2. _Brighid_, now anglicised Bridget, from its resemblance to the name
of the celebrated Swedish virgin of that name. Brighid is a woman’s name
of pagan origin in Ireland; it has been explained _fiery dart_ by the
Irish glossographers, especially by Cormac, Archbishop of Cashel, who
distinctly states in his glossary that it was the name of the Muse who
was believed to preside over poetry in pagan times in Ireland. _Brighid_
is now very common in Ireland as the name of a woman, in consequence
of its being that of the most celebrated of the female saints of
Ireland--the patroness of Kildare--who is well known all over Europe as
the great patroness of Ireland.
3. _Finola_, though a beautiful name, has nearly become obsolete since
the beginning of the eighteenth century, but some few still retain it in
the abbreviated form of Nuala.