Here's a note that might interest you Keatingophiles.
Hello
Rob,
My name is Jean-Bernard
Koehl, and I wanted you to know I read the contents of your web site with great interest.
My mother was of
Keating descent and I have kept some interest in the subject. My earliest records started with the arrival in Ireland, and I had no idea about the
Italian &
Welsh background !
You may be interested to know that there is a French "de
Keating" branch which emanated from the
Keating family. Some Keatings left Ireland among the Jacobites "wild geese" and settled in France, where they fought in Louis XIV's army. Their service earned them the title of Barons (hence the "de"). Most of the remaining descendance of that branch carries the name together with that of "
Hart", following a marriage with a British of that name. There are two distinct branches in France today : the "de
Keating Hart" and the "
Hart de
Keating", my Grandmother being of the latter. Both branches are very present in past French colonies, such as Mauritius where the name is relatively common. I am French myself, and now incidentally live in the US.
By complete coincidence, I spent most of my vacation as a teenager in
Kilmore Quay, Ireland, unaware for a very long time of the fact that it was the likely home of our ancestors. I only discovered that about 10 years ago (I was baffled to discover the old tower behind that old "Fisherman's Inn" pub was the ancestral
Keating castle). I kept some friends there, and the last I heard the modern manor you mentioned belonged to a family that lives in the
UK.
You may be interested in some of the material that I found over the years on the history of the Keatings of Baldwinstown. It may take me some time to put my hands back on it, but there are interesting ancient legends you may see some interest in. Typically
Irish too.
If that's OK with you, I will keep your email address and write back to you if my attempts to get that history are successful at all.
JB Koehl