BS: Patrick Kentigern Keenan

Subject: BS: Patrick Kentigern Keenan
From: weerover
Date: 20 Feb 03 - 10:28 AM

Does this name ring a bell with anyone? A friend remembers a primary school teacher telling his class stories about this guy, apparently an Irish traveller, "pied piper"-type character?

Subject: RE: BS: Patrick Kentigern Keenan
From: MMario
Date: 20 Feb 03 - 10:30 AM

It appears to be a children's book from the '60s

Subject: RE: BS: Patrick Kentigern Keenan
From: An Pluiméir Ceolmhar
Date: 20 Feb 03 - 11:22 AM

Is this a leg-pull? It sounds like some sort of LOTR intrusion into the life of Paddy Keenan, a very real piper from a travelling family!

Of course it may be that the teacher in question was a very creative individual and spun his/her own stories around a mythical character of his/her own invention, but used a name based partly on that of the real piper. But Kentigern sounds a little over the top, though Paddy wouldn't be the first person to have an unusual name.

Hmmm. Before posting the above, I tried a Google search and found this among other URLs: http://www.shamrockisle.com/bookstore/0152009930AMUS37403.html

MMario seems to have got it in one, and I think it's all a recent invention.

Subject: RE: BS: Patrick Kentigern Keenan
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 20 Feb 03 - 12:00 PM

"Patrick Kentigern Keenan" by Mollie Hunter, published in 1963 by Blackie, then published again by Puffin Books in 1968.

There was a man once lived in Connemara and his name was Paytrick Kentigern Keenana. Every bone in his body was lazy and he never did a stroke of work if he could help it, but all the same, he had a great opinion of himself.

"I'm the smartest man in Ireland," he used to say...

And I'd say that's a good beginning for a story.