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1. Some I do, some I don't. In general, though, I'd say that I do like them. However, I do also think they're a bit of a fad, particularly (by the sounds of it) in the US. And no, it's not different if it comes from your heritage. If anything, it's even more faddish, and just makes the parent seem obnoxiously desperate to 'recognise' some incredibly vague heritage that they have. Unless *you*, or perhaps your parents, were actually born and raised in Ireland, then I don't think it's a close enough relationship to that heritage.

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I don't mean you personally of course, it's just a generic 'you.' And it's also different if you're using a particular name because of it being a family name, rather than using an Irish name just for the sake of sounding Irish. For example, naming a child Finola after your great-grandmother is different to naming your children Ryan, Aoife and Niamh because you have one g-g-g-g grandparent who was born in Ireland, so you feel you 'need to honour that heritage.' Does that make sense?

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Anyway, mini-rant over, some Irish names I especially like are:
Mairead
Sinead
Niamh
Bridget
Eithne
Caoimhe
Saoirse
Maeve
Dymphna
Grainne
Orlagh
Dearbhail

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Malachy
Seamus
Riordan
Diarmuid