At
the recent unveiling of the Sea Horse
Cairn, the Mayor of Waterford offered thanks to the descendants of the rescuers
of the people on the Sea Horse that
were present, including the Keoghans of Tramore. Further to this a document was
distributed by the committee stating that ‘local fishermen of the Keoghan
family assisted those from the wreck of the Sea Horse’ and that a great number
of the ‘Keoghan descendants’ continue to reside in Tramore. The only reason that I can see, that the
Keoghans are singled out for such prominence over all the other Tramore names
mentioned is that the decision was strongly influenced by Maxine Keoghan, Sea Horse commemoration committee member
and editor of a booklet about the ship entitled The Shipwrecked Soldiers Cairn.[1]
According to Maxine, her family lore suggested that her paternal ancestors, Keohan
fishermen from Newtown, were part of the life boat crew involved in the rescue of
the Sea Horse. However, she has since been made aware that there was
no life boat in Tramore prior to 1859.
Maxine Keoghan’s paternal genealogy can
be traced with certainty back to her great grandfather Laurence Keohan, a
fisherman residing in Newtown, born circa 1834-39.[2] His
parentage and the place of his birth are somewhat uncertain due to a gap in the
baptismal records, the records for Tramore between 1831 and 1858 being
destroyed in a fire.[3] However
three Keohans appear in the same area on Griffith’s valuation in 1851, namely Thomas
Keohan, Laurence Keohan and Patrick Keohan.[4]
One of these men is almost certainly her great-great-great grandfather. The
baptisms of all three men are recorded in the Tramore parish register. They
were brothers. Patrick was baptised on 6 November 1802, Thomas on 22 October
1807 and Laurence on 29 May 1813. Their father’s name was Laurence and he was
married in Tramore on 20 January 1799.[5]
The relevant names of the supposed
rescuers of the Sea Horse listed on an
affidavit (The affidavit was later discredited when one of the supposed
signatories, Thomas Kirwan denied all knowledge of the events described in it.)
were John Keohan, Thomas Keohan and Thomas Keohan Jun.[6] There
is no evidence whatsoever that these men were fishermen as no record exits of
their trade or of their deeds. The only name which matches the names in
Maxine’s genealogy is Thomas who was a 9 year old boy at the time of the wreck.
Maxine has argued in the past that all the Tramore Keohans are descended from
fishermen from Newtown and she can consider herself ‘indirectly descended’ from
all the Keohans of the Tramore area. This is an utter fallacy, as there were
other people of the name living in the area at that time; some were paying
tithes in Tramore. You’re either descended from someone or you’re not and while
there may well be descendants of these men living in the Tramore area, Maxine’s
extended family going back 6 generations are certainly not descended from the
men named as rescuers of the Sea Horse,
in a largely discredited affidavit.[7]
[1] Maxine Keoghan Editor, The Shipwrecked Soldiers Cairn, Waterford
2015.
[2] Censuses of Ireland 1901 and
1911, Tramore, County Waterford, National Archives of Ireland, online at
http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie.
[3] Michael Olden and Andy Taylor, The Parish of Tramore & Carbally,
Waterford 2006, page 117.
[4] Griffith’s Valuation, County Waterford, accessed online at Irish Origins.
[5] Tramore Parish Registers, Irish Family History Foundation.
[6] The Waterford Mirror, 14 February 1816.
