On this day in 1895, the body of Bridget Cleary was found after an extensive search in Ballyvadlea near Mullinahone.
Due to the remarkable circumstances of her murder, the case was widely reported in Ireland and internationally, being mentioned in newspapers in the UK, America and even Mexico.
When Bridget fell ill in early March 1895, her husband Michael Cleary initially called for a doctor, then the local curate, before eventually consulting local ‘fairy doctor’ Michael Ganey. When Bridget’s condition hadn’t improved after the initial few days, Michael became gripped by the belief that his wife was a malevolent fairy changeling. Rumours based on well-known oral legend began to circulate in the area, suggesting that the ‘real’ young woman had been abducted by fairies and a changeling left in her place.
Groups of male relatives and neighbours searched for an effective ‘cure’, which included dousing Bridget in urine, holding her close to naked flames while interrogating her, and forcing her to drink concoctions of herbs and milk. On the night of 15 March, when the house was crowded with relatives, an altercation broke out and Michael knocked his wife to the ground in a burst of anger. He violently interrogated her, then threw an oil lamp over her so that she burned to death.
Michael Cleary buried his wife in a shallow grave nearby and then proceeded to keep vigil at a nearby ringfort, saying his wife would ride out from it among a troop of fairies, mounted on a white horse.
After Bridget’s body was found, Michael Cleary and eight others, mostly her own family members, were arrested and went on trial in Clonmel. Mr Justice O’Brien said: “This most extraordinary case demonstrated a degree of darkness in the mind, not just of one person, but of several - a moral darkness, even religious darkness.” The charge against Cleary would be dropped from murder to manslaughter. He was convicted and sentenced to 20 years penal servitude. Once released, he emigrated to Canada.
The case garnered huge national and international attention with the inquestl being reported in some publications almost verbatim, suggesting significant public interest in the case. Unionist papers used the event to portray the Irish as barbarians unfit for self-government. Some British and American newspapers used anti-Roman Catholic or anti-Irish headlines or text such as "Gross Ignorance Amongst the Irish Peasantry" (the Southern Echo, England, July 11th 1895) or "Darkest Ireland" (The Anderson Intelligencer, South Carolina, July 10th 1895).
To this day, the case continues to capture the imagination. As recently as 2017, popular Amazon Prime series ‘Lore’ featured an episode called ‘Black Stocking’ which was about the Bridget Cleary case.
Bridget Cleary was buried in Cloneen cemetery.
Sources:
https://www.dib.ie/biography/cleary-bridget-a1720
https://www.irishtimes.com/.../the-story-of-the-last…
https://www.rte.ie/.../1085544-darkest-ireland-and-the.../
On this day in 1960, Shanbally Castle, Clogheen, was destroyed by the Land Commission in ‘one of the most mean spirited and calculated acts of destruction perpetrated on Ireland’s heritage.’
The castle, described as a ‘masterpiece’ and “one of the most charming country mansions in Ireland”, was designed by John Nash, the same architect who designed Buckingham Palace.
Claiming (incorrectly) that the castle had been unoccupied for 40 years and had become dangerous, the government ignored local opposition and pressed ahead with a demolition project and the breaking up of the cut stone for the ‘practical use’ of surfacing roads.
Built for Cornelius O’Callaghan, 1st Viscount Lismore, around 1810, Shanbally Castle contained no fewer than 20 stately bedrooms, extensive drawing rooms, dining room, library, marble fireplaces and mahogany staircase. It was long and irregular in layout and built in a Gothic Revival style. It had numerous machicolations, towers and battlements which make it quite distinctive. When Edward VII and Alexandra visited Ireland in 1904 on a private trip to Kilkenny, Waterford and Lismore, they visited Shanbally on their tour.
The impressive castle and its demesne was acquired by the Land Commission in the 1950s. For a short period it appeared that a buyer could be found for the castle. Edward Sackville, 5th Lord Sackville, agreed to buy the castle, together with 163 acres but pulled out of the transaction when the Land Commission refused to stop cutting trees in the land he intended to buy.
In 1957, despite trenchant local and national opposition, it was earmarked for destruction. At this point the castle was still in good condition, having been lived in up until quite close to the sale. After the deal collapsed, instructions were given to remove the roof which was the beginning of the end for the castle. Then, in a wicked act of destruction the battlements were hacked down. Finally, on 22 March 1960, explosives had to be used to demolish what remained of the castle, as it had been so well been built.
The front page of the Irish Press on 23 March 1960 reported:
`A big bang yesterday ended Shanbally Castle, where large quantities of gelignite and cortex shattered the building…. The decision to demolish it brought many protests, especially from art lovers.’
With it would be lost the vast collection of estate records housed there, which tracked the history of an estate which spread at one time over 42,000 acres, from Tipperary to Cork and Limerick, some blown up with the castle’s remnants and the rest consigned to a local waste paper factory.
The Cork Examiner commented in 1957, around the time that Shanbally’s future started to look particularly bleak, that:
‘Unless the present trends of the Department of Lands are stayed, there will be nothing in fifty years left to link the age of the Norman castle tower as a habitation, and the latest concrete semi-detached council house.’
Sources:
William Derham, “Lost Ireland 1860-1960”, p225
https://specialcollections.ul.ie/shanbally-castle-papers/
https://www.johnpmorrissey.com/post/shanbally/
The Irish Press, 23/3/1960, Front page.
