The Search for Bridey Murphy (25 page)
Read The Search for Bridey Murphy Online
Authors: Morey Bernstein
All right, now relax. Relax. Now, relax. What did you say your husband’s name was?
Brian.
Do you remember the name of Brian’s mother?
… I… would have to look in the Bible. … I don’t re member.
All right. Do you remember the name of Brian’s father?
… Brian’s father was John.
All right. How about Brian’s uncle?
[Here Bridey did something which she repeated at various stages throughout all the tapes. Instead of directly replying only to the question, the nature of the query sometimes prompted her to think of something additional which pertained to the same general subject. This time, for instance, the mention of Brian’s uncle did more than effect the recollection of his name; it spurred Bridey to remember something else, an incident involving the uncle’s marriage.]
… His father was upset but he married an Orange. But he wasn’t upset when he married
me!
Let’s see… you mean his uncle that married the Orange?
Married what?
The Orange.
Married the Orange?
Mm-hm.
Yes. What was his name?
His name was Plazz. Plazz.
How do you spell that?
… P-l-a-z…
All right.
Z.
Two zs?
Two z’s. All right. Now, does Brian have any brothers or sisters?
No, his—That’s it!… His mother, his mother… his mother died. He had a brother… he had a brother. … It was a still child, and his mother died. He went then with his grandmother. … It was a still child.
Well, was this still child born before Brian or after Brian?
Oh,
after!
Oh, I see. Then Brian would have been the oldest?
Brian wouldn’t have been born if his mother had died!
[Chuckling.] All right, all right… Brian would have been the older. Yes, that’s right. … All right, now you told us before that Brian taught at Queen’s University.
Um-hmm.
Well, now Queen’s University… Queen’s University was a Protestant school… and Brian, Brian was a Roman Catholic.
I know.
Well?
I know. He taught
law
. He didn’t teach
religion
.
And they had some… they had some Roman Catholics teaching there, did they?
Yes. Several.
Several, hmm?
That I knew.
Several that you knew?
Yes.
Can you name just one?
Um-hmm.
Who?
There was a fellow there. His name was William McGlone.
William McGlone?
Um-hmm. McGlone.
McGlone.
Do you want me to spell that?
Yes.
M-c… G… That’s a large G.
Yes?
L-o-n-e.
Uh-huh. Do you remember anybody else at Queen’s University there? Anybody… either Catholics or Protestants?
Well… hmmm… I think it was, it was Fitzhugh or Fitzmaurice. There was a Fitzhugh and a Fitzmaurice.
All right.
Mm-hm… Fitzhugh… Fitzmaurice.
All right. All right, tell me something else. Queen’s University was called Queen’s University after about 1847, which means that Brian was about fifty or maybe even a little older.
Mm-hmm. He worked with his father, you know. And that was what he had to do… had to let down, you know…
Well, didn’t he…?
He wrote, too.
He wrote, too?
Mm-hm. He wrote for the
News-Letter
.
He wrote for the Belfast
News-Letter?
Yes, he did.
Well, you told me before that Brian had several articles in the Belfast
News-Letter
. Did you mean they were about Brian, or were they…?
Oh
no
. He wrote about… just different cases, and you know… the things… that the… oh, that were recorded in different…
Oh, he just wrote
about
them?
Oh yes.
Did he ever sign his name to them?
Oh, I’m sure he would.
Did you read any of them?
… Oh, they were above me.
They were above you?
Mm-hm.
I see. Did you ever read the Belfast
News-Letter?
Mmmmmmm… Oh, a bit.
Now, what about… what about… what about these articles by Brian when he wrote for the Belfast News-Letter? About how old was he at the time he wrote for the Belfast
News-Letter?
… Mmmmmm….
In other words, it’s very important that we find the year or about the year that he wrote those articles for the Belfast
News-Letter
. Do you think you can give us that year? Go ahead and think out loud, if you want. While you’re thinking about it, you can think out loud.
… Ah… it was… it was after we were married and had our… let’s see now… we had been married for… hm…
[Big sneeze from Bridey.]
Relax. Relax, relax. Relax completely. Now, when you were back… You’ll be very comfortable now. You’ll be very comfortable. Do you feel comfortable now?
Mm-hmm.
That’s good. Now after you awaken, you’ll feel still more comfortable. You’ll feel fine after you awaken. You’ll feel fine after you awaken. You’ll feel fine. Now, when you were in Belfast, when you were in Belfast—
Twenty-five years…
[At first I didn’t realize that she was still answering the same question that I had asked her before she sneezed. The sneeze had thrown me slightly off the track, as I was a little concerned about it—but not nearly so scared as I had been during the fourth session. And I was not the only one who was concerned. Immediately after the sneeze, Rex came forth with a handkerchief; he was making certain that his wife would not this time be forced to wait for a “linen.”
In any event, it was a few moments before I realized
that Bridey had picked up the question just where she had left off before the sneeze.]
Hmm?
You asked me when he wrote.
Oh. You’re still answering that. All right. You say… What was twenty-five years?
We were married. That’s…
You mean you were married about twenty-five years when he started writing for the Belfast
News-Letter?
Yes.
Is that right?
Yes.
All right.
More, maybe more. But ’twas after we were married that long.
All right.
Mm-hm.
Now, when you were in Belfast, when you were in Belfast… did you do your own shopping?… I… did some of it. Did some of it? You see… I… Brian wouldn’t let me do it all. But I did some of it. Uh…
Can you name some of the things you bought and some of the places you bought them at? Some of the things you bought and some of the names of the stores that you traded… where you traded? Some of the names of the stores where you traded?
Uh… uh… I went to Farr’s. [Broadly Irish here.]
To where?
Farr’s.
How do you spell it?
… Uh… F-a-r-r. F-a-r-r.
F… a-r-r?
Um-hm.
What did they sell?
Oh, they sold the foodstuffs.
Food stuff?
Foodstuff,
Do you know what firkin butter is? F-i-r-k-i-n? Firkin butter?
Firkin butter…?
Do you know what it is?
Firkin butter… It’s a spread.
You know what caper sauce is?
Yes.
What’s caper sauce?
It’s a sauce with… It has the small capers in it. … They’re little, tiny black…. They look like a… clove… are capers… And you put them on fish….
I see.
Capers…
Did you ever buy any camisoles?
Um-hmm.
[The whole point of this question was to lead her to mention the denominations of the money she used at that time. Realizing that the currency would be different from ours, we were anxious to see what Bridey would have to say on this topic. But we had decided to approach the matter obliquely. Rather than ask for the currency denominations point-blank, the question was designed so as to ask her about some item she had purchased—and then inquire as to how much money she had paid for that item. Knowing she had purchased camisoles—she had told us this previously—we employed this tack.]
Where did you buy your camisoles?
… Oh… I… ah… hmmm… I went there two times. That’s a—
ladies
thing. You know, that’s a…
Um-hm.
I know… that… place. Oh….
What’s the name of it?
… Hm… I tried…
Your memory will get clearer and clearer, your memory will get clear and sharp, and you’ll be able to tell me….
Oh dear. I know it.
You told us the name was Cadenns House. Is that right?
That’s it! Is that right?
[With wonderment.] How did you know? That’s a ladies’ place, you know.
Yes. But you told me once before.
Cadenns House is it Uh-huh. About how much money did you pay for a camisole?
… Ah… It… it was… tch [clucking tongue against teeth]… Oh, it was… Oh, it was less than… Oh, I don’t… It wasn’t… It was over a pound.
It was over a pound?
Oh… I can’t….
A pound and how much?
You see, we had a… a… an arrangement where Brian, he handled things for them, and it was not the same for anything he got. That’s why he did the shopping…. He had places there where he had to buy the things because he had an arrangement with the proprietors.
I understand.
You know, and I can’t remember…
A pound and about how much?
Hm… tch… hmmm… tch… I’d say…
Just about how much?
Hmm… sixpence. ’Twas over a pound, and I’m not…
About a pound and sixpence?
About… Maybe. I wouldn’t want you to tell them that I said they… that I paid that much, though.
All right. All right, we’ll forget about that. Now, let’s just talk about money in general. What were some of the… What kind of money do you have? Did you have any paper money?
I didn’t have very much. I—
Then what were some of the coins? What were some of the coins named?
Uh… there was a tuppence.
Tuppence?
Tuppence. ‘N’… there was a half… a copper—half… penny. And there was a sixpence, and there was a… a… tch… You know I’m not supposed to know about the money things.
You’re not supposed to know…
Don’t have the money ’n’ the…
Um-hmm.
Because it’s not my place.
I see.
… About the money… there was pounds. But don’t you say that to…
All right. All right, now did you have any favorite hiding places where you would hide… oh, some of your own personal possessions… maybe some money or some letters or anything else? Did you have any favorite hiding place?
Why do you want to know?
[These six short words have to be heard on the tape recorder in order to be fully appreciated. The sly suspicion with which this sentence was charged has never failed to evoke a burst of laughter from every audience who has listened to the recording.]
Well, I would like to know where we can find some written evidence, where we can find some written evidence, some records that will prove that you lived in Ireland.
… Urn… tch…
You don’t have to tell us about a hiding place. But perhaps you can tell us about some written records that would prove that Bridget Murphy MacCarthy lived that life in Ireland. Can you think of anything that would prove that?
… Mmmm… oh, I think you could go to the church or go to the town….
Would the church have some records?
Oh, I’m sure they would.
What kind of records would…?
We had to give a tithing.
Tithing?
We had to be… obligated. I had to sign. And I wanted to do it, but Brian was very certain we must!
Um-hmm,
And then… And do you know that when we had… that when we were married, they had to put it on the church board?
Put it on the church board?
And they would have put there
all
about us… where we were from… how much we… how much money we had… Oh, everything. Everybody in the family that ever got hung. You know.
And that was at St. Theresa’s, was it? St. Theresa’s Church?
Yes. That was in Belfast.
Did you ever go to Communion and Confession?
Oh
no
. ’Twasn’t allowed. You can’t… But Brian did.
He did?
You want to know about that, you’d have to ask Brian about that.
I see.
Um-hmm.
Now, after you awaken, after you awaken, I’m going to ask you to draw a little sketch, a little sketch. I’ll give you a pencil and a paper, and you’ll draw a little sketch. You’ll draw a little sketch showing where the place was that you lived in relation to St. Theresa’s Church—in relation to St. Theresa’s Church. In other words, you can just draw some squares.
[Another sneeze from Bridey.]
Now relax, relax and just go deeper and deeper asleep. Now, after you awaken, you’ll be able to draw us a rough little sketch
showing how your grandmother’s… how Brian’s grandmother’s house was located in regard to St. Theresa’s Church. Can you see that in your mind? Can you see where Brian’s grandmother’s house is?
Uh-huh.
And can you see where St. Theresa’s Church is?
Uh-huh.
And you can see that Brian’s grandmother’s house, as you told us, was on Dooley Road?
Dooley Road.
Uh-huh.
I don’t want to disappoint you. I can’t draw. You won’t have to draw.
You won’t have to draw. You just draw lines, just draw lines to show us how many blocks and so forth. Can you see that?
Uh-huh… Yes… I…
See, just lines like a map to show how many… how many blocks and about where it’s located. You can do that, can’t you?
I will try.
All right. Now, rest and relax. Rest and relax. Can you tell me, can you tell me what your favorite song was? What was your favorite song?
Uh… I liked the… “Londonderry Air.”