Séamus
the Irish form of James
S before é is sh and the fada lengthens it: SHAY-mus. The English Seamus and the Irish Séamus are the same name; the fada is the only thing missing.
- s before e or i → sh
- á é í ó ú (the fada) → a long vowel — and never optional
Séamus Heaney, who won the Nobel Prize in 1995, made it the most quoted Irish name of the late 20th century, 'hope and history rhyme' comes from his 'Cure at Troy'. The Jacobites' loyalty to James II gave Ireland the phrase Séamus an Chaca, 'James the Sh—', after he fled the Boyne.
- Seamus Heaney (1939–2013) — Irish poet, playwright, translator, lecturer
- Séamus Coleman (born 1988) — Irish association football player
- Seamus McGarvey (born 1967) — Irish cinematographer
- Seamus Deane (1940–2021) — Irish writer and critic
- Seamus Mallon (1936–2020) — Irish politician
Irish people with an English Wikipedia article whose given name is recorded as Séamus on Wikidata; descriptions from Wikidata.
Meanings follow Ó Corráin & Maguire's Irish Names and Woulfe; pronunciations give the commonest Irish-English form. Know this name better — a dialect pronunciation, a family tradition? Tell us. · All Irish names A–Z