There?s a death that looks to fit the information you have given. Patrick McKeegan, death registered 4th Dec 1884 in Ballycastle. Estimated year of birth 1845. You can view that death cert on-line for ?2 on the GRONI website. Use the search death registrations option:
https://geni.nidirect.gov.uk
That death cert should give you the place he was living in when he died. You can then focus on that. (Post the details here if not sure what to do).
Patrick?s birth 1845 ? 1850 was before the start of statutory birth registration in Ireland and so you won?t find a birth certificate for him. You would then look at church records for a baptism. He seems to have been born between 1845 and 1850. If he was born in Layd RC parish, then unfortunately there is a gap in their baptism records covering the years 1845 ? 1858 which is exactly the period you want. So you may not be able to find his birth details.
You may be able to get his parents names from his US marriage certificate.
There?s 129 McKeegans in Co. Antrim in the 1901 census. Nearly all of them in the Cushendall area. With the townland from the death cert, we may be able to join up with one of them.
