Chapter One - A Family Introduction and Chapter Two - Expanding the Prendergast Family Tree

Chapter One - A Family Introduction

The "O'Keane-Prendergast Family History" focuses on our family's first immigrants to America---Mathew William O'Keane/Keane and Catherine (Prendergast) O'Keane/Keane. The story travels back in time and forward in time from these two lives.

This history is an attempt to include what has been discovered in family stories, in computer and library resources, and on our holidays in Ireland. Hopefully, future generations will discover more.

Please do not be disappointed if this story gets bogged down in details and background information. It is not meant to be a breezy read, but rather a collection of details about the family's history that will include facts and speculation---with distinction between the two. Please excuse the frequent reference to sources and dates of the material. This is an attempt to produce accurate information that can be used as a stepping stone to reach more information. Alternatively, feel free to go back to the Table of Contents and jump around to select chapters that are of greater interest to you.

Origins of the Prendergast name...

"Prendergast" is an Irish name of Welsh/Norman origin. The name derives from the 12th century Norman Knight "Maurice de Prendergast." Variants of the name include Pendergast, Pender, Prender, Prenderville and Prendergraft. The de Prendergast line arrived in Ireland with Strongbow (Richard de Clare) during the invasion of Ireland in May 1169. The most noted location for the family name is in County Waterford and the southern part of County Mayo. Just like so many invaders, many of the Prendergast's stayed and became part of the community, becoming "more Irish than the Irish."

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Ancestry.com describes the Prendergast surname as follows:

"The name Prendergast is of Welsh origin. It is said to have been the name of Flemish settlers in Normandy [northern France], who took their name from a lost place, Brontegeest, near Ghent in Flanders [northwest Belgium]. Prendergast's came to Ireland in support of 'Strongbow's' invasion. After a falling out between some of the Irish 'kings,' Dermot McMurrough, the [Irish] King of Leinster, enlisted the aid of King Henry II of England and most of France, who gave Dermot permission to recruit the Norman Barons in Wales to help him regain his lands. The chief of those Barons was Richard, Count of Eu, sometimes referred to as the Earl of Pembroke and nicknamed 'Strongbow.'

Dermot set sail for Ireland in 1167 with a tiny Norman force and awaited the arrival of more substantial help. On 11 May, 1169, he was joined by Maurice de Prendergast who arrived in two boats and landed at Bannow Bay with 10 knights and 200-to-600 archers and foot soldiers as part of the vanguard of Strongbow's force. (Strongbow didn't arrive until 23 August 1170). Though small in number, they were experienced fighting men who met with early success. In the fighting that ensued, de Prendergast and 200 men were under siege and asked Dermot for transport back to Wales. On being refused this, they promptly changed sides and Dermot had to swear allegiance to the local king, who was unaware of the imminent arrival of Strongbow and the main force. After a short time in Ireland, Maurice de Prendergast returned to Wales, but later returned with Strongbow and the main Norman force. Strongbow and de Prendergast landed near Waterford with 200 knights and 1,000 soldiers. On 17 October 1171 King Henry II landed at Waterford with 500 knights and 4,000 men at arms and archers. By 1250 (80 years later) three quarters of Ireland was under Norman rule. The Normans gradually intermarried with the Irish and became assimilated. The Normans were a mixture of Celtic blood, Frankish blood and that of the Viking invaders who settled in France in 911 AD when Charles the Simple, King of France, ceded part of his kingdom to the Vikings. That area became shortened to 'Normans.' Hence, Maurice de Prendergast was of Celtic and Viking blood before he settled in Wales (and before going to Ireland).

After the Norman invasions, the Prendergast family flourished and extended its land holdings in Ireland.  Maurice de Prendergast played a prominent part in the invasion of Ireland and was granted land in Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary, Mayo and Wicklow. The Prendergast family married into many of the most Ancient Nobility and Gentry and appear in their pedigrees. In the days of Oliver Cromwell, many Prendergast's were dispossessed (transplanted), as were many other ancient noble families, gentry and farmers who supported the Catholic Revolution, and their inheritance was divided between the soldiers of the commonwealth army and the adventurers, as those were called who contributed money towards a fund for raising a private army to put down the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Much of these lands were later restored."

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Our "Prendergast" Origins...

Much of our Prendergast family background would have been lost in time without the help of our Fleming cousins, Jean Fleming Miller and Kathleen Fleming Griffin. James Marquette Fleming (R.I.P.), their great-uncle/uncle, respectively, made several trips to Ireland, as well as did Kathleen herself at a later date.

                                                                 

Accony sign with Croagh Patrick in the background

Prendergast cousins still live in the Accony and west County Mayo area. The last of three old homes will someday be replaced by a newer home by one of the Prendergast's who will probably use the new home as a vacation or retirement property since she currently lives and works with her husband and family in Switzerland. She made a request to reconstruct the exact same type of structure as you see in the photo below, but the Plan Commission would only approve a modern building. An upcoming chapter will describe the residents of this house over a timespan of many years.

The Old Prendergast Home

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Great-grandmother Catherine Prendergast O'Keane/Keane came from this rural community of Accony (aka Aghany and Aughany), County Mayo, Connaught Province, Republic of Ireland, in "the West" of Ireland, which is located along the southern shore of Clew Bay near Roonagh Point were the ferry takes you out to Clare Island in the Atlantic Ocean. The photo below is an aerial view of the Accony region, looking north, with Clare Island in the background. It is part of the popular "Wild Atlantic Way" tourism region.

This area in "the West" is in Connaught Province that includes the five counties of Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Roscommon and Galway. Local areas of Ireland are divided into a "parish" and a "townland." The parish can refer to a religious area or a governmental area. The religious parish for the area that includes Accony is "Kilgeever Parish." Other small communities and townlands (like our rural "townships" in the US) in the Accony area include: Emlagh, Roonagh, Doughmakeon, Askillaun, Pulgloss, Bunowen, Carrowniskey, Killeen, Aillemore, Caramore and Caher.

Kilgeever Parish is in the "Barony of Murrisk" and under the "Poor Law Union of Westport." The nearest town is Louisburgh where St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is located. There is also a "half-parish" church---Holy Family Roman Catholic Church---to  the south of Louisburgh in the Killeen community.

Accony is about 200 miles west of Ireland's capital city, Dublin, on the opposite side of the island. Accony is about 30 miles west of County Mayo's county town of Castlebar and about 15 miles west of the popular tourist town of Westport. It is about 4 miles west of the town of Louisburgh.

Great-grandmother's Prendergast family is closely tied with the early settlement and development of the Accony community.

Accony on County Mayo's west coast

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There is an extensive family tree for the Prendergast's of Accony, along with the O'Keane's/Keane's, within a larger public family tree on the Ancestry.com website that was created by Nancy Bond of Chicago whose maternal grandfather was from this same Accony area. (See "Bond-O'Toole Family Tree" on the Ancestry website.) You can often access the Ancestry website for free using the computers at your local library. You can start your own personal Ancestry.com account on your home computer and internet access where you sign up for semi-annual or annual membership using a credit card.

Nancy has been very helpful in solving some of the mysteries of the O'Keane-Prendergast family history. Additional family trees by Charmaine of England, Patrick of County Galway, Ireland, Jon of Accony and Dublin, Ireland, along with Sue Boelk---a Flynn cousin from California---have helped expand the O'Keane-Prendergast family tree.

On Nancy's family tree, Catherine Prendergast (born circa 1821) is listed as the daughter of Richard "Dick" Prendergast and Bridget Lyons. Local history describes three Prendergast brothers coming from the Claremorris area of County Mayo in the late 1700's to settle first in the Murrisk area and then in the Accony area. James "Old Jimmy" Prendergast came first and was followed later by his two brothers, Richard "Dick" Prendergast (Great-grandmother Catherine's father) and Padraig "Paddy" Prendergast.

Origins of the O'Keane/Keane name...

The surname "O'Keane/Keane" has many variations, including Kane, Cain, Kean, and Keen. Our family has always pronounced the name as "kane," not "keen." Our cousin, Mary O'Keane Kearns (R.I.P.), who traveled to Ireland with her son, Kerry, said she heard it pronounced both ways in Ireland, and the pronunciation seemed to vary from region to region. We thought we heard a lot of "keen" pronunciations on our holidays in Ireland and assumed it was due to the fact that Roy Keane, a leading soccer player and coach, pronounced his name this way. The musical group "Keane" pronouncing their name as "keen" added to the use of that pronunciation. In addition, the vowel combination "ea" in the English language is pronounced with the "long e" sound, again leading you to the "keen" form. Nonetheless, the original Gaelic pronunciation is "long a," as in "kane." The reason many people with the "Keane" surname changed the spelling of their name to "Cain" or "Kane" spellings is, presumably, to let them use the original "kane" pronunciation of the surname. Original, Gaelic forms of the name are "O'Cathain, O'Cahan and O'Cein."

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In Ireland, Mathew O'Keane's (born circa 1817) surname was probably "Keane," without the "O'." Some of Mathew's earliest documents in the US have his surname as "Keane" instead of "O'Keane." But documents always need to be taken "with a grain of salt," since the forms are very dependent on who is recording the information on the form. Often it would have been written by a government employee. The "O' " is an earlier Gaelic form of the surname that usually meant "descendant of." The apostrophe after the "O" was originally place above the "O." There is the possibility that the name adjustment could have been made for Mathew to better disappear from the British. A cousin in Ireland suggested the possibility of "putting on airs" by switching from Keane to O'Keane. An example of this was found in the obituary for a possible brother of Mathew whose name is listed as the Reverend Terence O'Keane, while his father's name is listed in the same obituary as George Keane. The older forms of the surname may be returning as seen on several modern-day listings of people on Irish online message boards who are using the earlier, original forms of the surname: O'Cathain, O'Cahan, and O'Cein.

The original spelling in Gaelic (Irish)---O'Cathain, O'Cahan, and O'Cein---of today's "Keane" surnames is discussed on online Irish heraldry websites. The information notes that: "the largest group or 'sept' of the clan originated in the north of Ireland (Ulster Province) in the East Donegal and Derry region ('Cenel Eoghain') and many of these people took the modern spelling of 'Kane.' Two other O'Cathain groups or 'septs' came from the bordering County Galway (Connaught Province) and County Clare (Munster Province) ('Ui Fiachra Ainde'). They use the modern spelling of 'Keane' or 'Kean.' A third, distinct group or 'sept' had the original spelling of 'O'Cein' and originated in the Waterford area (Munster Province). They also use the modern spelling of 'Keane' or 'Kean.' The Gaelic meaning of 'Cathain' and 'Cahan' is 'battler' or 'warrior.' The Gaelic meaning of 'Cein' is 'ancient ones.' "

One of the former Family Tree DNA "Keane" project group leaders, Len Keane, even hypothesized that the O'Cathain's may not have been an actual family clan, but rather a group of specialized warriors, like the Samurai of Japan, who started out as soldiers of Niall of the Nine Hostages, the leader of the O'Neil Clan.

The Family Tree DNA Keane project group considers all the following names to be surname variations: "Cain, Cane, Henry, Kain, Kaine, Kane, Kean, Keane, Keen, Keene, McCahan, McCahon, McCain, McCane, McCann, McCaughan, McHenry, McKane, McKean, McKeane, O'Cahan, O'Cain, O'Kain, O'Kane, O'Keane---" sometimes even "McKloskey" is included.

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Our "O'Keane/Keane" Origins...

About thirty miles east of Accony, in the County Mayo "county town" of Castlebar, on the northeast corner of Thomas and Upper Charles Streets, in Aglish Parish, stands "Stacks Bar" that may have been the last property connected to our Great-grandfather Mathew Keane/O'Keane. The pub (public house) may have been called "The Brown Cow Pub" until recently.

                                                                        
                                                                         

A Keane Public House?

Family stories have Mathew "coming from" several locations in Ireland. Cousin Terry Whelan Young recalled her mother, "Nellie," my father's sister, mentioning County Clare. James Marquette Fleming wrote in a letter after a visit to our Irish cousin, Richard "Dick" Scott, that he was told that Mathew "came from" Clare. Nancy Bond, the genealogist from Chicago with the family tree of the Accony area, wondered if Dick Scott meant "County Clare" or the town of "Claremorris," often informally called "Clare." Claremorris, in central County Mayo, is the town where many of the Prendergast's came from when they settled in Accony. My father, James Joseph O'Keane, thought he had also heard that our family line "came from" County Kerry or County Waterford. There has been no distinction made as to whether "came from" referred to the family's origins or just where Mathew traveled from in search of his next employment. 

DNA testing puts our family line in a group of distinct Keane-Cain-Kane families that came from the community of Ballinakill in the Connemara region in northern County Galway that was once a part of County Mayo and is about 80 miles south of Accony and Castlebar. This settlement area would probably have taken place in earlier times than Mathew's timeline. Other Keane-Cain-Kane "DNA cousins" from this same region went on to live in Kilmeena and Aghagower, which are communities located just north and south of the town of Westport, and Westport is halfway between Accony and Castlebar. One of our cousins in Ireland said all these locations were very possible since there was a good deal of easy and, sometimes, necessary movement along the west coast of Ireland, often by boat.

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It is also possible that there could have been several movements by Mathew and/or Mathew's family, such as moving south from Ballinakill (northern County Galway) to County Clare or further south to County Kerry and then back north to County Mayo. Another Irish cousin heard about the possible link with the Castlebar area and immediately thought of modern-day Keane's she knew in the Manulla area which is just southwest of Castlebar.

There are indications that Mathew and Catherine's last residence in Ireland could have been in that county town of Castlebar. They are circumstantial reasons, but quite strong. The case being made for Castlebar as the final area of residence for Mathew was started by Nancy Bond. (Not only is Nancy a talented genealogist, but she is also a persistent detective in tracking down information and using critical thinking skills.)

In her attempt to help track down the origins of the Keane/O'Keane line, Nancy first focused on the unusual first names of some of our ancestors. Nancy maintained that "George" who was Mathew and Catherine's first-born son, along with "Terence," who was Mathew and Catherine's third son, are not at all typical Irish names. Mathew's middle name, "William," is not a typical Irish name either. Nancy did not have any "George" or "Terence" names in her Prendergast records or in that of any of her other family tree members. So, she started looking through records and newspaper archives for "George and Terence Keane/O'Keane's" in the west of Ireland. Nancy's results mostly led her to the county town of Castlebar in County Mayo with an interesting, additional connection to County Clare.

Remembering that children were typically named after specific relatives, Nancy noted that Mathew and Catherine's first-born son, George, would have been named after his father's father. Mathew's father would therefore be likely to have been named "George" too. So, Nancy worked off the likelihood that Mathew's father was "George." And, a George Keane was found in Castlebar who had a son named Mathew and another son named Terence. 

Another strong indicator for Castlebar came from online baptismal records from the Castlebar Roman Catholic Church in Aglish Parish. It listed the baptismal record for a "Bridget Keane, the daughter of Mathew Kean and Catherine Prendergast, dated 18 December 1846, with sponsors Patrick Reney and Mary Lyons." This would be a perfect match to family stories that have an infant daughter of Mathew and Catherine dying at sea on the voyage to America, with the voyage taking place around May/June of 1848. The first-born daughter was traditionally named after the mother's mother and that would be Bridget (Lyons) Prendergast, another name match. The sponsor Patrick Reney was listed in a newspaper obituary as a long-time Castlebar church sextant. The sponsor Mary Lyons would be a match to the maternal, "Lyons" side of the family.

Nancy also noted that Catherine's older brother, "Old Father Richard" Prendergast, could have even performed the wedding ceremony for Mathew and Catherine, since he was the pastor in Breaffy, which is a small community within the Castlebar church area. Nancy speculated that "Old Father Richard" would have also known the Reverend Terence O'Keane who worked in Hollymount, the Aran Islands, Robeen and finally in Kilmeena before Reverend Terence died at a young age as the pastor in the nearby town of Westport.

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In the newspaper obituary for Reverend Terence O'Keane, George Keane is listed as Reverend Terence's father---an interesting similarity to our family surname likely being changed from "Keane"-to-"O'Keane" which might have been a way of making the surname more prestigious as an honorable, "old form" of the name. Or, in Mathew's case, it could be a way to become more hidden if he had to emigrate in a hurry to keep ahead of the British as family stories speculate.

Property listings/registrations in the old Castlebar and Connaught Province newspapers had George, Mathew, Richard and Terence Keanes listed.

There were also several listings of "petitions in the old Mayo Constitution and Connaught Telegram newspapers calling for "Reforms" and "Repeal of the [British-Irish] Union" that had a number of "Keane's" as signers of the petition---as shown in the newspaper article to the right. So, this might be a reason for a need to leave if there was a crackdown on these petitioners by the British.

Other close connections came with the listing of property in Castlebar that had George Keane listed as the owner of "houses, offices, and plots" on "Upper Charles and Thomas Streets." In the property listings for later years, the same property is listed with Mathew Keane as the owner. So, Nancy speculates that this Mathew Keane could well be the son of this George Keane.

There are also several more listings of those who could be sons of the senior George, such as the Reverend Terence O'Keane, mentioned previously, whose obituary noted his son-to-father relationship and his being born and raised in Castlebar. The death notice in the Castlebar newspaper lists: "At Westport, on Sunday last, after a short illness, the Rev T. O'Keane RCC, son of Mr. George Keane of Castlebar." Nancy also noted a Richard Keane of Castlebar (died in 1847, the year before Mathew and Catherine emigrated) who was in the linen, drapery and haberdashery business, according to an 1846 Castlebar directory. There were George, Mathew, Terence and Richard Keane's listed as sponsors from baptisms, as well as sponsors on small loan applications.

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There are several listings of George Keane as the owner of a "public house" on Upper Charles Street in the old newspapers. A publican, George Keane, according to a newspaper article, "was fined for keeping his public house open after regular hours." By going on "Google Maps" and viewing Castlebar in the "street level" photo mode, you can see the "Stack's Bar" shown at the beginning of this chapter, where Thomas Street intersects with Upper Charles Street. When the property records for the old newspaper articles for "Keane" property were listed, it was right there on Upper Charles Street where it runs into Thomas Street. So, the current "Stacks Bar," called "The Brown Cow Pub" previously, on the northeast corner of Upper Charles Street and Thomas Street is likely to have been connected to the O'Keane/Keane family.

This near-north part of the town of Castlebar is called Knockthomas Townland. It is located in Aglish Parish---the same religious parish where Mathew and Catherine's likely daughter, Bridget, was baptized according to the church records mentioned previously. This area is near the current JC Penny store and the Linenhall Arts Centre.

Nancy also found newspaper articles that had a George Keane owning property in County Clare before his property listings in the Castlebar area which would support those stories referring to Mathew "coming from" County Clare. These properties were listed in a County Clare newspaper in a "for sale - auction" article. Nancy also noted that George Keane's obituary was listed in County Clare, County Limerick and County Roscommon newspapers even though he died in the County Mayo town of Castlebar in 1841 which would likely mean that he had some larger connection to other regions in "the West" of Ireland.

Nancy also linked this George Keane with Lord Lucan (George Bingham, the Third Earl of Lucan) a commander (Lieutenant-Colonel) of the British 17th Lancers cavalry unit that was involved in the Crimean War. Lord Lucan originally resided in County Clare. In another newspaper article, this George Keane was a witness in a libel case that involved Lord Lucan and the publisher of the Connaught Telegraph newspaper. George Bingham was referred to in the newspaper article as "Lord Bingham" since he did not become the 3rd Earl of Lucan until 1839. George Keane's testimony, according to the newspaper article noted:

"Mr. George Keane, of the 17th Lancers, deposed to Lord Bingham having acted as Lieutenant-Colonel in December [1830] and January [1831], the months in which the alleged libels had appeared. Cross examined.---To the best of witness's knowledge, Lord Bingham was at present in Cork with his regiment, witness should think that it would be very difficult for officers to obtain leave of absence at present; witness had duties to perform now in town."

As a reward for military service, the British Crown granted land to Lord Lucan in the Castlebar area where he went on to develop model farms. This was near the same area of Castlebar where those Keane properties were located. There are also old British barracks and a "Lucan Street" in this same area of Castlebar. So, Nancy speculated that George Keane could have been in military service under Lord Lucan and came from County Clare to the Mayo county town of Castlebar with Lord Lucan and received  property as a reward of service. An "An Coinneal" article noted that Lord Lucan was also given land in the Louisburgh area near Great-grandmother Catherine's Accony community. 

("An Coinneal," Gaelic/Irish for "the lighted candle," is a biennial magazine with local history articles written by residents of the Greater Louisburgh Area. The Louisburgh-Killeen website has old copies of this magazine's articles available for viewing. Go to the URL address: www.louisburgh-killeenheritage.org )

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Related to the 17th Lancers being involved in the Crimean War is our family story that has Mathew and Catherine's first-born son, George, being left behind with his Prendergast grandparents for lack of funds for everyone's passage to America. This young George is said to have "sought his fortune" in the military and then was killed in the Crimean War around 1855. There is a "George Caine" killed-in-action" in "the first attack on the Redan" listed in two online Crimean War history websites that support this family story. The killed-in-action (K.I.A.) section lists "George Caine, Private in the 7th Regiment of Foot [Royal Fusiliers], #2901, K.I.A. 18 June 1855," listed in Crimean War Rolls of Honour at http://www.angelfire.com/mp/memorials/crimroll5.htm and there is another listing at http://hometown.aol.co.uk/heatherasplin/home2.html .

Mathew and Catherine's first-born son, George---a young Irish lad from "the West" of Ireland---going to fight for the British in the Crimean War seems more likely a possibility if there is this earlier, ongoing military connection with his grandfather George and Lord Lucan.

The Mathew Keane that is listed as the owner of the property that was previously listed as being owned by George Keane has his occupation listed as "yeoman." Nancy thought Mathew could have been indentured into the Irish Yeomanry [military]. Or, being a yeoman can refer to a commoner who cultivates his own land---perhaps on one of the "model farms" of Lord Lucan. The name "yeoman" originally referred to an attendant in a noble household and was often used to designate military service. So, there is possible "British Military" involvement for this potential Great-great-grandfather George and Great-grandfather Mathew, as well as their grandson/son, the young George.

An article about yeomanry in 1890's England described the position as "a farmer who owns his land; a freeholder, the next class down from gentry, or an assistant to an official or a ships officer in charge of stores."

Eventually in America, family stories have Great-grandfather Mathew eager to enlist in the American Union Army during the US Civil War as a way to show his patriotism for his new country and also as a way to fight the British who were said to be planning to support the Confederate Army in the US South by providing supplies through the Port of New Orleans. It would be very much in the British interests to support the southern states who they depended on for vast amounts of cotton.

Mathew, having a military or farming yeomanry background, would probably have been more able to lie about his age and show enough ability to enlist in the U.S. Civil War's Union Army when he was technically too old for the 18-to-35 age range for service. Mathew's Civil War experience included a three-day forced march that he had to be in good shape to complete. (An upcoming chapter will give this part of the family history.)

The "Irish Pride" that is a large part of our family stories looks a little tainted if our ancestors were in the British military. But, maybe there was a change of allegiance that makes the family stories even more likely that Mathew needed to leave Ireland in a hurry and later be interested in fighting the British.

There could have been a "falling out" between any relationship or employment that existed between Mathew and Lord Lucan since the Third Earl of Lucan was known as "The Exterminator" during the early years of the potato famine due to his eviction of many tenant farmers and then renting out the properties to rich landowners. Lord Lucan also closed the poor house in the town of Castlebar for an extended period during the height of the potato famine.

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Nancy Bond noted that in 1848 it was "hard times" in the Castlebar area---cholera outbreaks and poverty. This is the time when Mathew and Catherine emigrated. It was also the same time when the "Young Irelanders" (an anti-British group) were at their most active. Another group, the "United Irishmen" had also been oppositional to the British for years. A significant Irish rebellion against the British took place in 1798. This rebellion was carried out most prominently in this same region of north central and central County Mayo. (Google "The Races of Castlebar" for more information.)

Irish historical articles note that "having pushed 'uncooperative' Irish 'to Hell or Connaught,' the British should not have been surprised that this region would become a place of frequent insurrection."  So, we are looking at troubled times, made much worse with "an Gorta Mor" (The Great Hunger) that was caused by the British and referred to as a potato famine, although it can also be viewed as a slow and subtle genocide.

John Mitchell, a leader of "The Young Irelanders" movement called "The Potato Famine" an "artificial famine" because there was sufficient food in the country to prevent anything like starvation if the British Government had only listened to the repeated appeals. He wrote: "During all the famine years, Ireland was actually producing sufficient food and wool and flax to feed and clothe, not nine, but eighteen million people. Wheat export figures for 1845 were almost double those of 1844 while the Parliamentary Papers for 1849 show that well over 3,000,000 tons of wheat, barley, oats, flour and oatmeal were still being exported to England in 1846. Yet Ireland starved." 

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Additional records also support the likely presence of Mathew and Catherine in the Castlebar area. In the online records at the National Library of Ireland for the Castlebar area's Roman Catholic baptismal records from 1838 to 1845, there are 64 "Keane" names (in addition to their likely infant daughter Bridget) who are either the baptized child, the parent or the sponsor. Also, in the "Sustainability Loan Fund" records of 1821-1874 on Ancestry.com there are 39 "Keane" names listed as borrowers or witnesses in the Castlebar area, that fall within the 1842-1846 range. (Some duplication of names appears.)

An interesting parallel record appeared in two public member family trees on the Ancestry.com website. A "Richardson Family Tree" and a "Lavin Family Tree" both have a "George Terence O'Keane" born in Killasser Parish, which is located 10 miles northeast of Castlebar. With an 1890 date of birth for this George Terence O'Keane, this could be a descendant of another branch of the O'Keane/Keane family line. Attempts to contact the authors of these two family trees through the Ancestry link have not been successful to date.

Dovetailing into the possible Castlebar connection as the last residence for Mathew and Catherine is the information from one of our cousins in Ireland---Patsy Kelly Gibbons---who has a wealth of information and knowledge about many families from this area in "the West" of Ireland. She is related to us through the MacHale/McHale family line.

The McHale's were early settlers in the Emlagh and Pulgloss communities, just south and east, respectively, of Great-grandmother Catherine's Prendergast settlement in the Accony community.

Cousin Patsy related in a letter that when she was at Anthony MacHale's funeral in 2015, she met two sisters from the Dublin area whose Lyons' family was originally from the Accony area. (Our great-great-grandmother and our great-great-great-grandfather were "Lyons" from Accony.) When Patsy asked if they knew anything about Keane families from that area, the ladies talked about Keane's from the Accony/Roonagh area who moved to Castlebar and owned "The Brown Cow Pub." 

Another cousin, John McHale, had told me at the school reunion in 2009 about the old foundation for the "O'Keane's Place in Roonagh" (next to the Accony community) that could have been the earlier residence for this O'Keane family.)

The person that the ladies knew was a "Maggie Keane." The earlier listing for "The Brown Cow Pub" found in an online 2015 business directory for Castlebar shows its location at the same address and map location as the current "Stacks Bar" as described as pictured at the beginning of this chapter.

In earlier research, I had speculated that "The Brown Cow Pub" was probably named after Irish folklore's "The Cattle Raid of Cooley," wherein Queen Maeve, the warrior queen of Connaught decides to steal the famous brown bull of Cooley from the Chieftain Daire of Ulster. It is a good example of "letting your imagination run away with you." A 21 November 2020 article in the Connaught Telegraph newspaper by Tom Gillespie notes some of the history of The Brown Cow Pub when he frequented the place in the past. He commented that "The pub was so named because on fair days livestock were assembled on the streets outside." Gillespie goes on to note: "Today the premises is Stacks, previously Skeffington's, Paddy Cannon's, John Coyne's and Eddie McNulty's." 

Regardless, an important "next step" would be to contact, or better yet to visit, Stacks Bar and the local Castlebar historical society---and perhaps buy a few rounds at the pub until each and every patron admits to being one of our long-lost cousins. ;-)

Since Mathew was known to have been a teacher and a farmer after immigrating to America---working at Mountin School in the Town of Erin, Washington County, Wisconsin, and then at St. Augustine School in the Town of Richfield, Washington County, Wisconsin---it was just assumed that Mathew would have been a teacher in Ireland.

A "hedge teacher" was even a more idealized version. However, the need for teachers to work in a hidden, "hedge" location was coming to an end and not as typical in Mathew's time (born circa 1817), since many of the British penal laws were in the process of being removed. Teaching could have also been Mathew's occupation in Ireland, but there now appears to be an alternative story line that could have taken place instead or as well.

One of the reasons that there are so many unknowns and gaps in our family tree is probably due to the response my father, James Joseph O'Keane, gave me when I would ask about our family's history which he said was the same thing his father, my Grandfather James O'Keane, gave to him after Grandfather had asked his father, my Great-grandfather Mathew William O'Keane/Keane, the same question. The response was "Those were sad times and best forgotten. You are Americans now and should look ahead." That was probably the best approach for new immigrants to take, but it certainly has made family research challenging.

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Chapter Two - Expanding the Prendergast Family Tree

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Jon of Dublin and Accony has been working with his niece, Deirdre Prendergast, on family history for the Kilgeever Parish area that includes Gibbons, Prendergast, Lyons, McHale, O'Malley and other family lines. Their research is an ongoing project that started with the original efforts of Deirdre's father. Other family history information was shared by County Mayo residents, Michael and Bridie, as well as Peggy.

Jon's research did not appear to correctly identify our Great-grandmother Catherine's place in the Prendergast family lines, but this has been corrected in most family trees that I am aware of. I presented a correction that will be discussed in a later chapter.

Jon provided the following early history of the Kilgeever Parish area:

One of the earliest settlers to this Kilgeever Parish area was John MacHale/McHale who settled in the Pulgloss community around 1770, to the east of Accony. John MacHale was born in Lahardane around 1750 and came to Kilgeever Parish with a family called Jordan (their former name was de Exeter). Jordan was offered land in the area by the Earl of Altamont, John Browne, (later named Marquis of Sligo). John McHale was the brother of Padraic Mor MacHale---the father of Archbishop John McHale, known as "The Lion of the West."

Jordan employed McHale as a stockman, as well as a McNicholas as a ploughman and two Durkan brothers as builders. In two years, Jordan gave McHale land in Emlagh, just to the south of Accony, while McNicholas got land in Bunowen and the Durkan brothers were given land in Askillaun and Carrowmore.

Around 1778, John McHale married Cecelia O'Toole from Inishturk Island. Cecelia's family had come by sea from the County Wicklow area. John and Cecelia McHale had one son and three daughters: James, Mary, Anne and Sarah. James McHale married Catherine "Kitty" O'Malley, Mary McHale married James "Old Jimmy" Prendergast, Anne McHale married Redmond Lyons and Sarah McHale married Geoffrey Gibbons. The Geoffrey Gibbons family and the Redmond Lyons family had come from Aughagower, located to the east of Accony. The three houses of these three McHale daughters were only a half mile away in Emlagh.

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James "Old Jimmy" Prendergast (1791-1883) and Mary McHale's (1790- ) children are: Philip Prendergast (abt. 1815-1901), Richard "Dick" Prendergast (abt. 1815- ), James "Young Jimmy" Prendergast (abt. 1815-1870) and Patrick "Paddy" Prendergast (1817- ).

Redmond Lyons (1775- ) and Ann McHale's children are Margaret "Peggy" Lyons (1785- ), Bridget Lyons (1786-1864), Anne Lyons (1790- ), Redmond Lyons (1795-1848), Patrick Lyons, unknown Lyons-1, unknown Lyons-2, unknown Lyons-3.

Geoffrey Gibbons (abt. 1770- ) and Sarah McHale's (abt. 1775- ) children are: Anthony Gibbons (1790-1875), Myles Gibbons (1810-1901) and Richard Gibbons (1815- ).

Around 1798, two younger brothers of James "Old Jimmy" Prendergast came to Accony. They are Padraig "Paddy" Prendergast and Richard "Dick" Prendergast. These two had been living to the east of Accony in the Murrisk area at the foot of the famous, small mountain, Croagh Patrick. Supposedly all three of the Prendergast brothers originally came from Brise, a small village near the Mayo Abbey, Ballyhaunis, in the Claremorris area of east central County Mayo.

Padraig "Paddy" Prendergast married Margaret "Peggy" Lyons, the first daughter of Redmond Lyons and Anne McHale mentioned above. Padraig "Paddy" (abt. 1775- ) and Peggy's (abt. 1785- ) children are: Bridget Prendergast (abt. 1800-1870), "Redmond "Rimmey Pheggy" Prendergast (1807-1846), James "Seamus Ban" Prendergast  (abt. 1819-1878), Padraig "Paddy Pheggy" Prendergast (about 1810- ), Margaret Prendergast (abt. 1810-1870), Catherine "Kitty" Prendergast [who Jon mistakenly considered to be our Great-grandmother Catherine Prendergast], Mary Prendergast (abt. 1811-1866) and Michael "Mickey Rua" Prendergast (1826-1866).

Richard "Dick" Prendergast married Bridget Lyons [our great-great-grandparents]. Bridget is the second daughter of Redmond Lyons and Anne McHale mentioned previously. Richard "Dick" Prendergast (1771-1837) and Bridget Lyons' (1786-1864) children are: James "Seamus Mor" Prendergast (1809-1868), Richard "Old Father Richard" Prendergast P.P. [Parish Priest] (1811-1883), Thomas "Tom Dick" Prendergast (1812-1892), Bridget "Biddy" Prendergast (1813-1909), Michael Prendergast (1818-1901), Margaret Prendergast (1820-1857), Catherine Prendergast (1821-1876) [the correct Great-grandmother Catherine Prendergast O'Keane/Keane] and Anne Prendergast (1830-1905).

[Here is information on Great-grandmother Catherine Prendergast O'Keane/Keane and her siblings:]

• Richard "Old Father Richard" Prendergast was a parish priest who served the nearby parishes of Breaffy, Kilmeena, Knock and Newport over his career.
• Michael Prendergast was a bachelor who went on to live with his sister Anne (Mrs. Hugh Curley) in Crossard.
• James "Seamus Mor" Prendergast married Mary McHale. They had ten children:

        + Richard "Con" Prendergast who was to marry Caterine Wattie (Walter) 

         Gibbons from Askillaun but was left paralyzed in an accident, so his brother, Michael Prendergast, stepped in and married Catherine instead,

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         + James Prendergast, of whom there was little local information which                would indicate he was someone who is likely to have emigrated [which                turns up in other records that show he came to America in 1875 where he              married our widowed aunt, Mary Jane O'Keane Cosgrove,]

       + Michael, named above, who married Catherine Wattie Gibbons, and                  their children are:

            - Richard "Dick Michael" Prendergast who married Mollie O'Malley of                Furmoyle

            - Geoffrey (1895-1968) Prendergast [who is probably the "Sick Geoffrey"

            who will be discussed later in this history and who helped make the 

            connection with this Prendergast line],

            - Maggie Prendergast who died before her planned marriage to John                    Gibbons,

            - Mary Prendergast who died young in 1915,

            - Tom, who married Ellen Gibbons from Emlagh,

            - Ann Leeny Prendergast who married James "Jim Dick" Prendergast, a              grandson

            of James "Old Jimmy" Prendergast.

            - Bridget Prendergast who married Redmond Lyons, a grandson of the                original Redmond Lyons and Ann McHale  and also the son of Redmond              Lyons and Biddy McMyler,

            - Catherine Prendergast who married Dan O'Malley in Cross,

            - Mary "Maynay" Prendergast who married Richard "Dick" Scott of                        Roonagh and they had 13 children, 10 girls and 3 boys [we visited their                daughter-in-law, Margaret Gibbons Scott (Mrs. Richard Scott Jr.), and                   their grandson, Tommy Scott, on our holidays in Ireland in the early                       2000's which is discussed in another part of this history]

• Thomas "Tom Dick" Prendergast (1812-1892) who married Ann "Nancy" MacHale (1814-1870). They had five children:

         + Richard "Young Father Richard" Prendergast (1837-1905) who served              the parishes at Clifden, Balla, Tuam, Kilmaine and Kilcoman,

         + Thomas "Thomas Tom the Athlete" Prendergast who left his priesthood            studies before his final year and went to Butte, Montana to earn money,              but was killed in a mining accident,

         + Bridget "Beecy" Prendergast (1850-1926) who married Thomas "Tom"              Lyons (1839-

            1915) in Furmoyle, who later bought "The Colony;" their children are:

            - Redmond Lyons,

            - Dick Lyons,

            - Tom Lyons,

            - Paddy Lyons,

            - Jack Lyons,

            - Michael Lyons,

            - James Lyons,

            - Annie Lyons,

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            - Sarah Margaret Lyons who married Peter King and whose children                    are:

               = Richard King who marries Mary Walshe and whose children are:

                  ^ Joe King,

                  ^ Sinead Fiona King who had the B&B/working farm near Leenane,

                  ^ Bernard,

               = Michael King,

               = Mary Eleanor King,

            - Mary,

            - Bridget "Beecy"

            - Alice

         + James Prendergast who married a widow, McDonnell (nee McHale)                 and their family still live at the bridge in Louisburgh,

         + Patrick "Pat Tom" Prendergast (1840-1880) who married Mary                           Lannon Prendergast (1840-1948); note: Barry's mother was Bridget                     "Biddy" Lannon who married James "Young Jimmy" Prendergast,

• Bridget "Biddy" Prendergast who married James "Jim the Rock" MacHale, a brother of Mary MacHale and Ann "Nancy" MacHale who were listed earlier as their spouses,
• Margaret Prendergast who married a "Kelly" in Roonith,
• Catherine "Kitty" Prendergast [our Great-grandmother Catherine Prendergast O'Keane/Keane, who was listed here as the second youngest and originally described by Jon Gibbons as:] "...who married a Heraty in Carrowkennedy," [but this was challenged by me and the case that was made will be discussed in a later chapter],
• Ann Prendergast who married Hugh Curley in Crossard

Most of Catherine's paternal, "Prendergast" ancestors are unknown, but another valuable genealogist, Charmaine of England, has been able to trace Catherine's maternal line back to the late 1300's. This maternal family line will be discussed in a later chapter of this family history. This maternal line is also supported by a Lyons-Giles family tree on Ancestry.com, authored by a Mary Lyons of County Westmeath, Ireland.

In 2009, when the Accony community held the "Accony School Reunion" (St. Patrick's National School), the local historian Jon wrote an interesting story about Richard "Dick" Prendergast and Bridget Lyons Prendergast's home that will also be shared in a later chapter.

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