I have heard a similar story about the American Indian word moccasin.When some Gaels from arrived in America or Canada they landed in the middle of winter and many of them were barefoot after trudging through the snow they met with some Indians and they complained "Tha mo chasan reòta"("My feet are frost bitten")and so Mo chasan became the name for the shoes.Sounds a bit fanciful but that's a virtue amongst us Celts;)