My history blog looking at the experiences of Irish Deaf people in Irish schools, workhouses, courts, prisons and other institutions in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Michael Ahearne was an ex-Cabra pupil from Dungarvan. His education in St Joseph's was funded by the local Board of Guardians, but it seems he left school before his education was finished.
Michael became a prolific offender when he returned home and was often up in front of the magistrates at the Dungarvan Petty Sessions, but he seemed well able to challenge the authorities in written English.
On one occasion in January 1900, Michael was charged with public drunkenness, and the policeman that arrested him - Constable Neill - stated in court that Michael had scratched his face and tried to bite others that helped bring him to the station, and as a result he had to be handcuffed on the street. It was stated in evidence that Michael "frothed at the mouth like a mad dog".
But Michael was not taking this lying down. He had the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses - including the prosecuting policmen. He wrote a question to another of the arresting policemen, Sgt. Creedon, asking if it was true that he used his baton on him that night. Creedon replied that he had - when Michael was gripping him "in the most determined fashion", Creedon had struck Michael on the knuckles. Maybe this contributed to Michael's anger - striking with a baton the fingers that he used to sign and write with, so central to the existence of a Deaf person.
Michael was sentenced to three months in prison and was eloquent in his anger at the court; he wrote to them, "Instruct the police in future to hunt the beasts off the roads and not me." Before he was taken from the court, he also wrote: "It is off to the war you should send me". This no doubt referred to the Boer War in South Africa, where Britain was putting down a rebellion of Afrikaner Boer settlers, a conflict that aroused great interest in Ireland. We can see here that despite his being Deaf and a regular 'troublemaker' for the courts, Michael kept up to date with international news.
Michael would continue to be a regular in front of the courts in Dungarvan. In 1944 he died in the Waterford Mental Hospital (now St Otteran's Hospital), having come at some stage before his death from the County Home in Dungarvan.
An interesting case arose in 1910 when an uneducated Deaf labourer in Kerry left a will, which became the subject of a complex court battle.
Cornelius Corcoran died in Sept 1907 in a townland named Laghtacallow, near Keel, Co. Kerry. He was about 74 years old and had not been educated. In 1901 he was living with his brother, Thomas Corcoran, his wife and family. Cornelius' will case reveals that he possessed quite a lot of money - about £3,000 (worth about €268,000) today! How had this poor labourer amassed this fortune? It seems Cornelius "had been always a poor labourer depending on charity" - until a brother of his who had made his fortune in Western Australia died in about 1900, leaving Cornelius and another brother in America a total of £4,000 between them.
But Cornelius did not have free rein over this money. The executors of his brother's will came from Australia to Kerry to meet with Cornelius, buit found that he "was unable to take care of the money".
It's not clear whether this was simply because he was Deaf; it may have been his illiteracy that also contributed. Either way, £2,200 was deposited with a solicitor in Tralee named Joseph Mangan, and from then on, £10 per month was paid out to cover 'maintenance' for Cornelius - possible through his other brother, Thomas, whom he lived with.
But apparently, when Cornelius was near death, Thomas went to the same solicitor in Tralee, and had a will drawn up for Cornelius - leaving everything to himself. This will was challenged in court in 1909 and through 1910 by two people - firstly, John Corcoran, another hearing brother of Cornelius; and Jeremiah Corcoran, a son of the American brother. Jeremiah's challenge to the will was stark: Cornelius "no doubt, assented to the document" but "as a matter of law ... was quite incapable of making a will. A person who was born a deaf mute, and who in addition was illiterate, was supposed by the law to be an idiot, and, therefore, incapable of making a will." This was a successful strategy; the will was thrown out (or 'condemned') "on the ground of want of due execution and want of testamentary capacity".
This story, to me, raises a few questions. Firstly, it seems to us grossly unfair that such a rule could be enough to throw out a will by a Deaf person in the first place. It should be mentioned that this didn't mean that all wills by Deaf people were condemned; the point generally had to be challengd, and if it could be proved that the Deaf person was intelligent, could read and write etc., then it would be executed as normal. It may be that Cornelius was not in this position, being uneducated, and probably completely illiterate - such a challenge could be raised.
But then, earlier on, we see that Cornelius had a will. We don't know enough from the newspaper summaries to say if this will represented his real wishes. It's possible that Thomas took advantage of Cornelius' situation to deliberately manipulate the will and have this considerable sum made out to himself; it's also possible that Thomas, with whom Cornelius lived with at least at one stage, was kind to Cornelius, perhaps managed his money well for him, and Cornelius had a genuine wish to repay him through the will. We just don't know enough. We know that the Australian executors didn't deem Cornelius able to manage his fortune by himself, and again, we don't know enough about this either, and whether it was a fair assessment or whether it arose from prejudice against Deaf people (particularly, poor illiterate Deaf people).
What is interesting is that Cornelius himself seemed, earlier on in his life, to be well capable of bringing a legal case himself. In 1880 the Petty Sessions in Milltown saw a case where Cornelius (described as a 'mute') sued a neighbour, William Cahill. The information about the case is sparse. It seems to have been for wages owed, of £1 5 shillings. A witness - 'Cornelius Corcoran, jun.' - is listed, probably his nephew, who may have interpreted or acted as intermediary for Cornelius, and the magistrates gave a decree for most of the sum - 17 shillings.
Once again, evidence is sparse; more may be out there in some archive, but for the moment it's hard to reach definite conclusions; but it's tempting to conclude that Cornelius knew right from wrong, was able to fight his corner by bringing a neighbour to court, and was possibly treated poorly by those closest to him later in life - deemed unfit to control his own money; manipulated into assenting to a will; and dehumanised by the archaic presumption of incapacity in the courts of the time.
Sources:
1901 Census, Laghtacallow - Census of Ireland 1901 online
Some workhouses at certain times had more than one Deaf inmate. Anne
McEneaney was a Deaf inmate in Carrickmacross workhouse - but she wasn't
the only one.
In 1909 a hearing woman, Bridget Finegan, who was living in Carrickmacross Union workhouse, brought Anne to the local Petty Sessions and accused her of throwing something at her head in the workhouse.
In court, one of the court staff wrote the evidence down for Anne. Anne replied "in a good hand" and cross-questioned Bridget; Anne had her own complaints - being 'interfered with' in the kitchen by Bridget and having milk stolen from her. The workhouse master was then examined; he felt that Anne was 'excitable' - because she was Deaf.
The official Petty Sessions order book states that the charge was proved, but the court felt that "having regard to the mental condition of defendant it is inexpedient to inflict any punishment" and dismissed the charge.
Carrickmacross Petty Sessions Order Book, 1909; source: www.findmypast.ie
Interestingly, Anne was declared by the workhouse master to be "not so bad as the dummy already committed to prison" in that same court recently. Who was the other Deaf person? Annie Eakins, who, the previous month, had been sentenced to three months imprisonment in Armagh gaol for assault and breaking glass in the workhouse. Both women were ex-pupils of St Mary's in Cabra - Anne McEnaney entered in 1881, and Annie Eakins in 1889.
Through
the course of my research, I've come across examples of places in
Ireland where Deaf education took place in the nineteenth century that
most people aren't aware of. Some of these are not necessarily Deaf
schools, but groups or classes within 'mainstream' schools. I've found
these in Tralee, Limerick - and one early example in Cork City. Of
course Cork City had a Deaf day school since 1822, as Graham O'Shea has
described in his excellent research. But it turns out that a school ran by a Cork teacher named Patrick Hennessy accepted Deaf pupils as well, according to newspaper advertisements of the time.
Hennessy's
school was established about 1823, and by 1839 was located in 18
Devonshire St, Cork City. The school delivered “commercial and
mathematical education", and was not specifically for Deaf children, but
by 1834, it was advertising its willingness to take on some deaf
pupils. Hennessy “from time to time, [had] successfully educated some
deaf and dumb Children" and "could accommodate a few Boarders of that
description, who would enjoy in his family domestic care and parental
kindness."
Southern Reporter and Cork Commercial Courier,
30 December 1834, p. 1
It looks like this was similar to the 'parlour
boarder' system that other schools like Claremont had, where well-off
families paid for their deaf children to be educated in the family of
tutors. Certainly, Hennessy's advertising always emphasised that it was
for 'respectable' children. In 1837 Hennessy advertised that he had
"fitted one [deaf pupil] for the profession of a Civil Engineer - on
this point unquestionable references can be given."
Southern Reporter, 28 March 1837, p. 1
Significantly
though, the school did not seem to use sign language; Hennessy's Deaf
pupils were “not allowed to practise signs, mimickry or awkward
gesticulation as in other Schools". This may have been a dig at Patrick Kehoe's Cork
Day School, which was one that used sign language.
Southern Reporter,
25 July 1839, p. 3
Eight years later in
1847 it was still strongly emphasised that Hennessy’s “Mute Scholars are
initiated in a similar Course [as hearing pupils], and that too without
using symbolical or awkward gesticulations as practised in other
Schools."
Cork Examiner, 5 April 1847, p. 2.
Advertising
for the school in Cork newspapers ceased in 1848 as far as I can tell. I
don't yet have any names of Deaf pupils of Hennessy or any documents
about how the school was run - maybe some of you can follow this up!
Happy New Year and hope you all had a lovely Christmas.
I wanted to again say a massive THANK YOU to the Deaf community for being interested in and supporting my PhD thesis. It has been very important to me, from Day 1, that my research was shared with the community - as it is your history far more than mine - and since 2012, when I registered with TCD, I have tried to be open in terms of my process as well as the major findings, through ISL presentations in Dublin, Belfast, and elsewhere, as well as through my webpage and Facebook page.
Without the Deaf community and ISL, I wouldn't have a subject to research. I wouldn't have a career as an interpreter. I wouldn't have met my fiancée (who is an interpreter) either! Again, a massive thank you to Dr John Bosco Conama and Dr Patrick Geoghegan for their wonderful supervision over the years.
Like I said in my earlier update: on 15 Dec I had my Viva interview with Dr Breda Carty and Dr Ciarán O'Neill, and I have to say I really enjoyed it! It wasn't as difficult as I was expecting! I passed with 'minor corrections' which means I now am Dr Cormac Leonard, but I still need to make some small amendments to the thesis before I submit it to Trinity College library in February some time - and after that it becomes public.
So what happens after this? Well, it's possible that I might start writing a few small papers and articles for historical journals and magazines, about some of the aspects of the thesis in more detail. It might have to wait until after my wedding and honeymoon, which will keep me busy until at least September 2023!
A lot of people have been asking me about publishing the thesis as a book. It's a bit too early really to talk about that, but I think if I did publish a book, I would want it to be slightly different than the thesis itself. But it's still a long way off before anything happens there. I realise that even if I publish, that it will still be inaccessible to many Deaf people as it's written in academic English - so I will keep thinking of ways in which I could make it more accessible. I will keep you posted on this.
Just to say that my Facebook page will still be active. I will change the name to "On This Day in Irish Deaf History" and I will continue to put up stories and vlogs from my research. I really have gathered a huge amount over the last 9 years and I do want to keep sharing it with the Irish Deaf community. I really hope it will encourage people to being research themselves and find new stories and new histories.
This morning, I had my PhD thesis Viva with Trinity College Dublin internal examiner Dr Ciarán O'Neill, and external examiner Dr Breda Carty. I passed the viva (with minor corrections) and am now Dr Cormac Leonard (which is nice).
It's wonderful that this took place the day after National ISL Day!
I want to sincerely thank ALL of you for the interest you have shown in my work, from reading my blog posts and watching my videos, to attending my presentations online or onsite. Without the engagement I have received from the Deaf community I don't think I could have (or should have!) undertaken this project at all.
It has been hugely heartening to see the people and experiences I have helped to uncover be of so much interest to people in the Irish Deaf community. Thank you all so much.
My thesis needs some small corrections and will be available from TCD library sometime in February!
A shocking case from 1892 where an uneducated Deaf man killed his own mother.
Catherine Kean (or Keane, or Kane) was an 80 year old widow living in Fostragh, Co. Longford, a small townland near Aughnacliffe and near the Cavan border. She lived with her son John Kean, who seemed to have been uneducated, and never to have attended school.
On 8 June 1892 John attacked his mother with a knife. According to an RIC report, the motive seems to have been that John wanted money to buy clothes but Catherine refused. It seemed unlikely that such a small matter would have led to a homicide; perhaps communication difficulties or mistreatment of John contributed also, but the fact is that we will never know - for reasons which shall become clear.
A
summary description of the death of Catherine Kean by the Royal Irish
Constabulary. Source: Outrage Reports, 1892, National Archives of
Ireland.
John fled from the scene and his mother died 11 days after the attack. John was arrested in Cavan and on 1 July was committed to Sligo Prison until the next Leinster Assizes court hearing in Wicklow.
John Kean in the Sligo Prison records in 1892. Source: www.FindMyPast.ie
Source: Irish Independent, 2 December 1892, p. 6
When the Assizes opened in early December, the presiding judge drew the jury's attention to an important fact He described John Kean as "wholly illiterate ... unable to speak in any of those various modes by which modern science has shown that knowledge can be conveyed to an unfortunate person in his condition." This patronising tone and reference to 'speech' is misleading; the judge was referring to the fact that John could not hear, speak, read, write or - apparently - sign, all of which methods could be used in court to answer an indictment and put in a plea. John needed to be able to understand the evidence against him - without this, the trial could not continue.
Because this was in doubt, a separate jury had to be sworn to determine if John was "sufficiently sane to understand the nature of the charge against him, and the pleadings connected with the charge". This was not a straightforward examination of 'sanity' in the sense of mental health, but an examination of whether John could understand the charges, the evidence, and the proceedings.
Source: Irish Times, 10 December 1892
John's brother Bernard was called as a witness and said that John "did not understand the deaf and dumb alphabet" and "was never at school", but he could "communicate with him so as to make him understand what he wanted him to do in the way of work".
It seemed Bernard was not confident enough to be able to interpret the court proceedings for John, nor was this course of action even suggested. The Sligo prison medical officer also suggested that John was "of weak intellect and incapable of understanding the character of the crime with which he was charged".
Overall, the jury found that John was incapable of pleading - either guilty or not guilty. It was impossible to find out from John what had happened, why, whether he admitted to killing his mother or not.
As was the case at the time for so-called 'criminal lunatics', John was committed to a lunatic asylum - the Dundrum Criminal Lunatic Asylum. (This was since renamed the Dundrum Central Mental Hospital, and was recently closed down a few months ago.)
A drawing of the Dundrum Criminal Lunatic Asylum. Source: https://www.crimeinmind.co.uk/ctshowcase-team-member/1845-dundrum-hospital/
John is mentioned in the state Report on asylums in 1893, and was still in Dundrum in 1901 and is recorded in the Census of Ireland.
An anonymised mention of John Kean in the 42nd Report of Inspectors of Lunatics (Ireland) in 1893.
John Kean in the 1901 Census of Ireland, in the Dundrum Criminal Lunatic Asylum. (Line 70)
Between 1901 and 1911 he was transferred to the lunatic asylum in Mullingar nearer to his family:
John
Kean in the 1911 Census of Ireland - Mullingar Lunatic Asylum. (Line
826) Please note - John was never married - the description of 'widower'
is inaccurate.
He died in 1915:
John's death certificate, 1915. Source: https://civilrecords.irishgenealogy.ie/churchrecords/images/deaths_returns/deaths_1915/05272/4463466.pdf
One wonders how different his trial would have been had John been sent to a Deaf school, giving him language and literacy to communicate; maybe the crime would never be committed at all.
Warning: this post may be upsetting to read for some people.
John
Creaney and Mary Ellen (or just Ellen) Connell were a Belfast Deaf
couple who had married in 1901. Both had attended the Cabra schools.
Ellen was originally from Co. Cavan, and in 1901, lived on Brougham St;
she worked as a smoother in a laundry.
Census of Ireland 1901: Brougham St, Belfast. Source: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Antrim/Duncairn_Ward/Brougham_Street/957010/
John
worked as a tailor, and in 1901 lived in an interesting household on
Lisbon St. The head of the house was Sarah Jane Park Ervine, mother of
future Belfast playwright John Greer Ervine. John Creaney was one of
four Deaf boarders with the Ervines at Lisbon St, and the house
contained Deaf members of the Church of Ireland, Catholics and a
Presbyterian. Kate McGoldrick, a Deaf Catholic woman also boarding with
the Ervines in 1901, was a witness at their 1901 wedding. (John had
been married twice before, but his previous wives had passed away.)
Census of Ireland 1901: Lisbon St, Belfast. Source:http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1901/Down/Pottinger/Lisbon_Street/1214931/
When
they married they ended up living at 12 Well Street, and in October of
1902 Ellen gave birth to a daughter, Honoria, born in their home. But
tragedy struck when Honoria was six weeks old - the child died, and an
inquest was held to find out what had happened.
1902 civil birth and death records for Honoria Creany. Source: www.irishgenealogy.ie
The
inquest used the services of an interpreter named J. Stewart. Stewart
would have used Northern Irish variant of BSL, but John and Ellen may
have been familiar with BSL from living with Protestant boarders and
socialising in the Belfast Deaf community. (John and Ellen were listed
since at least 1914 as Catholic "Members and Adherents of the Mission
Hall" in Belfast for Deaf adults, the members being mostly Church of
Ireland and Presbyterian, but a substantial minority of Catholics.) Also
present was the Superintendent of the Belfast Deaf Mission - Francis
Maginn. He may have present as an emotional support to the Creaneys in
this most distressing time, or even acted as a Deaf interpreter, working
between Stewart's BSL to Irish Sign Language
Source:
Irish News and Belfast Morning News, 3 December 1902, p. 6. Note that
Honoria's name is misspelled in the report as 'Ferona'.
Ellen
was called upon to give evidence; after this, it was decided that the
child had died "due to suffocation ... the result of being overlain". It
is not clear from the very short articles in the press exactly how this
happened but it seems it was purely accidental.
The
couple remained involved in the wider Belfast Deaf community and the
Mission Hall. In 1911 they were living at Woodstock St, Belfast, with
their second child, son Conner. Connor would grow up to become an
important interpreter in Northern Ireland.
Source: Mission Hall for the Adult Deaf and Dumb Report, 1924.
Census of Ireland 1911: Woodstock St, Belfast. Source: http://www.census.nationalarchives.ie/pages/1911/Down/Pottinger__part_of_/Woodstock_Street/219655/
An
example of the interpreting work of Conor John Creaney, son of John and
Ellen. Source: Belfast Telegraph 16 January 1961, p. 12.
The workhouse building in Carrickmacross where Anna Eakins spent
several years. Source:
https://brenspeedie.blogspot.com/2013/08/from-land-wars-to-civil-war-brief.html
In 1913 in Carrickmacross Workhouse, disagreements between some female inmates led to the Board of Guardians seeking to bring one of them to court - as it happened, a Deaf inmate: Anna Eakins.
Source: Petty Sessions Order Books, Carrickmacross Petty Sessions, 1913. www.findmypast.ie
Ellen McCaul (hearing) accused Anna Eakins (Deaf) of assault - threatening her with a sweeping brush, and later, throwing a chamber pot's contents over her. Another hearing woman named Meegan made similar complaints. But there was another side to the story, and we get a glimpse of it
through a long letter that Anna wrote for the court which was read out.
Source: Dundalk Democrat, 29 November 1913, p. 14
Anna complained that McCaul and Meegan called her names and mocked her, but it was from jealousy that Anna had a good relationship with the workhouse Master and the nuns that worked in the workhouse hospital, and was given manageable work by them. In particular, Anna was scathing about McCaul; she apparently was in the habit of bringing scraps of food into the workhouse (including rotten fish) and hiding them under her mattress, causing a horrible smell in the dormitory where they all slept, which was "so evil-smelling that the rats and crows coming into the yard could not bear to go near them". Anna was afraid to go to prison, and stated that "jail is an awful place"; when she had been there before she "had no bed or no sleep, awful what they would give you to eat". Nevertheless she was resigned to her fate: "Send me to jail for a fortnight, that is enough, or forgive me."
Source: Dundalk Democrat, 29 November 1913, p. 14
The case was adjourned for three months and Anna was warned to be on good behaviour.
Two
short advertisements in national newspapers from Deaf people seeking
employment.
In the 1885 advertisement, a local clergyman advertises to
see if anyone has a job for a Deaf woman (who had been to the Claremont
school for Protestant Deaf children): "A CLERGYMAN desires a situation for a deaf mute as parlour maid. She thoroughly understands her duties, and is remarkably intelligent. Trained at Claremont Institution. Apply to Rector, Castlebellingham."
In the 1922 ad, a Deaf man seeks a
job as a coatmaker and describes himself as "first class" at this work: "TAILORING — Young Man, deaf mute, seeks situatlon: first class coatmaker. Box: 3300."
Sources: Irish Ecclesiastical Gazette, 28 November 1885; Irish Independent, 28 November 1922.
Deaf people in Ireland did not only receive charity - they contributed to it.
Painting
is called "Heinrich XVII, Prince Reuß, on the side of the 5th Squadron I
Guards Dragoon Regiment at Mars-la-Tour, 16 August 1870" by Emil
Hünten, 1902. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mars-la-Tour
In 1870, Prussia and France went to war. The Franco-Prussian war was one of the moves towards a unified German Empire. But the world was shocked at some of the cruel behaviour of the Prussian troops in France. Collections were made around Ireland to assist the injured French troops.
Source: Wexford People 24 September 1870, p. 7
Among those who contributed in Wexford - two Deaf men, William Hendrick and Nicholas Brien. They each contributed 1 shilling 6 pence.
William had entered the Prospect School in Glasnevin in 1854. Nicholas entered St Joseph's in 1864.
The old Lisnaskea Workhouse, Co. Fermanagh. It is now mostly derelict and surrounded by the Lakeview housing estate.
Lisnaskea workhouse - old entrance block
Not many deaf children were sent to Cabra from Lisnaskea Union - just four before 1914:
Catherine Clarke (1895)
Owen McCaffrey (1910)
Rose A. Cosgrave (1911) - all paid for by the Lisnaskea Board of Guardians
Ellen Murphy, sent by her family in 1899.
This may be because the Lisnaskea guardians may have been reluctant to pay for their local poor deaf children to educated. In 1905, a local Protestant churchman applied for the Lisnaskea Guardians to send young Henry Delmore to the Ulster Institution for the Deaf and Blind.
But one Guardian - named Plunkett - disagreed. He said that the Church should cover the costs, not the Union (although hundreds of deaf children had been sent and paid for by Poor Law Unions in the preceding decades). The Board finally agreed to pay just £5 a year for Henry's fees, and for a limited time.
A few years previously in 1899 Plunkett had raised a similar objection to another deaf child and again suggested the clergyman should pay.
Sources: Freemans Journal, 1 March 1899, p. 8; Fermanagh Herald, 5 August 1905, p. 8. More information on Lisnaskea Workhouse: https://workhouses.org.uk/Lisnaskea/
Old Lisnaskea workhouse, old entrance block
Old Lisnaskea workhouse, side of old accommodation block
Old Lisnaskea workhouse, rear - old accommodation block
Old Lisnaskea workhouse, rear - old accommodation block
Old Lisnaskea workhouse, rear of old entrance block
Old Lisnaskea workhouse, between entrance and accommodation blocks
![IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL GAZETTE. [SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1885, p. 990] A CLERGYMAN desires a situation for a deaf mute as parlour maid. She thoroughly understands her duties, and is remarkably intelligent. Trained at Claremont Institution. Apply to Rector, Castlebellingham.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZo4BudnG5Z-RPreATfhObUY_lYmajrHPJfF62B6Pu8EthRPVVanJMXDthqKkIl87NnmIMqgPkpAjbOvc7sSKCaksqiZXGsw17cXnQYDVGlzKwqDV5_g0v2OGPAOE2cUgZa9ZPpJkg1XKo97DBGTFb-WOp_3J52rnqq5nEf9PuCEF-CbFshPOgnYvG9A/s1195/1.png)
