He'll tell you he's here to stay.

"I think I'll probably be buried here," he smiled.

In the meantime, it's certainly been quite a journey.

Raised in a little village in Ireland of 800 people that featured "two churches and 17 bars," according to Keegan, he finished his high school and college work in England. A student and teacher of English and English literature, Keegan also worked at times as credit union president and a genealogy researcher in a library. He even went into business for himself with his brother.

"That was an ill-fated endeavor," Keegan said.

Through it all, Keegan maintained some curiosity about what life would be like on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

"I always had an interest in the United States - I grew up watching Western movies," said Keegan, who had some ancestors visit the new world.

"My grandparents were actually married in Philadelphia," said Keegan, who claims his father was conceived in the United States but born in Ireland.

The World Wide Web helped build a bridge across that ocean. Keegan met his wife, Chris, in an Internet chat room in 2001.

"We had some common interests - we started talking about education," he said.

The two developed an online friendship, and by Christmas of that year, Keegan was visiting Chris in Iowa. The pair was married in September of 2002.

At that point, Keegan started the immigration process, which included six years of perpetual paperwork, fingerprinting, physicals, one-on-one interviews, income tax evaluations and background checks for both Keegan and his new wife.

Each time Keegan had to file for a new restricted "green card," it cost him between $300-$400.

He went through it all, and became an official U.S. citizen last year. To do so, he needed to pass a test that included 10 questions about the United States.

"I aced it," Keegan said with a smile.

He was sworn in with 435 other new citizens on June 29 - a date Keegan chose because it was the option nearest to Independence Day.

"This is the first place where I've felt I've really belonged," Keegan said of Bloomfield. "The town is small and everyone's been so very friendly. I find that the American people seem more open than the people of Ireland and England. The people here in Bloomfield can be very warm."

Keegan also is impressed with the way Americans are able to openly express their differences.
"I am amazed by the wide diversity of opinions in such a small town," he said. "We don't have that in Ireland, it's either one opinion or the other."

Keegan, who confesses a love for the written word, works as a teacher's associate in the Davis County School District, predominantly working with the Flex-Ed program. He taught high school-level English in both Ireland and England, but his teaching accreditation on his home continent doesn't easily transfer to the United States, which is why he works as a teacher's aide rather than a teacher.

"I am very lucky to get into a school system that is very professional and well-run," Keegan said. "I really enjoy the work and I enjoy the students."

The Flex-Ed program in Davis County is an alternative school that has been set up to handle students who, for a variety of reasons, have difficulty graduating high school in the traditional way. Keegan said the program is on pace to award diplomas to six students this year, and he enjoys the opportunity to work with kids one-on-one.

"It's self-paced, and we are able to give them more individual attention," he said.

Keegan also is a vital member of the Davis County and Bloomfield community. He works with youth sports programs - in particular, he coaches youth soccer. He played semi-pro soccer in Europe for 11 years and indicated that he loves sharing his knowledge of the game with the young people of Bloomfield. This past fall, more than 250 kids from Kindergarten through ninth grade were involved with the youth soccer program in Bloomfield.

"I like to work with the young people," he said. "It keeps you young yourself."
Keegan, who has developed an affection for American food, is also much-involved with the Bloomfield United Methodist Church, where he also works part time as a custodian. He has become involved with the Optimist Club as well as the Dollars for Scholars program, and since obtaining his citizenship, he has been active in the local Democratic Party.
His "ready-made" family with Chris includes two adult children, Molly and Matt - who is currently serving in Iraq - and two grandchildren.