Buy The Theft of Truth
Publication date: 23 October 2026
The Forgotten Histories · Book Two
The Theft
of Truth
Some truths are lost. Others are taken.
One generation after the events on Sheemore Hill, the Keon family story takes another extraordinary turn. An inheritance is disputed. A husband is transported to New South Wales. A wife petitions the government for his return. And years later, a young man enters the Irish courts determined to prove who he is and what his family was entitled to inherit.
Reconstructed from letters, petitions, court reports and family records, The Theft of Truth follows a trail from County Roscommon to colonial Australia and back again, uncovering a family history in which identity, legitimacy and inheritance become matters of evidence.
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Follow the Evidence in The Theft of Truth
Letters, petitions and court records survive from the events behind The Theft of Truth. Explore a few of the documents that began the search, without uncovering all their secrets.
A Convict's Record
A surviving document from New South Wales reveals an unexpected chapter in William Kean's life.
Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection.
Catherine Keon's Petition
A wife's appeal for the husband who had been transported thousands of miles from home.
National Archives of Ireland.
The Inheritance Case
Years later, the Keon family returned to court, fighting over inheritance, legitimacy and the right to the family estates.
Old Roscommon Courthouse. Historical photograph displayed by Roscommon Town Council.