Keane of Kilnamona

Matthew and his family

Matthew Keane  was born in 1814 and lived to the age of 76 years as certified in (1890) death certificate - in the absence of medical attendance, the cause of death was certified as old age!.  As noted before (see up) when married in 1848 to Margaret Sexton from Ballinacally (related to Keatinge's, later national teachers, Kilnamona) Matthew received one third proportion of the Ballyashe(e)a farm from his father Jack and built a new house.  Margaret died perhaps in the late 1870s (see Michael below). They had three sons and four daughters as follows:

1. Bridget:- born 1849, married Tom Killeen (b. 1853), Ivyhill, Inch, Co. Clare    More

2. Mary:- born 1850, emigrated to the USA

3. Katherine:-  born 1851, known as Aunt Loriet, USA    More  

4. John:-  known locally as Johnny Matthew, born July 1852, received the home farm.  He married twice as his first wife, Susan McMahon from Dysart, died at the birth of their 1st child; subsequently he married Margaret Morgan from Knocknagraga, Ennistymon* more  

5. Matt:- born May 1854,  died, Swords, Co. Dublin, in 1948    More   

6. Michael:- born December 1855 (per transcribed parish records) or 1858 (see as follows), emigrated to Australia died while young there. According to the South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889) Thursday 15 March 1883 p 4 Family Notices KEANE.—'On the 10th March, at Jamestown, of consumption, Michael, third beloved son of Matthew and the late Margaret Keane, Kilnamona, Ennis, County Clare, Ireland, aged 25 years. Home papers please copy. R.I.P.'

    

7. Margaret:-  born 1860 (as per 1901 census), married John Morgan of Knocknagraga, Ennistymon.  This led to a family saying: A Margaret went up (to Knocknagraga, Ennistymon) and a Margaret came down (to Kilnamona).  Go now to Morgan

At the time of Matthew's death on May 16th 1890, his wife Margaret had predeceased him and their son John had yet to marry (see John Junior (i.e. Johnie Matthew)).  Matthew's much younger brother John was alive for the 1901 census (see John (Fady))

Famine Relief Works

Some small insight into the economic circumstances of the Ballyashea Keane families may be gained from records relating to the famine Relief Works (see the history of Kilnamona website (pp: Ronan Hegarty)).  Towards the end of 1846 an official of the Board of Works, Capt Wynne, in an effort at curtailing numbers employed in the scheme, rather arbitrarily reduced the number employed in the Kilnamona parish scheme by 89 (because of having property and cows) from a total of 275.  Mathew Keane (said to have 15 acres) and Matthew Keane senior (7 acres only and three cows) of Ballyashea were among those named in this list of omissions.

This list gave rise to controversy regarding the criteria used in compiling it.  Subsequently a Committee was set up by the Board of Works which, using more objective criteria, added fifty to the depleted workforce (presumably bringing the numbers employed on the scheme back to 236). 

The latter list did not specifically contain the names of Mathew Keane and Matthew Keane senior of Ballyashea but that of Mat Keane and a Widow Kean (sic) of Ballyashea.  In this list Mat was said to have a family of four, 10-12 acres having three cows and three sheep; whereas Widow Kean had family of eight and 20-24 acres with four cows, one horse and six sheep.  

Entering the realm of speculation to reconcile matters: Matthew Keane Senior could well be a younger brother of Jack Keane  (not recorded in the family annals but Jack must have had siblings!) and thus an uncle to Jack's son, Matthew (the subject of this webpage) .  That being so this Matthew (spelled in the relief works list as Mathew) was then aged 32 years and had yet to marry (see above).  In the subsequent committee report Matthew Senior was omitted from the list of those additionally recommended for employment but a Mat (Matthew!) Keane was retained and a Widow Kean (sic) added.  The family of 4 returned for Mat could well include his mother, brothers Michael and John and himself. If however, the widow Kean* was indeed Jack's wife, Catherine, clearly Jack had died by late 1946/'47 but the dependent family of 8 is puzzling other than suggesting that there were girls in that family hereto unrecorded in family lore.   Is Kean in fact Kane! - as indeed Catherine's son John and his family were recorded as so in the 1901 census. Alternatively, the Widow Kean might have been the mother to the large family recorded by Patrick Keane of the Australian branch.  In the unsatisfactory absence of a listing of the entire scheme workforce, the latter together with Matthew with four dependents referred to above seems the more realistic scenario!

Addendum:

 Regarding land acreage returned in the above relief work lists, this preceded the Griffith Land Valuations of the 1850s and thus land holding would not be exact. Also in the dire circumstances of the time creative underestimation of arable/productive holding would not be out of the question. Irish/Plantation acre measurement was widely used in land acreage estimation at the time, i.e. one Irish acres equalled 1.61 statute acres!.

Last updated April 14, 2014

return