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(Irish Dead Archives - Case Study No 9: Bridget Heany)

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(Narrated by Josephine O'Leary)

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(Munster Circuit. Limerick County Assizes, 1845. Friday, March 7. Crown Side. (Before the Honourable Mr. Justice Jackson.) - The Queen v. O'Brien (a))

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(Witness - Evidence. The testimony of a deaf and dumb person ...)

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("The testimony of a deaf and dumb person" - Is this admissible?)

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Here is another court case.

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This time, someone was charged with killing a man called McNamara

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with a blow to the head with a turf shovel.

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At the time it happened, a lot of people were working in the turf field,

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in between haystacks that dotted the landscape.

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(Something happened behind one of the haystacks!)

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Two women working away saw the defendant walking away with a shovel,

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but didn't take much notice, wondering about the second man.

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Later on, they walked around and found McNamara on the ground dead,

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with a bloody head.

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(People came forward as witnesses)

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The woman told the police what they saw happened,

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about the man walking off.

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This woman was with her Deaf sister.

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When they heard she was deaf, they had a problem.

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They wanted her witness testimony, but how would they get it interpreted?

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The sister claimed that she could interpret, that she could sign very well,

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that her sister was well able to understand the priest.

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That her sister was a staunch Catholic,

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and well able to converse with people in sign language.

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After the court heard her statement,

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they decided to allow her to interpret the Oath,

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for her sister to swear.

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Hence the two of them could give their testimonies to the Court.

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(Limerick County Assizes)

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(Main Courthouse, Limerick - www.limerickslife.com)

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(However, the counsel for the defence had an important question.)

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The Defence Counsel asked the interpreter what exactly was said for the oath,

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the wording conveyed,

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and questioned whether the Deaf woman understood the Oath fully.

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The sister said that the Deaf woman understood fully

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because she was told that if she did not tell the truth,

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the priest would kill her.

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(Southside Courthouse and Jail www.limerickslife.com)

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After some deliberation,

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the Defence Counsel moved to reject the claim that

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the Deaf witness fully understood the nature and meaning of the Oath.

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(So Bridget Heany was not accepted as a witness after all.)