The first thing that comes to mind is: have you added the host to your zonefile? it would look something like this:
mcmahonfi.domain.ie. A 1.1.1.1
(Special note to yourself for future reference: there's a trailing "." at the end of the host name. that tells bind that it's the FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) for that host. You'll see why I pointed that out in a second).
Another way is:
mcmahonfi A 1.1.1.1
note the non-FQDN and the lack of trailing "." that tells bind to assume the host is under the "domain.ie" domain.
Another nifty thing you can do, too is a CNAME record. That's like an Alias, if you will...
so, you could have
mcmahonfi A 1.1.1.1
mybigfatserver CNAME mcmahonfi
:)
once you've added the host(s), sighup your named and you're ready to roll and or rock.
I got someone else to answer but I posted it, HTH
