#P, ethnic slur for an Irishman
Birds
*Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon
*Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird ...
'' or ''
Mick
Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Michael (given name), Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a List of ethnic slurs, derogatory term for an Irish people, Irish person or a ...
'' might be today. Hence, Irish phrases such as ' (lit: Tadhg of the market) or ' (lit: Tadhg of the street) are similar to the English language expression "
average Joe
The terms average Joe, ordinary Joe, Joe Sixpack, Joe Lunchbucket, Joe Snuffy, Joe Blow, Joe Schmo (for males) and ordinary Jane, average Jane, and plain Jane (for females), are used primarily in North America to refer to a completely average p ...
" or "the
man on the street"
The
anglicisation
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
''
Taig'' (and formerly ''Teague'') has been used in English since the seventeenth century to refer to Irishmen. The Irish-language name is used defiantly in a
Jacobite poem written in the 1690s:
:
Taig in
the Troubles in
Northern Ireland was used by
Protestant loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
s to refer to
Catholic nationalists.
People with the name
Traditional
*
Tadg mac Nuadat, a
Druid
A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...
in the
Fenian Cycle, grandfather of
Fionn mac Cumhail
Gaelic nobility
*
Tadg mac Conchobair
Tadg mac Conchobair (died 900) was a King of Connacht from the Uí Briúin branch of the Connachta. He was the son of Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882), a previous king, the second of his three sons to rule in succession, succeeding his brothe ...
(died 900),
king of Connacht
*
Tadg mac Cathail
Tadg mac Cathail (died 956) was King of Connacht.
References
* ''Leabhar na nGenealach'', Dublin, 2004–2005
* ''Annals of the Four Masters'', ed. John O'Donovan, Dublin, 1856
* ''Annals of Lough Ce'', ed. W.M. Hennessey, London, 1871.
* ''Iri ...
(died 956), king of Connacht
*
Tadg mac Conchobair
Tadg mac Conchobair (died 900) was a King of Connacht from the Uí Briúin branch of the Connachta. He was the son of Conchobar mac Taidg Mór (died 882), a previous king, the second of his three sons to rule in succession, succeeding his brothe ...
(died 962),
king of Ailech
*
Tadhg mac Muircheartach
Tadhg (, ), (pronunciations given for the name ''Tadgh'' separately from those for the slang/pejorative ''Teague''.) commonly misspelled "Taig" or "Teague", is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic masculine name that was very common when the Goidelic ...
(died 971),
king of Uí Díarmata
*
Tadhg Mór Ua Cellaigh
Tadhg Mór Ua Cellaigh, 36th King of Uí Maine and 1st Chief of the Name.
Background
Ua Cellaigh was the first King of Uí Maine to bear the surname Ua Cellaigh, derived from his grandfather, Ceallach mac Finnachta, who was in turn a sixth-gene ...
(died 1014),
king of Uí Maine
*
Tadc mac Briain
Tadc mac Briain (died 1023) was the son of Brian Boru and Echrad, daughter of Carlus mac Ailella of Uí Áeda Odba. Tadc had one son, Toirdelbach Ua Briain (Turlough O'Brien), with his wife Mór, daughter of Gilla Brigte Ua Maíl Muaid of Cenél ...
(died 1023), contender for
king of Munster
*
Tadg in Eich Gil
Tadg in Eich Gil (died 1030) was king of Connacht.
Family tree
Cathal mac Conchobar mac Taidg, d. 1010.
,
, __________________________________________________________________________________________________
, ...
(died 1030), king of Connacht
*
Tadhg mac Muirchertach
Tadhg mac Muirchertach was one of the early kings of Moylurg, and the most obscure. Even the years of his reign are unknown. All that can be said with certainty is that he lived in the middle decades of the eleventh century and his father was Muir ...
(''fl.'' 11th century),
king of Moylurg
The Kings of or Moylurg were a branch of the , and a kindred family to the Kings of Connacht. Their ancestor, , was a brother to , King of Connacht 967–973, ancestor of the O Connor family of Connacht. is said to have made a deal of some natu ...
*
Tadg mac Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair
Tadg mac Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (died 1097) was King of Connacht.
Tadg was a senior son of Ruaidrí na Saide Buide, who was deposed in 1092 by Flaithbertaigh Ua Flaithbertaigh. The succession became confused, with O'Hynes of Aidhne been made kin ...
(died 1097), king of Connacht
*
Tadhg mac Muireadach Mac Cárthaigh (died 1123),
king of Desmond
*
Tadhg Mor mac Maelruanaidh (died 1124), king of Moylurg
*
Tadhg Ua Cellaigh
Tadhg Ua Cellaigh, 39th King of Uí Maine and 6th Chief of the Name, abducted 1145.
References in the Annals
Tadhg and Uí Maine are mentioned infrequently in the annals, reflecting the kingdom's subordinate status within the kingdom of Connacht ...
(abducted 1145), king of Uí Maine
*
Teige Ua Con Ceannainn (''fl.'' 1152), king of Uí Díarmata
*
Tadg Gláe macDiarmata Ó Briain (died 1154), claimed king of Desmond
*
Tadhg Cael Uisce Ó Briain
Tadhg Cael Uisce Ó Briain (born , died 1259) was the eldest son of Conchobhar na Siudane Ó Briain and Tánaiste of Thomond.
Life
He received the suffix "Cael Uisce" from the having attended the conference of Cael Uisce on behalf of his father ...
(died 1269), tanist of Thomond
*
Tadhg mac Diarmata
Tadhg (, ), (pronunciations given for the name ''Tadgh'' separately from those for the slang/pejorative ''Teague''.) commonly misspelled "Taig" or "Teague", is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic masculine name that was very common when the Goidelic l ...
(died 1281), king of Moylurg
*
Tadhg Ó Cellaigh Tadhg Ó Cellaigh, also known as Tadhg mac Domnall O Cellaigh (Anglicized: Teig O'Kelly) (died 10 August 1316) was King of Uí Maine and Chief of the Name.
Background
Tadhg was one of five sons of Domhnall mac Conchobar mac Tadhg Taillten Ó Cel ...
(died 1316), king of Uí Maine
*
Tadgh Óg Ó Cellaigh
Tadhg Óg Ó Cellaigh (died 1340) was King of Uí Maine and Chief of the Name.
References
* ''The Tribes and customs of Hy-Many'', John O'Donovan, 1843
* ''The Surnames of Ireland'', Edward MacLysaght, Dublin, 1978.
* ''The Anglo-Normans in ...
(died 1340), king of Uí Maine
*
Tadgh na gcoar Ó Ruairc (died 1376),
king of West Breifne
*
Tadgh Ruadh Ó Cellaigh (died 1410), king of Uí Maine
*
Tadhg na Mainistreach Mac Carthaigh Mór
Tadhg na Mainistreach Mac Carthaigh Mór reigned as King of Desmond from 1390/2 to his death in 1428.''Annals of Inisfallen'' 1428.1 He was the son of the previous king Domhnall Óg Mac Carthaigh Mór (r. 1359–1390/2). According to the ''Annals ...
(died 1428), king of Desmond
*
Tadhg Riabhach Ó Dubhda
Tadhg Riabhach Ó Dubhda (died 1432) was King of Uí Fiachrach Muaidhe.
Tadhg Riabhach is the last Ó Dubhda expressly listed as King of Uí Fiachrach Muaidhe in any contemporary or near-contemporary document. ''Araile do fhlathaibh Ua nDubhda ...
(died 1432),
king of Ui Fiachrach Muaidhe
*
Tadhg mac Tigernán Mór Ó Ruairc (died 1435), king of West Breifne
*
Tadhg an Glemore Ó Briain
Tadhg (, ), (pronunciations given for the name ''Tadgh'' separately from those for the slang/pejorative ''Teague''.) commonly misspelled "Taig" or "Teague", is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic masculine name that was very common when the Goidelic l ...
(died 1438),
king of Thomond
The kings of Thomond ( ga, Rí Tuamhain) ruled from the establishment of Thomond during the High Middle Ages, until the Early modern period. Thomond represented the legacy of Brian Bóruma and the High Kings of Ireland of his line who could no ...
*
Tadhg an Chomhaid Ó Briain
Tadhg an Chomhaid Ó Briain was King of Thomond from 1459 to his death in 1466.
Reign
He built the tower of Inchiquin Castle shortly before his father's death in 1459 and made it his new residence, being the first O'Brien since the expulsion of ...
(died 1466), king of Thomond
*
Tadhg mac Diarmaid Ó Máille
Tadhg mac Diarmaid Ó Máille (IPA: ˈt̪ˠəiˈmˠakˈdʲiəɾˠmˠədʲˈoːˈmˠaːlʲə), King of Umaill
Umhaill or Umhall (anglicized as Owill or Owel) was a Gaelic territory around Clew Bay in the west of what is now County Mayo, Ireland ...
(died 1467),
king of Umaill
The Kings of Umaill were rulers of Umaill, a kingdom or territory located in the west of what is now County Mayo, Ireland.
Its earliest rulers were the semi-historical Tuath mhac nUmhoir. The Umaill, its early historical rulers, were renamed t ...
*
Tadhg Caech Ó Cellaigh (abdicated 1476), king of Uí Maine
*
Tadhg mac Diarmata
Tadhg (, ), (pronunciations given for the name ''Tadgh'' separately from those for the slang/pejorative ''Teague''.) commonly misspelled "Taig" or "Teague", is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic masculine name that was very common when the Goidelic l ...
(died 1499), king of Moylurg
*
Tadgh Liath Mac Carthaigh Mór (died 1503), king of Desmond
*
Tadgh na Leamhna Mac Cárthaigh (died 1514), claimed king of Desmond
*
Tadhg Ruadh mac Toirrdelbach (died 1553),
king of Mide
*
Tadhg mac Brian Ballach Ó Ruairc
Tadhg (, ), (pronunciations given for the name ''Tadgh'' separately from those for the slang/pejorative ''Teague''.) commonly misspelled "Taig" or "Teague", is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic masculine name that was very common when the Goidelic ...
(died 1560), king of West Breifne
*
Tadhg mac Diarmata
Tadhg (, ), (pronunciations given for the name ''Tadgh'' separately from those for the slang/pejorative ''Teague''.) commonly misspelled "Taig" or "Teague", is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic masculine name that was very common when the Goidelic l ...
(died 1585), king of Moylurg
*
Tadhg mac Briain na Murtha Ó Ruairc (died 1605), king of West Breifne
Recent
*
Tadhg Cooke
Tadhg Cooke is an Irish musician, also known by his stage name "Tiger Cooke".
Born in Dublin, Ireland and raised in Dunboyne, County Meath, he showed musical promise from an early age and began writing his own music in school.
He obtained a ...
, Irish contemporary musician
*
Tadhg Slater
Tadhg (, ), (pronunciations given for the name ''Tadgh'' separately from those for the slang/pejorative ''Teague''.) commonly misspelled "Taig" or "Teague", is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic masculine name that was very common when the Goidelic l ...
, Abstract expressionist, MOMA, Boston and NYC.
*
Tadhg Ó Donnchadha
Tadhg Ó Donnchadha (1874 – 1949) was an Irish writer, poet, editor, translator and a prominent member of the Gaelic League (''Conradh na Gaeilge'') and the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was editor of ''Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge'' (The G ...
(1874–1949), activist for the
Gaelic League
*
Tadhg Furlong
Tadhg Furlong (born 14 November 1992) is an Irish rugby union player for Leinster in the Pro14 and European Rugby Champions Cup. His preferred position is tighthead prop. Internationally, Furlong has represented Ireland and, in 2017 and 2021, t ...
(born 1992), Irish rugby player
*
Tadhg Kennelly
Tadhg Kennelly (born 1 July 1981) is an Irish-Australian former international sportsperson turned recruiter and coach. He is most known for his top-level careers in both Gaelic football and Australian rules football being the only holder of bot ...
(born 1981), Gaelic and Australian Rules footballer
*
Tadhg Dall Ó hÚigínn
Tadhg (, ), (pronunciations given for the name ''Tadgh'' separately from those for the slang/pejorative ''Teague''.) commonly misspelled "Taig" or "Teague", is an Irish and Scottish Gaelic masculine name that was very common when the Goidelic l ...
(1550–1591), Irish poet murdered allegedly for writing a satirical poem which insulted a rival aristocratic family
*
Tadhg Purcell
Tadhg Purcell (born 2 September 1985) is an Irish footballer who plays for Dunbar Rovers FC in the National Premier League. His main position is as a striker, although he can play on the wing.
He spent his youth with Leicester Celtic, before j ...
(born 1985), Irish soccer player
*
George MacDonald Fraser's 1977 novel ''
Flashman's Lady
''Flashman's Lady'' is a 1977 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the sixth of the Flashman novels.
Plot introduction
Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashm ...
'' features the comic character Daedalus Tighe, and
John B. Keane
John Brendan Keane (21 July 1928 – 30 May 2002) was an Irish playwright, novelist and essayist from Listowel, County Kerry.
Biography
A son of a national school teacher, William B. Keane, and his wife Hannah (née Purtill), Keane was ...
's 1965 play ''
The Field'', has a character named Tadhg McCabe.
See also
*
List of Irish-language given names
References
External links
{{given name
Irish-language masculine given names