Helena (Keenan) Hand (1904 - 2000)

Born 23 Jan 1904 in Bow Lane, Dublin, Ireland

Ancestors

Daughter of Thomas Keenan and Ellen (Cullen) Keenan

Wife of Nicholas Joseph Hand — married 17 Sep 1934 in Sandymount Church, Dublin

Descendants

Died 5 Oct 2000 at age 96 in St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Fionnuala O'Connor [send private message]

Biography

Helena (Keenan) Hand was born in Ireland.

Helena was born at 67 Bow Lane Buildings in the inner city of Dublin on 23 January 1904.^[1] She was the seventh of twelve children born to Thomas Keenan and Ellen Cullen. Only five of the children survived to adulthood due to high infant mortality in those days.

Helena is recorded in the 1911 census living with her family in Thomas Davis Street, Wood Quay. She is seven years old and a scholar.^[2]

It is not known where she was educated or worked before she married. After marriage to Nicholas Hand on 17 September 1934^[3] she lived in Crookedwood, outside Mullingar, Co. Westmeath helping to manage a grocery shop and pub. Her first child died after 13 days due to infection at the hospital. Her remaining four children were born at home in Crookedwood.

The family moved to Dublin in the early 1950s and settled in Stillorgan. In 1964 her husband Nicholas died suddenly with a heart-attack.

Helena lived about 25 years alone as a widow, but was very independent and often travelled into the city shopping. She took a great interest in her children and 15 grandchildren, never forgetting any birthdays.

When she was about 86 years old, she moved to live in Dundrum, Dublin with her daughter Marie and family. She remained very alert until the last few days of her life.^[4] She died peacefully in St Vincent's hospital on 5th Oct 2000.

Sources

1. ↑ Civil birth record: https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/birth_returns/births_1904/01840/1718181.pdf
2. ↑ 1911 census: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Dublin/Wood_Quay/Thomas_Davis_Street/68410/
3. ↑ Civil marriage record: https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/marriage_returns/marriages_1934/08965/5244747.pdf
4. ↑ First hand information entered by grand-daughter Fionnuala O'Connor [O'Connor-2001]

DNA confirmation

Paternal and Maternal relationships are both confirmed by an autosomal Family Tree DNA test match between Fionnuala O'Connor and Patrick Keenan, her 1st cousin 1x removed. Their most-recent common ancestors are Thomas Keenan and Ellen Cullen, the great grandparents of Fionnuala O'Connor and grandparents of Patrick Keenan. Predicted relationship from Family Tree DNA: 1ST COUSIN 1R, based on sharing 523 cM across 20 segments.