Denis Killeen’s Kilmainham Pensioner Discharge Record

Note: I discovered the following via John Reid’s Anglo-Celtic Connections.

I already have a copy of this record in black and white, having purchased a photocopy from The National Archives (UK) (document cited here, in “Description of Denis Killeen”). But online and scanned in colour is really taking things to another level. Wow. Now available at findmypast.co.uk  and findmypast.ie: British Army Pensioners – Kilmainham, Ireland 1783-1822.

Click previews to see larger images of Denis Killeen’s discharge record:¹

This record gives me more information than I have for any other ancestor born pre-1800.

First, his record of discharge informs me that Denis Killeen was born in “the Parish of Melick [Meelick] in or near the Town of Melick [Meelick] in the County of Galway.” So: a county and a parish: the holy grail of Irish genealogy.² Second, it supplies an occupation: Denis Killeen was “by Trade or Occupation a Carpenter” (an occupation that was followed by some of his male descendants in Canada). And perhaps most interestingly of all, it offers a physical description: Denis Killeen was five foot ten inches in height, with fair hair, grey eyes, and a “Swarthy” complexion.

Findmypast.ie has a bit of background and context for the Green Redcoats, with a glossary of relevant terms here.