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I was curious about what people think of the traditional spellings of Irish names. Names like Sean are common enough that most people know how to pronounce it, but there are other names that I been looking at recently, that aren't easy to pronounce.

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For example:
Aoibheann (EE-van)
Sadhbh (SIEV)
Siobhan (shi-VAWN)
Aoife (EE-fa)
Niamh (NEEV)
Caoimhe (KEE-va)
Ruaidhri(ROR-ee)

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Part of me is really discouraged that I have no idea how to say them when I see them. But I also think that they are really beautiful ways to spell names that I wouldn't normally like.
What do you feel?

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Also, as an writer, I'd love to know how you'd feel if you were reading a story with one (or more) names like this. Would it be irritating? Would you not mind if there was a pronunciation guide? Would you like it?

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