Michael Forrestal Keller’s incredible new book takes us back in time to historical Ireland

Michael Forrestal Keller’s new book, The Lion, the Pheon, and the Red-handed Succession of St Mullins 1511–1852, presents a comprehensive study of the Kavanagh dynasty’s enduring authority in southeast Ireland from the early modern period and through to the mid-nineteenth century.

Focusing on the descendants of Diarmuid Lámhdearg Kavanagh, Keller situates the family within broader socio-political developments, offering a nuanced account of territorial continuity and adaptation across successive generations. Drawing on a wide corpus of primary materials, including registered deeds, parish registers, and genealogical manuscripts, this work reconstructs the complex kinship networks through which the Kavanaghs sustained their local influence while maintaining connections with prominent families in Carlow, Kilkenny, and Wexford, as well as with continental courts in France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire.

The volume contributes meaningfully to Irish genealogical scholarship and the historiography of Gaelic lordship in post-medieval Ireland.

With more than 1,700 individuals documented, the book stands as the most comprehensive genealogical treatment of the Kavanagh succession of St Mullins to date.

The book offers in-depth treatment of several prominent families, including the Kavanaghs of St Mullins, Ballyleigh, Borris, Ballybeg, Ballybrannagh, Inch, Clonmullen, and Carrigduff; the Forstall or Forrestal families of Ringville, Kilferagh, and New Ross; and the Houghtons of Ballyanne and New Ross. Additional attention is given to the Fogartys of Seskin, Drummin, and Ballynabanoge; the Butlers of the Rower; the Kehoes or Mac Eochaidhs of Ballyleigh, Marley, and Nash Castle; the Jordans of Wexford and Carlow; the Lawlors of Knockmore, Mullennagaun, and Mohullen; and the Ryans of Curraun.

Michael Forrestal Keller is an independent historian whose work focuses on reconstructing familial and territorial histories through archival sources. His 2022 publication, The Lineage of Mullennahone 1571–1855, is held in the collection of the National Library of Ireland.

The Lion, the Pheon, and the Red-handed Succession of St. Mullins 1511-1852 is now available through Muing Historical Press at kerrypress.org

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