Date of Birth: 16th August 1916

Place of Birth: Riverchapel, Courtown, Gorey, Co. Wexford

Date Interviewed: 5th August 2010

Summary: Bill Keane has lived in the Riverchapel area for most of his long life and remembers when there were just thirty-two thatched houses in the village, all with mud floors. The school he attended was just “fornenst” his home. His father was a fisherman and Bill also fished for a while. Most of the fishermen couldn’t swim and fathers and sons worked on different boats to avoid a total family loss in the event of a boat capsizing. Bill spent a short time working in England but returned to Riverchapel where he worked as a labourer. He also worked on the installation of the electricity network in the area. The interview concludes with Bill, a self-taught musician, treating us to a song and some tunes on the harmonica, the fife, and the accordion.