MUINTIR CHEOCHÁIN - The Keohanes of West Cork
Most of us have ‘suffered’ over the years because of the very unusual surname we share. “How do you spell it?” and “How do you say it?” are the most common questions. In my mind the most interesting questions are “Where do we come from?” and “Why are we found only in south Co. Kerry and West Cork? Any Keohane (or surname variants such as Keohen) tracing back will find their origins in this delightful part of Co. Cork – wherever they are in the world!
We have much discussion over the origin of the name, but the view now held is that we are a branch of the Crowleys, who somehow got lost in a fog – the Irish word ceocháin certainly means fog or mist. Some assert that due to the fog we missed the Battle of Kinsale, January 1602. The Barryroe Keohanes – on the eastern side of the Keohane area – do not have any folklore memory of this link, but the connection is still retained in the Beara area, where the two surnames are commonly used – Crowley Keohane. In the Bantry area, the surnames were quite interchangeable up to recent years.
I have met so many Keohanes in the USA who changed to Crowley because “that is how it is said in the USA!” These Keohanes are usually from the Bantry area. Others changed the spelling to the phonetic Keohen. I believe that the vast majority using the latter version are descended from either Jeremiah Keohane, born Courtmacsherry, or John Keohane, born in Ballinvrokig; both emigrated from Barryroe to Minnesota.
Who is your Keohane ancestor?
Most of us have ‘suffered’ over the years because of the very unusual surname we share. “How do you spell it?” and “How do you say it?” are the most common questions. In my mind the most interesting questions are “Where do we come from?” and “Why are we found only in south Co. Kerry and West Cork? Any Keohane (or surname variants such as Keohen) tracing back will find their origins in this delightful part of Co. Cork – wherever they are in the world!
We have much discussion over the origin of the name, but the view now held is that we are a branch of the Crowleys, who somehow got lost in a fog – the Irish word ceocháin certainly means fog or mist. Some assert that due to the fog we missed the Battle of Kinsale, January 1602. The Barryroe Keohanes – on the eastern side of the Keohane area – do not have any folklore memory of this link, but the connection is still retained in the Beara area, where the two surnames are commonly used – Crowley Keohane. In the Bantry area, the surnames were quite interchangeable up to recent years.
I have met so many Keohanes in the USA who changed to Crowley because “that is how it is said in the USA!” These Keohanes are usually from the Bantry area. Others changed the spelling to the phonetic Keohen. I believe that the vast majority using the latter version are descended from either Jeremiah Keohane, born Courtmacsherry, or John Keohane, born in Ballinvrokig; both emigrated from Barryroe to Minnesota.
Who is your Keohane ancestor?