patrick kavanagh was born in rural inniskeen, county monaghan, in 1904, the fourth of ten children of james kavanagh and bridget quinn. his grandfather was a schoolteacher called "kevany", which a local priest changed to "kavanagh" at his baptism. the grandfather had to leave the area following a scandal and never taught in a national school again, but married and raised a family in tullamore. patrick kavanagh's father, james, was a cobbler and farmer. kavanagh's brother peter became a university professor and writer, two of their sisters were teachers, three became nurses, and one became a nun.