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Barack Obama’s Irish links to the Kearney family
from Moneygall Co. Offaly came to light last year,
apart from the obvious interest of a link to a US
presidential candidate, the story of the Kearney family
of Moneygall is a fascinating story in itself.
The Kearney family history, as researched by Eneclann,
is interesting, because it illustrates over five generations,
a family history that was not untypical in Ireland,
but which we don’t often consider as a typical
emigrant story.
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The Kearney family, were probably Gaelic Irish in origin,
based on the family name, and the probable place of origin
is Tipperary.
• They
were Church of Ireland.
• They
were skilled artisans, who prosper in the 18th Century. One
branch of the family do extremely well; Michael Kearney, (Obama's
6th great-granduncle) becomes embroiled in the Dublin city
politics of the day and John Kearney who would be a distant
cousin of Obama’s, went on to become the Provost of
Trinity College Dublin, and later Bishop of Ossory.
•
As the 19th Century progresses the family line from which
Obama descends fails to prosper and they emigrate to the US.
Research by Eneclann Genealogists
Fiona Fitzsimons and Helen Moss
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The Kearney
Family Tree
•
Up to now, what was in
the public domain, brought us back to Falmouth
Kearney, Obama’s 2nd great-grandfather.
Through extensive research Eneclann has taken the Kearney
family tree back to Obama's 6th great-grandfather, Joseph
Kearney born ca. 1698. We also traced
close kinship – probably a brother – with
the family of Michael Kearney, peruke maker, in Dublin.
Our starting
point was the records at www.irishorigins.com
where we found Falmouth's mother, Phoebe Kearney
in Griffith's Valuation. see
record
The Kearneys were involved in the
trade of peruke or periwig making. People wore wigs
because they didn't wash their hair – water was
thought to spread disease. Wigs were not just a luxury
item, they were worn by professionals, the gentry and
the aristocracy, but also by many of the staff in big
houses.
If we look at the Kearney family that
settled in Shinrone, Co. Offaly from the 1740s onwards
– Obama’s direct line. Joseph
Kearney from whom Obama is directly
descended, was born ca.
1698, and had four known sons:
Thomas
born ca. 1725; Joseph born ca. 1730 [this is Obama’s
direct line]; John born ca. 1735; and Patrick bap. 9
Oct. 1741.
Of these sons, Thomas followed in the
profitable line of business established by the senior
branch of the family, and he became a peruke-maker [from
the 1768 Lease];
Joseph became a comber i.e. textiles/ weaving [1761
Marriage License Bond, Diocese of Killaloe];
Follow this link to see the Kearney
family tree Kearney
Family Tree
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An
Early Involvement in Politics
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We also found within the extended Kearney family
an early involvement in politics. Michael Kearney
kinsman, (probably older brother) of Joseph Kearney,
entered the Guild of Barber Surgeons & Periwigmakers
in 1717, and was entered as a ‘Capillamentarius’
i.e. a hair dresser in the Freemens Rolls in 1718.
As a Freeman
of Dublin City, he had the right to practice his
trade and conduct business in Dublin City, and
he had a vote in elections for the city council.
What follows was taken from the Guild of Barber
Surgeons & Periwig makers, Minute Book 1706-57,
held in TCD Library, Manuscripts Dept. Ms. 1447/8/1.
Michael Kearney was very active within the politics
of his trade guild. In 1720 within three years
of joining he was elected house warden. In 1724,
he was openly critical of the master and warden
of his guild, and led a petition against them.
Although he was suspended at that time, clearly
he had the support of his fellow guild members,
and within two years in 1726, Michael Kearney
was elected master of the Guild of Barber Surgeons.
We actually found the number of votes for each
candidate – and he won the election hands
down: the voting was Michael Kearney 44 votes;
Mr. Cauliff 5 votes; Mr. Wetherall 2 votes.
The Guild Minute Books also alerted us to a pamphlet
written against Michael Kearney in 1726, shortly
after his election, we found a copy of this pamphlet
found in Early Printed Books, in the Trinity College
Library. The 1726 pamphlet Hue and Cry is written
in fairly typical 18th Century political invective.
It is scurrilous, scabrous and slanderous, great
fun to read but to be taken with a large pinch
of salt.
Extract: Hue
And Cry, After M-K, late Master to a Corporation
in the City of Dublin.
By
the Author of Namby Pamby.
'His
head is still running
on
tricking and cunning
But
he mayn't escape let me tell you
For
the Fox has been caught
And
pay'd dear at last
For
the Geese he had put in his Belly'
To see a copy of this pamphlet follow this
link Political
Pamphlet
In the 1750s, when the aristocracy tried to
gerrymander ( manipulate) elections to Dublin
City Council to put in their own candidates,
Michael Kearney was prominent among the Dublin
Guildsmen [the business leaders of their day]
in opposing them.
Michael Kearney remained
prominent in the Guild of Barber Surgeons until
his death in 1762.
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The Kearneys of
Shinrone & Moneygall
Barack Obama is directly descended from the Kearneys
of Shinrone & Moneygall Co. Offaly. The height
of this family’s prosperity was between
the 1760s and 1780s, when the nephews from Offaly
stepped into their Dublin uncle’s business
of wig-making. After the 1780s the fortunes of
this line of the Kearney family went into fairly
rapid decline.
What might have caused this decline?
•
Changes in fashion: by the early 19th Century,
the fashion was to wear more natural styles, and
the style was to decorate and dress their own
hair rather than wearing an ornamental wig. Wigs
were reserved for the legal profession.
•
The Act of Union 1801, created the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, and abolished the
Irish parliament, so that MPs elected in Ireland
now sat in Westminster. The political establishment
moved out of Dublin to London, and as they did
so, they kept town houses in London during the
sitting of Parliament. The market for wigs would
have been predominantly among this elite, who
suddenly vanished from Dublin.
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The very success of the Dublin Kearneys - Michael
Kearney d. 1762 - invested his profits in property
in Tipperary/ Offaly, and in the expanding city
of Dublin. His investments did very well, and
provided good dowries for his daughters, and a
university education for his sons who were trained
for the higher professions. John Kearney (son
of Michael Kearney, bap. 1741 St Andrews CoI,
Dublin) was provost of Trinity College Dublin
from 1798 to 1806 when he became Bishop of Ossory.
In the next generation, the Dublin
Kearney’s were not involved in business.
So over a generation, the extended Kearney family
stopped acting as the ‘Kearney corporation’.
As one generation succeeded the previous one,
the passage of time undermined that strong family
loyalty, and the valuable business connection,
between the Shinrone/ Moneygall Kearneys and the
Dublin Kearneys.
Tracing the history of the Moneygall/
Shinrone Kearneys, in the following generations
William (1762-1828)
and his son Joseph
(ca. 1794-1861) both became shoe-makers,
and there’s no evidence to suggest that
they continued to transport their goods to Dublin
for sale. In other words they were shoe-makers
for a rural district, where the nearest market
town was Roscrea. They did however retain some
property rights in Moneygall and Shinrone, as
a direct consequence of the family’s prosperity
in an earlier generation. In fact Joseph Kearney
only appears to have sold/ released his rights
to property in Moneygall, in 1851 [LEC sale document,
‘In the matter of the Estate of the Rev.
William Minchin’, 27 Nov. 1851. ], and its
probable that he did so to finance the family’s
emigration to the United States.
To see a copy of the Landed Estate
Commission (LEC) sale notice follow this link
sale-notice
and to see a map of the land refered to in the
sale notice follow this link map.
Further details of the LEC sale notice detailing
some of the Kearney family connections is at LEC
sale notice details
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