Biography
A son of a national school teacher, William B. Keane and Hannah Purtill,John B Keane was educated at Listowel National School and then at St. Michael's College Listowel. He worked as a chemist's assistant for A.H. Jones, a chemist who dabbled in buying antiques. Keane had various jobs in the UK between 1951 and 1955, and was a pub owner in Listowel from 1955.
He married Mary O'Connor in 1955 and had four children: Billy, Conor, John and Joanna. He was an Honorary Life Member of the Royal Dublin Society from 1991, served as president of Irish PEN and was a founder member of the Society of Irish Playwrights as well as a member of Aosdána. He remained a prominent member of the Fine Gael party throughout his life, never being shy of political debate.
His nephew is the award-winning investigative journalist Fergal Keane. His son John is a journalist with the Kilkenny People.
Read more about this topic: John B. Keane
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