Lear (gen.), Lir, is the sea.  He is also a mythological personage, a god in the elder Irish belief, and father of Mănănnán, the Erse Neptune.
    Afterwards, later ballads humanized Lear, and made him the father of Mănănnán, one of the Tuath De Danan, or early conquerors of Ireland, and Lord of the Isle of Man, which is said to be called after him.  There is a tradition in Londonderry that his spirit lives in an enchanted castle in the waves of Magilligan, and that his magic ship appears every seventh year.  Moreover, the daughters of Mănănnán, granddaughters of Lear, were called Ainè and Aoiffè, and had a desperate quarrel about their husbands' excellence in hunting. (History of Christian Names, Yonge, 1884)