Irish Naming Patterns - during the Great Famine

The article is interesting. I've started looking again, with fresh eyes,  at baptism registers for my relatives. 

As I understand it, the naming pattern of children remained the same as before the famine.  A difference might be choice of godparents. Pre-Famine, parents of a child may have had several siblings living nearby from whom to select godparents. Post-Famine, the pool of sibling potential godparents may have shrunk, either because many of the siblings had emigrated, or because the parents had emigrated. 

As the people you are researching had moved to Scotland, the choice of godparents would have depended on who was available.  Who survived; who remained in Ireland; who moved to the same place in Scotland; who emigrated elsewhere? 

I take issue with churching of the mother being described as cleansing from sin in the article.  I know it has been misinterpreted as such.  The churching ceremony began as a thanksgiving and  blessing service for the new mother and a welcome back to the church and to society after her confinement.  The traditional 6 weeks post -birth spent at home predated Christianity.  The custom originated in:  a) the need for a woman in an agrarian society to be given time to recover from childbirth and to devote her energy to the baby instead of work;  and:  b) the belief that a woman who had recently given birth was in danger of being stolen by "The Little People" to nurse one of their babies, so it was safer for her to stay near home.  Her baby was also at risk of being kidnapped by them. 

Maggie,

Good morning!  Interesting discussion on the mother’s position after the birth.

From the Scotsland People record that I have on the baptism of William Gallagher:

1849, Gallagher, William

Hawick, SS Mary and David

Birth:  Nov 4

Parents:  John Gallagher and Eliza O’Hara

Date Baptised:  Nov 18

Where Born:  Kelso

Sponsor’s Names:  Peter Hetherton and Ellen O’Hara

Clergyman:  Patrick Taggert(Laggert?)  - not sure if it is a T or an L 

Cheryl

So, here’s another question.  Did the sponsor’s have to be of a certain age to be able to be a sponsor?  For the information above, if I were to try to find Peter Hetherton and Ellen O’Hara, would they have to be at least 18 to 21 to be a sponsor?  Is there further explanation of sponsor’s requirements during that timeframe/era?