A.u.e: Does anyone else have these two different "-ire"s? Consciously or unconsciously? With the same distribution as mine or different? When I come to think about it, it appears that words in your first list are slightly shorter sounds.

To give an example that's at least related, Padraig recently ... is often seen as sexism or a relic of sexism. But then why do some women, avowed feminists, insist in being called "chairwoman", "policewoman", etc.? It is