Significant places in County
Clare for the Keane family:
Muckinish, Ballyvaughan and The Burren
Muckinish East, County Clare
The Townland of Muckinish East is located on Pouldoody Bay, a farming area growing corn in the mid 19th century and also celebrated for its excellent oysters; the bay is subject to strong tidal currents.
The ruins of Muckinish Castle stand on the verge of the sea.
Muckinish East is 5.4 kms from Ballyvaughan, on the current roads it would take 4 mins to drive the distance and 1 hour 7 mins to walk.
(Autumnal Rambles about New Quay, County Clare, Thomas L. Cooke of Parsonstown, 1842-43; Google maps, website).
The ruins of Muckinish Castle, County Clare 2000
Photograph provided by Judy Smith
Ballyvaughan, County Clare
Before the present village grew, a late medieval settlement seems to have existed on the semi-promontory around the present cottages. In 1831 the village contained 23 houses; by 1841 the village had a population of 235 living in 35 houses; the 1845 Parliamentary Gazetteer for Ireland recorded that there was no Church, Chapel or School in the Parish of Drumcreehy, which includes Ballyvaughan.
After the building of a new quay, for a while Ballyvaughan was the official capital of Clare, it had its own workhouse, coastguard station and large police barracks.
The old castle located on the edge of the harbor has been a ruin since before 1840, but remnants can still be seen. The present Catholic Church was built around 1860 so it would be the church where Mary Ann Keane married John Joseph Leyden/Lydon in 1878 (see photo below)
(County Clare Library website, Ballyvaughan, Historical Background and Parliamentary Gazetteer for Ireland, 1845)
Roman Catholic Church, Ballyvaughan, County Clare 2000
Photograph provided by Judy Smith
The Burren, County Clare
The Burren is a large geological feature covering over 300 square kilometers of County Clare, part of the landscape in the everyday life of the Keane family.
The Burren at Muckinish, County Clare 2000
Photograph provided by Judy Smith
