(Irish Dead Archives - Case Study No 9: Bridget Heany)
(Narrated by Josephine O'Leary)
(Munster Circuit. Limerick County Assizes, 1845. Friday, March 7. Crown Side. (Before the Honourable Mr. Justice Jackson.) - The Queen v. O'Brien (a))
(Witness - Evidence. The testimony of a deaf and dumb person ...)
("The testimony of a deaf and dumb person" - Is this admissible?)
Here is another court case.
This time, someone was charged with killing a man called McNamara
with a blow to the head with a turf shovel.
At the time it happened, a lot of people were working in the turf field,
in between haystacks that dotted the landscape.
(Something happened behind one of the haystacks!)
Two women working away saw the defendant walking away with a shovel,
but didn't take much notice, wondering about the second man.
Later on, they walked around and found McNamara on the ground dead,
with a bloody head.
(People came forward as witnesses)
The woman told the police what they saw happened,
about the man walking off.
This woman was with her Deaf sister.
When they heard she was deaf, they had a problem.
They wanted her witness testimony, but how would they get it interpreted?
The sister claimed that she could interpret, that she could sign very well,
that her sister was well able to understand the priest.
That her sister was a staunch Catholic,
and well able to converse with people in sign language.
After the court heard her statement,
they decided to allow her to interpret the Oath,
for her sister to swear.
Hence the two of them could give their testimonies to the Court.
(Limerick County Assizes)
(Main Courthouse, Limerick - www.limerickslife.com)
(However, the counsel for the defence had an important question.)
The Defence Counsel asked the interpreter what exactly was said for the oath,
the wording conveyed,
and questioned whether the Deaf woman understood the Oath fully.
The sister said that the Deaf woman understood fully
because she was told that if she did not tell the truth,
the priest would kill her.
(Southside Courthouse and Jail www.limerickslife.com)
After some deliberation,
the Defence Counsel moved to reject the claim that
the Deaf witness fully understood the nature and meaning of the Oath.
(So Bridget Heany was not accepted as a witness after all.)