“Bridgie is Burned.”
After the rites of March 14, Bridget was put back to bed. However, according to Michael Cleary, on the night of March 15, she disappeared. The police became suspicious, and a search began for the missing woman. Over the coming days, informants came forward with tales of ill-treatment. Warrants were prepared for the arrest of Michael Cleary, Patrick Boland, Mary Kennedy, and her sons, John Dunne and Denis Ganey- even before Bridget’s body was found. Finally, in June 1895, a court in Tipperary discovered what had happened to Bridget Cleary.
On March 15, the Clearys again had visitors. One was Joanna Burke, who came to see how her cousin was. However, Joanna and Michael Cleary began to argue. So Cleary forced Bridget out of bed, ordered her to dress and sent her to the kitchen to settle matters. All was not well between the couple. When Bridget was asked how she was, she replied she was only ‘middling’ as her husband was trying to make ‘a fairy of her’. Cleary then told her to ‘hold her tongue.’ He became more and more agitated and began to ask Bridget again if she was his wife. Then he hit her.
Cleary then lost control. He tore off Bridget’s clothes, only leaving her in her chemise. As he brandished a brand from the fire in his wife’s face, his guests tried to flee. Instead of letting them go, Cleary threatened them and locked the door. Frightened, the company sought refuge in the bedroom. There they heard Bridget scream ‘give me a chance’ before her head struck the floor. There was then another scream. William Kennedy gathered enough courage to investigate. He quickly returned. ‘Bridgie is burned,’ he said. Whether by accident or design, Cleary had set his wife’s chemise alight. He then poured paraffin over Bridget’s body, sat in a chair and watched her burn.
The court acquitted Denis Ganey and Mary Kennedy. It then sentenced all but one of the defendants for wounding. Michael Cleary, however, was found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to 20 years penal servitude. After fifteen years, Cleary was released. He immigrated to Canada, never to be heard of again. The fact that most of the defendants were illiterate and steeped in an older, traditional lore does make it credible that they at least believed their actions were helping Bridget. Michael Cleary, however, was literate and had been part of a more modern world. Did he believe his wife was a changeling?
Perhaps lack of sleep clouded Cleary’s judgment. However, there are signs his marriage was in trouble. Firstly, there was the level of violence used by Cleary against Bridget. Then, there was the testimony of Bridget herself. While she was ill, Bridget told her aunt that Cleary had been ‘making a fairy’ of her for months. She also claimed ‘he thought to burn me about three months ago.’ After the burning, Cleary disappeared for three days, supposedly waiting for the real Bridget to reappear out of Kylenagranagh Hill. However, this was not his first impulse after his wife’s death. Initially, Cleary talked of feigning madness, fleeing to America or killing himself. This suggests Michael Cleary did not believe he had a changeling bride; he merely hoped by claiming he had one, he would be absolved of murder.
Where do we get this stuff? Here are our sources:
The Dark Spirit: Sinister Portraits from Celtic Folklore, Dr. Rob Curran, Cassell & Co, 2001