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Thomas McKenna (d. 1870)

Ballyduhig farmer, recorded as Thomas Ginna in Griffith's Valuation; son of Thomas McKenna and Jane Foulkes; husband first of Elizabeth Dunn / Dunne and later of Ann / Annie Thornton.

Children By Mother

This is the current working split for Thomas McKenna d. 1870. The Elizabeth Dunn / Dunne children are direct parish-register baptisms. The Ann / Annie Thornton group is anchored by two parish baptisms and the later Elizabeth Troy census-search form. John McKenna still needs his own birth or baptism record, and Annie McKenna Hegarty still needs the marriage or death bridge that proves she is the Ann Gnaw baptized in 1852.

Best Evidence

1. Proven

   The Kilshenane / Kilsinan headstone explicitly names Thomas McKenna d. 16 Jan 1870 and Annie Thornton McKenna d. 3 May 1895 after Thomas McKenna d. 1835 and Jane Foulkes d. 1840, using the relationship phrase "their son Thomas."

2. Proven

   Griffith's Valuation places Thomas Ginna at Ballyduhig, Kilshenane, Co. Kerry, on map reference 10a, with a house and office valued at 12 shillings.

3. Proven

   The same Griffith's page shows Thomas Ginna as immediate lessor for the related plot 10b-10e subholdings, including John Dillon on a 148-acre part-bog holding.

4. Proven

   Kerry Evening Post freeholder notices place Kenna Thomas of Ballyduhig in December 1836 and October 1839. Because his father Thomas died in May 1835, these notices are the earliest located newspaper/electoral evidence for this younger Thomas at Ballyduhig.

5. Likely

   The published 1974 Benn-Walsh journal extracts name a Kenagh/Kenna tenant in Ballyduhig during the 1849-1852 redivision of the same Ormathwaite estate. Because the journal does not give a forename, this is not standalone proof, but it is very likely the same man as Griffith's 1852 Thomas Ginna at Ballyduhig plot 10a under Sir John Walsh, Bart.

6. Proven

   IrishGenealogy church records show Thomas McKenna / Gna / Gnaw of Irramore / Ballyduhig marrying his first located wife, Elizabeth Dunn, in Lixnaw on 13 Feb 1829, then having Ballyduhig children Thomas (1831), James (1833), and Patrick (1837) in the Listowel baptism register.

7. Proven

   The same parish sweep shows later Ballyduhig baptisms for Michael Gnaw (1851) and Ann Gnaw (1852), children of Thomas Gnaw and Ann Thornton. The 1852 Ann baptism has James Gnaw and Mary Gnaw as sponsors.

8. Proven

   A National Archives of Ireland 1851 census-search form names Mrs Elizabeth Troy of Church Street, Listowel, as Elizabeth MacKenna, daughter of Thomas MacKenna / Kenna and Anne Thornton, with residence in 1851 at Ballyduhig, Kilshenane. Because this is a pension-era census-search form rather than a surviving household schedule, it is treated as a strong pedigree statement and search artifact.

9. Likely

   Elizabeth / Bessie McKenna Troy belongs to this household: her 1871 marriage clue names her father as Thomas McKenna, farmer of Ballyduhig, and John McKenna's 1906 death record names Elizabeth Troy as his sister.

10. Likely

    James Gnaw, baptized at Ballyduhig on 25 May 1833, is now the strongest record-level candidate for James McKenna, husband of Margaret Sheahan and father of Philip Joseph McKenna I. The bridge is still not closed because no located record yet says that the Ballyduhig James is the South Cappa / Mount Trenchard James.

Parish Records: Ballyduhig Household

The 26 May 2026 north-Kerry RC sweep changed the shape of this page. It found no direct baptism naming Thomas McKenna d. 1870 as son of Thomas + Jane, but the headstone already proves that relationship. What the parish records add is Thomas's own Ballyduhig household.

National Archives Census-Search Forms

A new National Archives of Ireland census-search hit adds a daughter-level confirmation for the Thomas McKenna / Anne Thornton household. The form was created for an old-age-pension-era search of the 1851 census, so it is not the same thing as a surviving census page; its value is that Elizabeth herself supplied the parent-and-place details.

This supports the same Thomas + Anne Thornton household already seen in the 1851 and 1852 Listowel baptisms for Michael and Ann Gnaw. It also makes Elizabeth / Bessie McKenna Troy a better-supported member of the Ballyduhig family, though her exact birth year still needs reconciliation against the 1871 marriage-age clue.

Griffith's Valuation: Plot 10a

The AskAboutIreland page image for Ballyduhig, parish of Kilshenane, p. 121, gives the exact plot reference for Thomas Ginna. Local processing note: raw/ballyduhig-thomas-ginna-griffith-plot-10a-2026-05-25.md. Preserved screenshot: raw/askaboutireland-griffiths-ballyduhig-thomas-ginna-page121.jpg.

In Griffith's language, an "office" is an outbuilding. This row does not show Thomas holding land directly in 10a; it shows a house and outbuilding. The surrounding plot-10 rows matter because Thomas appears as immediate lessor for 10b-10e, making him more than a simple house-only occupier within that plot cluster.

Freeholder Registry Notices

The 27 May 2026 newspaper sweep found Thomas earlier than Griffith's, and the follow-up text-view pull sharpened the record type. The Kerry Evening Post notices are published County Kerry Clerk of the Peace voter-registration application lists, not casual newspaper mentions.

The 24 December 1836 notice places Kenna Thomas of Ballyduhig, farmer and mason, in an application list for the Tralee Sessions of the Peace on 4 January 1837. His claim is a 10 pound freeholder qualification based on part of the lands of Ballyduhig, townland Ballyduhig, barony Clanmaurice.

The 19 October 1839 notice places the same man in the County Kerry, Listowel District application list for the Sessions of the Peace on 2 November 1839. This time the property basis is a dwelling-house and lands at Ballyduhig, again as a 10 pound freeholder in barony Clanmaurice. This is direct evidence for the younger Thomas, not his father: Thomas McKenna 1772 died on 5 May 1835. Local notes: raw/irish-newspaper-archive-ballyduhig-thomas-kenna-search-2026-05-27.md; raw/kerry-freeholder-register-targets-ballyduhig-thomas-kenna-2026-05-27.md.

The important unresolved legal question is whether the surviving register/application book gives the tenure detail behind the word freeholder: ownership in fee, lease for lives, named lives, landlord, admission/rejection, or objection notes.

Benn-Walsh Journal Match

The 1974 Cork Historical and Archaeological Society publication of Sir John Benn-Walsh's journals adds estate context for the same Ballyduhig moment. In 1849, Ballyduhig came back into Benn-Walsh's hands after the old lease life ended; in 1850-1852, Benn-Walsh describes fresh divisions and repeatedly names a Kenagh/Kenna tenant beside Walsh, Loughnane, and Naughten.

This is very likely the same tenant as Thomas Ginna / McKenna in Griffith's Valuation, because the townland, landlord, date, and neighbor sequence match. It should not be called absolute proof by itself because the journal extract does not give Kenna's forename. Local extract note: raw/benn-walsh-1974-ballyduhig-kenna-extract-2026-05-27.md. External source: JCHAS 1974 Benn-Walsh journal PDF.

Plot 10 Subholdings

Immediately below Thomas Ginna's 10a row, the same page lists four subholdings with Thomas Ginna as immediate lessor. The key map target is therefore plot 10 in Ballyduhig; if the map does not display letters clearly, the red number 10 is still the correct cluster.

Why Ginna Means McKenna Here

North Kerry records often render McKenna phonetically as Ginna, Guinaw, Gnaw, or Gna. The 1852 Kilshenane Griffith's transcript also has Edward Ginna at Rathea and John Ginna at Knocknaglogh. In this local context, Ginna is not being treated as a separate surname; it is the Kerry record form of McKenna.

Relationship To The Line

The identity logic is straightforward but should stay explicit. The older Thomas McKenna died on 5 May 1835, so he cannot be the 1852 Griffith's occupier. The Kilshenane headstone then names his son Thomas, who died on 16 Jan 1870 and is buried with Annie Thornton. The parish records add an earlier marriage to Elizabeth Dunn / Dunne. Therefore the Thomas Ginna at Ballyduhig in 1852 is best identified as this son, Thomas McKenna d. 1870, with two record-visible households.

This page still does not fully close the James McKenna link, but the target is now sharper. The family-written tree places James McKenna, husband of Margaret Sheahan, in the next generation after Thomas d. 1870; the parish evidence now says that if James Gnaw of Ballyduhig is that man, his mother was Elizabeth Dunn / Dunne, not Annie Thornton. The Foynes / Mount Trenchard records strongly prove James and Margaret's family, while the Ballyduhig parish records now supply a plausible James in the right father-and-place cluster: James Gnaw, baptized 25 May 1833, son of Thomas Gna and Elizabeth Dunne. The active proof target is tying that Ballyduhig James to South Cappa / Mount Trenchard.

Next Targets

1. OpenFind the civil death record for Thomas McKenna / Ginna, death date 16 Jan 1870, likely Listowel district or nearby north-Kerry registration district.
2. OpenFind a death or burial record for Elizabeth Dunn / Dunne McKenna between the 1837 Patrick baptism and the later Ann Thornton household.
3. OpenFind the civil death record for Annie Thornton McKenna, death date 3 May 1895.
4. OpenPull Valuation Office revision books for Ballyduhig plot 10 to see whether the holding passes to John, Elizabeth/Bessie, James, or another McKenna relation.
5. OpenTrace the underlying County Kerry Clerk of the Peace freeholder/register books for the Tralee session of 4 Jan 1837 and the Listowel session of 2 Nov 1839.
6. OpenSearch the Ormathwaite / Benn-Walsh estate papers for Ballyduhig rent rolls, tenant lists, and plot-10 correspondence.
7. OpenTie James Gnaw baptized Ballyduhig 25 May 1833 to James McKenna m. Margaret Sheahan using marriage, death, Foynes/Loughill baptism, Valuation Office revision, or Monteagle estate evidence.

Primary local notes: raw/ballyduhig-thomas-mckenna-record-comb-2026-05-26.md; raw/ballyduhig-thomas-ginna-griffith-plot-10a-2026-05-25.md; raw/irish-newspaper-archive-ballyduhig-thomas-kenna-search-2026-05-27.md; raw/kerry-freeholder-register-targets-ballyduhig-thomas-kenna-2026-05-27.md; raw/benn-walsh-1974-ballyduhig-kenna-extract-2026-05-27.md; raw/north-kerry-rc-thomas-jane-children-sweep-2026-05-26.md; raw/listowel-foynes-tithe-griffith-2026-05.md; raw/kilshenane-grave-and-listowel-descendants-2025.md; raw/family-history-donald-mckenna-1953.md. Related pages: Thomas McKenna (1772-1835); James McKenna (b. 1833?); Kerry & Foynes descendants; Listowel descendants & Kilshenane grave.