STRANGE STORY.
Man’s Mind an Absolute Blank
ACTION AGAINST RELATIVE.
A strange story from the Co. Clare was enfolded in the Dail Eireann Courts (Winding Up) Commission to-day, when an action was heard before the Commissioners Creed Meredith, Crowley and McDevitt, in which Michael Brew sought to set aside his lands of about 25 acres, at Carianes [Carnanes or Carnaun], Kilrush, to John Brew in October, 1915.
District Judge Davitt had decided in favour of the plaintiff, and the present action was brought on appeal.
Opening the case Mr. George O’Connor (instructed by Mr. Michael Killeen) for the plaintiff, said connected with the action was the most extraordinary set of circumstances ever heard in any court. Michael Brew, the plaintiff, and John Brew, the defendant, were relatives. Michael Brew had a holding of about 25 acres in fee simple, and was the registered owner, the poor law valuation of the holding being £17 10 s. He continued to live with a very old aunt of his. About 1914 he got a little queer in his head. In March 1915, the aunt died. She was then about 84 years of age. After that he acted after the manner of a man out of his mind. Later he was brought bodily from his holding to the house of the defendant and then taken to the solicitor’s office in Kilrush, where the agreement which he impeached, was made under extraordinary circumstances, because Michael Brew himself did not remember one word or a single thing about it.
His mind was an absolute blank, and the affair read like a chapter out of Rip Van Winkle.
By the agreement his entire holding was transferred to John Brew’s son, or in case of the latter’s death then to John Brew himself. John Brew got the holding, for his son was a minor. He got it in condition that he would support the plaintiff during life and arrange for his burial. For several years the holding was used by John Brew without the plaintiff’s having any knowledge of the fact.
KNEW NOTHING.
For two years the plaintiff had been completely blank and about Christmas 1916 he awoke from his extraordinary stupor. He knew nothing about the events that had occurred during that period, such as the rebellion of 1916, or other occurrences that would be certain to remain in the memory of any ordinary man. When he woke up he looked about him and found himself in a strange place. He saw a little girl and he asked her: “what place is this and what year is it?” This occurred in a room in the house of John Brew. Plaintiff next asked for clothes but he did not get them.
During the years 1917, 1918, 1919 and 1920 he was kept in the house and during that time not a soul in the Co. Clare ever saw him. He was allowed to walk about the kitchen or the yard. He was given clothes when he threatened to cry out from his room on hearing any stranger in the kitchen. In 1920 he was getting better and he went into Kilrush with John Brew. Here he inquired about a sum of £83 which he had on deposit in the bank, but he was told by the manager of the bank that the money was withdrawn by John Brew and himself (the plaintiff) two years before. About six months afterwards plaintiff was again in Kilrush, and then decided on a certain course of action. He left John Brew and refused to return. That was in July, 1920. Proceedings were initiated in the District Court by the plaintiff, with the object of recovering the holding.
FAMILY ARRANGEMENT.
Mr. M. Kenny, K.C. (instructed by Messrs. Michael O’Shea and Co.) for the defence, said that this was an arrangement between the Brew family to settle the matter of the holding of the plaintiff, to secure that it remains in the family. The plaintiff was kept as a hospital patient for 4 or 5 years. He was carefully attended to, and he had his ministrations of religion.
The Chief Commissioner said no case had been made out that he had not been properly treated. He observed, however, that “what year is it” was a rather strange remark to make by a man who had lost his memory for so long.
Mr. O’Connor—When he woke from his stupor he saw the little girl, Jane Brew, putting up holly and ivy for Christmas, and made that remark.
Chief Commissioner—Suppose you went to sleep for two years, wouldn’t you think that when you awoke that it was only the day before you went to sleep? (laughter).
Mr. O’Connor, in further remarks, stated the plaintiff, after leaving John Brew, went to live with other people of his own free will.
Mr. Kenny—He went to live with another cousin.
Proceeding, Mr. Kenny stated he was greatly handicapped that he had not the benefit of his brief or his solicitor in the Court. The man Michael Brew was in a bad state of health, but he was extremely well taken care of while in his client’s house. That fact was proved as the man recovered his health completely.
The Court decided to adjourn the case for a month in the hope of a settlement.
Dublin Evening Telegraph, Tuesday, 26 February 1924.
What I found most interesting in the above news article is that a court action from February 1924, 100 years ago, could provide evidence that two Brews, born in Kilrush prior to the 1827 start of the Kilrush baptism records, were siblings.
Michael Brew of Carnanes was noted above to have a farm of about 25 acres with a poor law valuation of £17 and 10 shillings. This acreage and valuation is identical to Griffith Valuation of Carnaun townland holding of John Brew of Plot 8.
Michael Brew of 1924 was definitely the grandson of John Brew of Plot 8. He was the son of Michael Brew and Eliza Brew born in 1862. His parents married in 1860, prior to the 1864 start of civil marriage records. And thus, unfortunately, it is not clear if either Michael or Eliza was the child of John Brew of Plot 8.
I’ve concluded that Michael Brew (married to Eliza Brew) was the son of John Brew, since the first born son of Michael Brew and Eliza Brew was named John in 1861, and their second born son in 1862 was named Michael (“of 1924”), following Irish naming traditions. However, Eliza Brew had a brother named Michael Brew, a bachelor, and it is entirely possible that they are the children of John Brew of Plot 8. In the 1860 marriage, if Michael Brew “married in” perhaps the first born son was named after the maternal grandfather on whose land they were living?
The land cancellation books for Carnaun townland might provide conclusive evidence. If Plot 8 passed from John Brew to Michael Brew (the bachelor), and then when this Michael Brew died in 1885, if there was a cancellation to his brother-in-law Michael Brew (then a widower of Eliza) or directly to his nephew Michael Brew (“of 1924”), then it would prove that my conclusion is incorrect, and Eliza Brew, married to Michael Brew in 1860, was the daughter of John Brew of Plot 8. However, since everyone post-John Brew was named Michael Brew, it is possible that there were no changes in the cancellation book since the lease holder remained a Michael Brew (although possibly three different individuals).
The identity of the defendant in the 1924 court action, John Brew of Tullycrine, is completely clear in comparison. Alice Brew, daughter of John Brew of Carnanes, married Michael Brew, son of John Brew of Tullycrine, in 1855. Michael Brew was a Protestant so this 1855 marriage has a civil marriage record and the fathers of the bride and groom are reported (unlike the 1860 marriage of Eliza Brew and Michael Brew). John Brew, the defendant in 1924, was their son born in 1862.
There are several family trees on the ancestry website for the Tullycrine Brews, but no information on Alice Brew, other than she was the daughter of John Brew of Carnanes. Sheila, from viewing the website links you shared on the Brews, it appears much of the research has been done on the Brew families who were Protestant, and less or none on the Brew families who were Catholic, such as John Brew of Carnanes townland.
In the 1924 court action, it was stated that Michael Brew had left the household of John Brew of Tullycrine in 1920, and was then living with “another cousin”. I reckon Michael Brew had moved from a paternal cousin to a maternal cousin (or vice versa since not 100% which of his parents was a child of John Brew of Carnanes). Obtaining the 1926 Ireland census, which will become available on-line in April 2026, might provide an important clue as to who this cousin might be, assuming that Michael Brew was still living there two years after the 1924 court action.
I researched the John Brew family tree of Carnanes and it is still a mystery who “another cousin” might have been in 1924.
Descendants of John Brew of Carnanes:
Griffith Valuation Plot 8 in Carnauan Townland, Kilrush Parish; 25 acres, 3 rood, 36 perch; valuation £17 and 10 shillings; landlord, Col. C.M. Vandeleur.
His wife might have been a Catherine Brew; see mother of children starting in 1827.
1.0 Margaret Brew (≈1820 – unknown)
Margaret Brew, daughter of John Brew, of Carnanes, married
Martin Barry, of Killard Parish, on 27 February 1840 at her father’s house; witnesses John Brew and Thady Brew. The Catholic priest in the Kilrush marriage register of 1829-1881 occasionally provided the father of the bride and/or groom, which was very helpful and rare among Catholic parishes.
The Killard (Doonbeg) Parish baptism register doesn’t start until 1855. A Martin Barry and Catherine O’Neill of Clohanes baptized a daughter in 1856 (their only child in the Killard register). Possibly, Margaret Brew had died and the widow Martin Barry had remarried? Killard parish marriage records don’t start until 1867, so unable to confirm this theory.
The later whereabouts of Martin Barry and Catherine O’Neill are documented in over 60 family trees on the ancestry website (none that I viewed have a first marriage with Margaret Brew). Catherine Barry (age 29) and her children, Bridget (age 10), David (7), Ellen (5), and Michael (1), arrived in Melbourne on 11 December 1863 on the ship
Maryborough. Martin Barry must have arrived earlier and the couple went on to have seven more children in Victoria. He died in 1883 at the age of 62 (per Australian death index) and is buried in Ballarat Old Cemetery. Not sure why the findagrave website states a birth year of 1829, given the death record (there is no headstone). If born in 1821, Martin Barry would have been old enough to have been married first to Margaret Brew in 1840.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/210 ... rtin_barry
2.0 Alice Brew (≈1821 – 1903) would have been born about 1821 based upon her age at death; prior to the 1827 start of the Kilrush baptism register.
<Tullycreen Upper, Tullycreen, House 16, x>
Alice Brew, daughter of John Brew, of Carnanes, married
Michael Brew, son of John Brew, of Tullycrine, on 15 February 1855 at the Church of Ireland in Kilrush by the vicar Joseph F. Hobbins; witnesses Elijah Hadley and James Pilkington. Alice Brew was a Catholic (per 1901 census), and given the Church of Ireland marriage, Michael Brew a Protestant. Thus there is a civil marriage record in 1855, see link below. There was not a separate Catholic marriage ceremony, but one was not required for the marriage to be valid in the Catholic Church at that time (Sheila, we recently discussed this issue in the Thomas McNamara thread referencing Ignatius Murphy).
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 439995.pdf
A Michael Brew was living at the time of Griffith Valuation in Plot 3a of Tullycreen Upper townland in Kilmurry Parish; house, offices & land; 29 plus acres; valuation £12 and 15 shillings; landlord Col. C.M. Vandeleur.
A Michael Brew, age 57, died in Kilrush in 1870 (on-line civil death registration not yet available). Alice Brew, of Tullycrine, widow of a farmer, 80 years old, died on 16 July 1903; informant John Brew, her son (Kilrush registration).
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 590844.pdf
Michael Brew (≈1813 – 1870) and
Alice Brew (≈1821 – 1903) of Tullycrine were the parents of three children, all baptized as Catholic in Kilrush parish:
............ 2.1 Catherine Brew (1857 - 1915), of Tullycrine, was baptized on 30 July 1857; sponsors Michael Brew and Mary Brew (Kilrush baptism register, 1827-1863).
<Tullycreen Upper, Tullycreen, House 16, House 6>
In the 1901 census, Kate Brew (“age 34”) was living with her mother, Alice Brew (age 80), and brother, John Brew (age 35). In the 1911 census, Catherine Brew (“age 59”) was living with her brother John Brew, now married with a wife and seven children. She died at Kilrush Union Hospital on 30 July 1915 (Kilrush registration).
............ 2.2 Mary Brew (1860 - 1881), of Tullycrine, was baptized on 24 January 1860; sponsor Eliza Brew (Kilrush baptism register, 1827-1863). Mary Brew, of Tullycrine, age 20, died on 1 June 1881; informant was John Brew (Kilrush registration).
............ 2.3 John Brew (1862 - 1940), of Tullycrine, was baptized on 6 September 1862; sponsors John Brew and Anne Brew (Kilrush baptism register, 1827-1863).
<Tullycreen Upper, Tullycreen, House 16, House 6>
John Brew, farmer of Kilmurry, son of farmer Michael Brew, married
Mary Jane McInerney, of Cree, daughter of farmer Patrick McInerney (and Jane Casey per Kilmacduane parish baptism), on 28 April 1903, at the Catholic chapel at Cree, by the curate D. McNamara; witnesses Pat Burns and Lizzie Green.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 726523.pdf
John Brew (1862 – 1940) and
Mary Jane McInerney (1872 – 1952) were living in Tullycreen townland in the 1911 census, along with their seven children and John’s sister, Catherine Brew:
........................ 2.3.1 Alice Brew (age 7 in 1911) <Tullycreen Upper, Tullycreen, x, House 6>
........................ 2.3.2 Jane Brew (age 6 in 1911) in 1916 was putting up holly and ivy for Christmas when Michael Brew (her father’s cousin) woke up from his two-year stupor and remarked “what year is it” according to 1924 newspaper accounts.
<Tullycreen Upper, Tullycreen, x, House 6>
........................ 2.3.3 Catherine Brew (age 5 in 1911) <Tullycreen Upper, Tullycreen, x, House 6>
........................ 2.3.4 Helena Brew (age 4 in 1911) <Tullycreen Upper, Tullycreen, x, House 6>
........................ 2.3.5 Michael Brew (age 3 in 1911) <Tullycreen Upper, Tullycreen, x, House 6>
........................ 2.3.6 Margaret Brew (age 2 in 1911) <Tullycreen Upper, Tullycreen, x, House 6>
........................ 2.3.7 Mary Brew (age 0 in 1911) was born on
8 January 1911 in Tullycrine (Kilrush civil registration).
<Tullycreen Upper, Tullycreen, x, House 6> UPDATE: In the “1939 England and Wales Register”, Mary F. Brew, single, born on
8 January 1911, was a trained nurse at a residence at 11 Grange Road in Ealing, London. She was one of eight nurses, along with two servants and eight patients at the facility. On the 1939 Register, “Brew” had been crossed out and replaced with “McCaul”. “M”, as in “Married”, had been written to the far left of her name. Four of the eight nurses on Grange Road would marry during the war, with their surnames updated, and had an “M” scribbled on the 1939 register. Per the England & Wales Civil Registration Marriage Index, Mary Brew had married Michael McCaul in the third quarter of 1942 (Brentford district). Mary Brew McCaul survived the London Blitz. In 1952 she returned to Clare to nurse her widowed mother, who died on 5 April 1952, at the age of 79, at Latoon House, Newmarket on Fergus. Mary McCaul’s address on the death record was Aubrey Lodge, Aubrey Road, Kensington.
........................ 2.3.8 Patrick Brew (1912) was born on 22 March 1912 (Kilrush registration; transcribed as “Bren”; correction submitted).
........................ 2.3.9 Anthony Brew (1913) was born on 24 August 1913.
........................ 2.3.10 George Brew (1915) was born on 20 February 1915.
3.0 Ellen Brew (≈1825 – 1889? 1890?), an estimated birth year of 1825 based solely on her marriage year of 1856, one year after Alice Brew got married (with an estimated birth year of 1822). No baptism record as it was prior to the 1827 start of the Kilrush baptism register.
Michael Carrig, of “Goure”, married
Ellen Brew, of Carnanes, on 4 February 1856; witnesses Michael Markham and Mort Carrig (Kilrush marriage register, 1829-1881). Their marriage was prior to the 1864 start of civil marriage records for Catholics. And, unlike for Alice Brew, there is no pre-1864 civil marriage record and thus neither bride nor groom was a Protestant. It is only a possibility that Ellen Brew was the daughter of John Brew; the sole evidence being that she was from Carnanes according to her Catholic marriage record (and not a daughter of the two Brew families of Carnanes, GV Plots 5 & 6, who were Protestant).
Michael Carrig of “Goure” was living in Gower North, Cooraclare in the 1901 census. After becoming a widower, Michael Carrig had remarried a
Mary Dixon on
20 September 1891 and by the 1901 census was the father of two children.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 891697.pdf
https://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/ ... h/1080641/
Michael Carrig and Ellen Brew had no children reported in Kilmacduane Parish baptism records (where Gower townland is located). Michael Carrig was reported to be age 62 in 1901 (reflecting a birth year of 1838) and died in 1908 at the reported age of 72 (reflecting a birth year of 1836). Mary Dixon Carrig was only 37 years old in 1901. Michael Carrig, married to a much younger woman, likely fibbed his age considerably and was born closer to 1825.
Ellen Carrig of Gower appears in the Kilrush petty sessions on
28 October 1889, the last known record of her existence. The complainant was the Province Bank of Ireland and the complaint was that Ellen Carrig had failed to give up the house at Gower which the bank had allowed her to be in as caretaker. In the Kilmacduane register, the only Ellen Carrig was the wife of Michael Carrig of Gower. Michael Carrig, widower, married two years later on 20 September 1891. Mysteriously, I could not locate the civil death record for Ellen Brew Carrig between 1889 and 1891 which would provide her age at death.
4.0 Michael Brew (≈1826 – 1892) would have been born about 1826 based upon his age at death; prior to the 1827 start of the Kilrush baptism register.
Michael Brew, no residence reported, married
Eliza Brew, of Carnanes, on 20 February 1860; witnesses Michael and Michael Brew (Kilrush marriage register, 1829-1881). They were reported to be 4th and 4th consanguinity, or third cousins. Their marriage was prior to the 1864 start of civil marriage records for Catholics. And, unlike for Alice Brew, there is no pre-1864 civil marriage record and thus neither bride nor groom was a Protestant.
https://registers.nli.ie/registers/vtls ... 5/mode/1up
The evidence that Michael Brew was the son of John Brew (versus Eliza Brew being the daughter of John Brew) was that their first born son was named John, after his paternal grandfather. Eliza Brew had a brother named Michael Brew, who was likely one witness at the 1860 marriage. The other witness, also named Michael Brew, was likely the father of Eliza and her brother. Evidence being that the second born son of Michael Brew and Eliza Brew was a Michael, named after his maternal grandfather.
Bessie Brew, of Carnanes, married, 40 years old, wife of a farmer, died on 20 July 1879; informant Michael Brew. A headstone for Eliza “Bessie” Brew was erected by her brother, Michael Brew, at the Church of Ireland graveyard in Kilrush (see further discussion below). Thirteen years later, Michael Brew, of Carnanes, a laborer, widower, 65 years old, died on 23 January 1892 at the Kilrush workhouse (hospital); informant James O’Dwyer of the workhouse.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 869573.pdf
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 721237.pdf
Michael Brew (≈1826 - 1892) and
Eliza Brew (≈1839 – 1879) of Carnanes were the parents of two children:
............ 4.1 John Brew (1861 - 1866), no residence reported, was baptized on 4 January 1861; sponsors Michael Brew and Mary Brew (Kilrush baptism register, 1827-1863).
A John Brew died in 1866 at the age of 5 years old per Kilrush registration (on-line record not yet available).
............ 4.2 Michael Brew (1862 - 1934), of Carnanes, was baptized on 28 April 1862; sponsors Michael Brew and Miss Brew (Kilrush baptism register, 1827-1863).
<Carnaun, Kilrush, House 7, House 2>
Michael Brew was living in Carnaun townland with his aunt, Mary Brew, in the 1901 and 1911 census. Between 1915 and 1920 he was looked after by his cousin, John Brew, of Tullycrine townland. See newspaper account at start of posting.
Michael Brew, of Kilrush, bachelor, 70 years old, died on 25 June 1934, at the County Home in Ennis; informant Peter Moran, occupier, of Co. Home, Ennis (Ennis registration).
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 304477.pdf
** Probably, the above Brew children #1 through #4, all born prior to the 1827 start of the Kilrush baptism register, were the children of
John Brew and
Catherine Brew who baptized three of their children in Kilrush parish between 1827 and 1833. Unfortunately, no residence was reported in these baptism entries. Their youngest child, Mary born in 1833, was likely the Mary Brew living with her nephew, Michael Brew (4.2 above), in Carnaun in the 1901 and 1911 census — strong evidence for this theory.
5.0 Eliza Brew (1827 – unknown), no residence reported, was baptized on 3 December 1827; sponsors George Brew and Mary Higgins (Kilrush baptism register, 1827-1863).
Her age would be off by a good 10 years from the Eliza Brew who died in 1879 at the reported age of 40 years, but was she the Eliza Brew of Carnanes who married Michael Brew in 1860?
6.0 Catherine Brew (1830 – unknown), no residence reported, was baptized on 7 April 1830; sponsors Pat Hanley and Mary Duggan (Kilrush baptism register, 1827-1863).
7.0 Mary Brew (1833 – 1915), no residence reported, was baptized on 23 July 1833; sponsors Michael Brew and Catherine Keane (Kilrush baptism register, 1827-1863).
<Carnaun, Kilrush, House 7, House 2>
Mary Brew was reported as the aunt living with her nephew Michael Brew in Carnaun townland in the 1901 census (age 60) and 1911 census (age 74). She died on 15 March 1915 in Carnanes at the age 84 years old; informant Michael Brew, nephew. Her death in 1915 was noted in the “Strange Story” news article from 1924 at the start of the posting.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 465782.pdf
****************************
Brew Headstone:
When Eliza Brew, husband of Michael Brew of Carnanes, died on 20 July 1879, her brother, also named Michael Brew, paid for her headstone in the Church of Ireland graveyard in Kilrush. Transcriptions of the C of I graveyard in Kilrush were made by the Kilrush Youth Centre and Senan Scanlan and are available at the Clare Library website:
https://www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/cocla ... ptions.htm
IHS Erected by Michael Brew Carnanes in memory of his beloved sister Eliza who died July 14th 72 aged 40 years. Also Father, Mother, Brother, Nephew. May all RIP. (Location: Could be 239)
Understandably, the old headstones would be difficult to read, and the year of Eliza Brew’s death was in the year 1879, and not in 1872. “July 14th” is very close to “July 20th” the date on the civil death record.
Despite its name, it appears that Catholics were also buried at the Church of Ireland graveyard in Kilrush. On the transcription listing, for example, the McNamara’s of Ballykett were Catholics according to the census records. Also, I think maybe, that “IHS”, the Greek term for Jesus, on several headstones is a Catholic thing, but I could be wrong. Therefore, I still believe that Eliza Brew, married in the Catholic parish of Kilrush to Michael Brew in 1860, was a Catholic despite being buried at the C of I graveyard.
As per its headstone transcription, the location of Eliza Brew’s headstone could be #239, which might provide a few clues on family relationships or just raise more questions. #238 was “Erected by Richard C. Brew, Kilrush, in memory of his brother George C. Brew
Carnacalla . . . [other names]“. #237 was “Erected by Mr. James Brew of
Moyadda in memory of his beloved wife Catherine Brew who died on 9th day of March 1816 aged 44 yrs”.
Headstone Brew Family Tree:
Father and Mother died prior to 1879 as “RIP” noted on daughter Eliza’s headstone. Father was likely a Michael Brew (possibly a witness at his daughter Eliza Brew’s wedding in 1860). The second born son of Eliza Brew was named Michael, after this maternal grandfather?
1. Michael Brew (≈1825 – 1885), of Carnanes, farmer, bachelor, 60 years old, died on 27 October 1885; informant Michael Brew (likely his brother-in-law, the widower of Eliza Brew). He paid for the headstone of his sister who died in 1879.
https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/ ... 795030.pdf
2. Eliza Brew (≈1839 – 1879) married
Michael Brew (≈1826 - 1892) in 1860 (as per prior family tree). Two children. Their son, John Brew, who died in 1866, was the “Nephew” referenced in the Brew headstone.
For Eliza Brew, both the headstone and her civil death record reflect a birth year of about 1839. But why is there no Catholic baptism record in Kilrush parish? Could she have been much older? Was she, in fact, the daughter of John Brew and Catherine Brew born in 1827?
3. Michael’s “Brother” who died prior to 1879 (per RIP on headstone)
…………………….. 3.1 Cousin of Michael Brew (1862 – 1934)? At the 1924 court hearing for Michael Brew, the defense attorney, Mr. M. Kenny, stated that Michael was living with “another cousin” (other than John Brew of Tullycrine).
4. Possible other siblings who had not died prior to 1879?
…………………….. 4.1 Cousin of Michael Brew (1862 – 1934)? At the 1924 court hearing for Michael Brew, the defense attorney, Mr. M. Kenny, stated that Michael was living with a “another cousin” (other than John Brew of Tullycrine).
**********************************
Michael Brew (1862 – 1934) was living in the household of his cousin, John Brew (1862 – 1940) of Tullycrine, between 1915 and 1920, where he was nursed back to health. Of course, Michael Brew was not fed and nursed by John Brew, but by his wife, Mary Jane McInerney Brew (1872 – 1952).
The duchas website contains the School’s Collection whereby Irish school children were instructed to interview their elders for stories of Irish folklore or life in the olden days. Was there any telling of the “Strange Story” of Michael Brew, a modern day Rip Van Winkle? None that I could find, but Mrs. Brew from Tullycrine, contributed 12 stories told presumably to her grandchildren, Bridie Brew and, of course, another Michael Brew:
https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/stories?NameKey=mrs-brew
The School’s Collection took place between 1937 and 1939, when Mary Jane McInerney Brew, born in 1872, would have been around 65 to 67 years old. Her age reported in the 12 stories contributed by Mrs. Brew ranged from 69 to 72 years old. Anyways, there is no other Brew living in Tullycreen townland in the 1911 census other than Mary Jane McInerney Brew (age 38) that could possibly be “Mrs. Brew”.
Mrs. Brew was a great storyteller. She tells a short story of Biddy Early, one of 187 stories in the School’s Collection that have been transcribed and linked to Biddy Early.
Most interesting was the story of Patrick Culligan. Briefly, Patrick and his wife had one child. When the child was about 18 months old, the mother died. However, she came back at night in the form of a ghost to look after her young child. One night, Patrick Culligan saw his wife taking care of their daughter and asked her if she could come back to him. His ghostly wife stated “yes” that she would be riding on a horse one evening (not clear when), in front of a group of others, and if Patrick were to pull her off the horse, then she could return to him. Patrick Culligan went to the Catholic priest for holy water and blessed earth. The priest instructed Patrick to throw the earth on his ghostly wife and pull her off the horse. This Patrick Culligan did and his wife returned to him and they had four children. She lived to be a great age.
From Mary Jane Brew’s perspective, the story of her husband’s cousin, Michael Brew, who went to live with them from 1915 to 1920, would have been boring in comparison to the Culligan folklore. This folklore must be an old story since there are no Patrick Culligans reported as a father in the Kilrush baptisms of 1863 to 1881. However, there are a good many in the prior baptism register of 1827 to 1863 where a Patrick Culligan is listed as a father in baptisms with the following mothers: Mary Boland (1), Mary Durnford (6), Anne Eustace (4), Biddy Gearin (2), Biddy Gorman (3), C. Heagarty (1), Margaret Moriarty (1), Ellen O’Donnell (3), Kitty Culligan (1), and Biddy Hassett (1). It would take much more research to determine the Patrick Culligan of Kilrush whose wife died and then returned to him. The identity of the Catholic priest in Kilrush Parish who advised Patrick would be much easier. There could possibly be a hidden meaning to the Patrick Culligan folklore.
Another of the 12 contributions by Mary Jane McInerney Brew of Tullycrine townland was the “
Lamentation of Patrick Whelan”. Incredibly, it is the only source of this poem that I could discover on-line. Patrick Whelan was Galway born and executed in 1869 in Ottawa for the assassination of Michael D’Arcy McGee, an Irish-Canadian politician and “Father of Canadian Confederation”. Mrs. Brew stated in her remarks after the poem that Whelan was “executed wrongly for the murder of Darcy Magee”, a commonly held belief. The motivation given by Mrs. Brew that “Magee was a landlord and was a very cruel and bad man” was incorrect. D’arcy McGee was a Catholic and a Young Irelander but in later life held anti-Fenianism views. It was believed that he was assassinated by Fenians for his “
shoneenism”. A term I had to look up in trusted Wikipedia:
a pejorative term, used in Ireland from at least the 18th century, to describe Irish people who are viewed as adhering to Anglophile snobbery. Some late 19th and early 20th century Irish nationalist writers, like D. P. Moran (1869–1936), used the term shoneen (Irish: Seoinín), alongside the term West Brit, to characterize those who displayed snobbery, admiration for England or mimicked the English nobility. A stereotypical shoneen also reputedly shows corresponding disdain for Irish nationalism and the decolonization of Irish culture, such as the Irish language and Irish traditional music.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_D%27Arcy_McGee
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_J._Whelan
https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/ ... ick-whelan
The ghost of Patrick Whelan, executed in February 1869, coincidentally 155 years ago this month, is commonly believed by the Canadians to still haunt the Ottawa Jail (now a hostel) due to his being unjustly tried and executed for the murder of Thomas D’Arcy McGee.
https://www.torontoghosts.org/index.php ... -st-hostel
Below is the first stanza from the “The Lamentation of Patrick Whelan” contributed by Mary Jane McInerney Brew of Tullycrine as part of the School’s Collection; from 1915 through 1920 Mary Jane Brew nursed back to health Michael Brew, her husband’s cousin from Griffith Valuation Plot 8 of Carnanes townland, who was born in 1862, the same decade as his neighbor in GV Plot 3A, Thomas Madigan, who might possibly be our hero Sergeant Major who died in Denver in 1921.
You feeling hearted Christians
I pray now lend an ear.
To write my lamentation
Is more than I can bear.
I am cut down all in my prime.
By cruel perjury
I forgive the man from out my heart
Who persecuted me.
https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4922321/4869879
Edit on 26 Feb 2024: “Mary Jane” not “Margaret” correction; new research on her daughter, Mary Brew McCaul, who was the informant on Mary Jane’s 1952 death record, and living at Aubrey Lodge, Aubrey Road, Kensington, London (photo in link below); added three post-1911 Brew children.
https://www.londonpicturearchive.org.uk ... 8923300388