John Joseph Coyne : Short Biography

John J COYNE; born 1866; registered at Renvyle, Clifden.Son of PETER COYNE and ANNE KING. This couple married prior to 1864 but the marriage lists for the Catholic CLIFDEN parish (Tuam Deanery) are missing for several years and there is no civil record. A MARY COYNE tenant of the priest Fr. Magee is shown in Griffith's Valuation of the CLOON townland and the Valuation Revision Notebook shows her tenancy transferred to the mentioned PETER COYNE.Was she his mother? Or was Mary Coyne a 'femme sole'? Whatever, Peter and Anne were both born prior to the Famine and survived. The Clifden district was among the most severely affected areas in terms of privation and depopulation-see the demographic statistics derived from the 1841/51/61 censuses showing the population diminution of the Ballynakill townlands. What is known about the Rev.Magee? Was he a responsible landlord? Until 1905, Peter Coyne as a tenant raised a family. The only surviving son emigrated to Australia (Victoria) in 1888. It seems that there was no agricultural future for him in the Cleggen district. He became a small farmer in Beaumaris, Melbourne, married, and has descendants. (His wife was from Co.Clare.) The writer is a g-grandson of Peter and Anne. He notes that COYNE as a surname was quite common in the Clifden district. at least in terms of registration of Vital Statistics post-1864. At present (2021) the COYNE surname, the male descendants of Peter and Anne are found only in New Zealand. The descendants of the daughters of Peter and Anne are legion-