Sir, - In his "An Peann Coitianta" (October 23rd), Liam O Muirthile refers to the word seoinín and to its popularisation by D. P. Moran in the early years of this century. Readers will be interested to know that the earliest attestation of this word in its Anglicised form shoneen occurs, according to the OED, in a work by John Keegan published in 1840.
Though nowadays the word jackeen has come to mean anyone from Dublin, in Keegan's time it referred to a specific type of Dubliner, an idler who aped English dress and manners. It appears to me, as Seón or Seán may be rendered as Jack, and as the terms, in Keegan's time appear to have been nearly synonyms, that jackeen may well be an English translation of seoin&[acute;IT]in.
Also in the context of Ó Muirthile's article, readers may be interested to note that, though commonly attributed to Arthur Griffith, the use of "Sinn Féin" as a political slogan first occurs, to my knowledge, also in the work of John Keegan, published in the Nation, 1843. I deal with these and other matters in my edition of Keegan's selected works, to be published in November. -Yours, etc.,
Shanahoe, Co Laois.