Bressie’s pain over burial of 1,300 people in unmarked graves
ROCKER SUPPORTS FAMILIES OF ‘ASYLUM’ PATIENTS
IRISH musician Bressie has rowed in on a campaign to remember the lives of over 1,300 people buried in unmarked graves in the overgrown grounds of a former ‘mental asylum.’
Relatives of the deceased are intent on giving dignity to those who were interred in St Loman’s Hospital in Mullingar, Co Westmeath. Those who died were buried with just a number on a simple metal cross, which have all been removed.
Now the graves lie unmarked in an overgrown area, many of them deliberately forgotten by families ‘ashamed’ to admit to having a relative in a psychiatric hospital.
Blizzards rocker Bressie, real name Niall Breslin, is lending his support to those families who want the HSE to install a memorial to properly acknowledge those who lie on the site.
Among those are psychotherapist and musician Kathy Crinion and her cousin
Julianne Clarke who founded the ‘Friends of Julia’ website to encourage other families to reach out.
Burials took place at the facility between 1907 and 1970 and crosses were removed due to decay over the years, with the last 300 crosses taken down in about 2011.
Affair
The great-great-grandmother of Kathy, Julia Leonard (nee Caffrey), was institutionalised into the hospital for, what the family say, throwing scalding water on her husband after accusing him of having an affair.
Kathy, who is writing a book on Julia’s life, said: “According to our family’s research, Julia was 32 years old and a mum-of-five when she was placed in the care of the hospital, pregnant on her sixth child.
“She had a row with her husband and accused him of having an affair, that’s what we believe, as been handed down through the family.”
Kathy said sadly Julia was “carted off ” to St Loman’s mental asylum and her children, aged between 18 months and nine years of age, were sent to the workhouse in Trim.
She added: “Her husband, we discovered, went to Dublin and had six more children with another woman.
“Julia gave birth to a little boy in the hospital and he was taken away at three months and also sent to the workhouse in Mullingar.”
Kathy found out that Julia (54), who never saw her children again, died of heart failure and was buried at the hospital grounds with a metal cross and a number — 339 — to denote who she was.
She said crosses at the sites were later taken down over the years and never replaced due to, the HSE say, vandalism concerns, as well as maintenance issues.
She explained: “These poor souls, many of whom had no mental health issues when placed in the institution, led a tragic life only to be left in unmarked and overgrown graves, without any dignity or respect. They were people. They were human beings.
“The graves weren’t even grid marked to take note of where the crosses were so we have no way of knowing the exact location of each grave.”
She said that there is still “stigma attached” to having someone in a psychiatric hospital but added: “I’m not ashamed of Julia and neither is our family and that’s why we have placed a small headstone up on her grave.”
Group
Their group are in talks with the HSE to get the graveyard reinstated with a memorial for each person buried.
She praised Bressie for his support, saying: “Niall Breslin, or Bressie, has got behind us and his media presence is a great boost to the campaign along with his passion for the project.”
In a recent Instagram post, mullingar native Bressie said St Loman’s “always interested” him and he hope the campaign will help “pay respects to those who were buried there.”
A meeting will take place tomorrow in the Annebrook Hotel in Mullingar at 3pm or see friendsofjulia.ie. The HSE has been contacted for comment.