Marilyn's Photos - Aug 12 2025 - Moriarty on Mortality

 

Moriarty is the villain in the Sherlock Holmes novels.  I've never met anyone with that surname, and it has always seemed fictional to me.   It is Irish from County Kerry.  It is an "Anglicized version of the Irish name  Ó Muircheartaigh, meaning "descendant of Muircheartach". The name Muircheartach is derived from the Gaelic words "muir" (sea) and "ceardach" (skilled), so the name can be interpreted as "skilled in the ways of the sea" or "sea navigator".  (I want you to know I pasted that in to get all the punctuation marks).  Arthur Conan Doyle thought that the name has a distinctive and exotic sound.  Wondering about this name, I found a website with the most famous people having this surname. They are listed in order of fame.  The website is HERE.   There is a "fame meter" below each person's name.  So I guess there are a few Moriartys around.  I got to thinking about this surname after listening to the CBC radio book podcast where the discussion centred on Liane Moriarty's book "Here One Moment." It has the curious plot of the passengers on a delayed plane being told how and when each would die by a mysterious woman.  The book is almost 500 pages so that is just the beginning plot line.   It is interesting how similar the words Moriarty and mortality seem to be.  Maybe they belong in a poem together.

Isn't this such a lovely picture - it is the church in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  I was checking out the War of 1812 tombstones one day.  I had taken a picture of the entrance, but it was a dull photo.  It seems to me it makes a very tranquil water colour.  The door is open, iinviting the visitor to contemplate mortality. Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca