I’m Fiadh, a 12-year-old from a quaint town on the southern shoreline of New South Wales, Australia who recently commenced my high school journey. Interestingly, I’ve seen the popularity of my name mount in Ireland in recent years, according to a report from the Central Statistics Office last March. It cited Fiadh as the most favoured name for newborn girls in the Emerald Isle in 2023. While still an uncommon moniker in my native Australia, the trend in Ireland heralds a possibility of meeting more Fiadhs in the future and spotting my name on merchandise like keyrings or brushes, a delight I missed in my childhood.
In Australia, encountering a Fiadh is quite the rarity; my meetings with fellow Fiadhs are currently limited to my trips to Ireland. This link with Ireland connects with my family history; my parents, now residents of Australia, are Dublin natives. After their global backpacking adventure, they settled in Australia in 2004. My grandparents, cousins and other relatives reside in Ireland except for my parents and siblings.
The story of my name traces back to a weaver in Dingle, County Kerry, whose moniker struck a chord with my aunt. Impressed with the name, my parents decided that upon my birth in 2011 at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, they would name me Fiadh.
Navigating life with an unusual name in Australia has proved a bit of a task. My parents have had to repeatedly spell out and decipher my name to the locals, bewildered by the “dh” in my name. The struggle was such that at one point in primary school, I contemplated legally revising my name to the simpler “Fia”, prepared to shell out the requisite $180 (€110) cost. The complexity of my name often led to teachers either mispronouncing it or even glossing over it during roll calls. Such incidents became so predictable that my friends ensured to correct any substitute teacher on how to say my name correctly.
In pre-school, a particular educator made an effort to research the correct pronunciation of my name prior to class, bringing me joy. My swimming hat is labelled “Fia”, enabling others to address me correctly without any difficulty. Regardless, I am fond of my name; its novelty where I reside ties me to Ireland. Fiadh Molloy, I, am the child of Sinéad, originating from Stillorgan, and Luke from Clontarf in Dublin. We reside in Thirroul, a quaint seaside town located south of Sydney in Australia’s New South Wales.