We started talking about our Irish families and he remarked that he was having a horrible time locating where his family came from in Ireland. He begins with his story and I eventually run off and look the name up in my home library. I was a little shocked with my findings. Koen is one of the thousands of Irish names that have been changed in the past several hundred years before families ever emigrated off the Island. Unfortunately for the researcher this is quite typical in Ireland.
Some names look nothing like the original version.
Take for instance the surname Savage. To Keep In Mind One of the greatest reasons for the various spellings of Irish names is that they were Anglicized. In a nutshell, the British changed names so they could understand them, pronounce them, and record them. If you get back into records that are in the late 1700 s or early 1800 s you will find the trail often times will disappear. Double check names with a good Irish family name book published from Ireland.