The Bridget Cleary Case

In the spring of 1895, 26-year-old Bridget Cleary died at the hands of her husband Michael, who insisted she was not his wife but a fairy changeling who had replaced her. The case shocked Victorian society and exposed the persistence of ancient folk beliefs in rural Ireland. It remains one of the most tragic intersections of possession beliefs and fatal violence in modern history.

Bridget Cleary

Bridget Boland married Michael Cleary in 1887. By all accounts, she was an unusual woman for her time and place. She was educated, earning money as a seamstress and selling eggs from her chickens. She dressed well, was independent, and did not defer to her husband as society expected.

The couple lived in a cottage in Ballyvadlea, near the fairy fort of Kylenagranagh—a ringfort that local tradition held was a gateway to the fairy world. The proximity to this supernatural site would become significant.

The Illness

In early March 1895, Bridget fell ill. The nature of her sickness is unclear, but she developed a fever and became delirious at times. A local doctor visited but offered no definitive diagnosis or cure.

Michael Cleary became convinced that his wife had been taken by the fairies and a changeling left in her place. In Irish folklore, fairies abducted healthy young people, particularly those with unusual qualities, leaving behind fairy substitutes or enchanted logs.

The “Cure”

Michael consulted a local herbalist and fairy doctor named Denis Ganey, who provided herbs and instructions for driving out the changeling and reclaiming the real Bridget. What followed was a nightmare.

Over several days, family members participated in attempts to exorcise the fairy influence. Bridget was forced to drink bitter herbal concoctions. She was held over the fire, as fairies were believed to fear iron and heat. She was doused with urine—another supposed fairy repellent.

Throughout the ordeal, Michael demanded that she declare her identity, asking repeatedly whether she was Bridget Cleary in the name of God. When her answers seemed unsatisfactory, the violence continued.

The Murder

On March 15, 1895, the situation reached its fatal conclusion. After another confrontation, Michael Cleary threw his wife to the floor, doused her in lamp oil, and set her on fire. She died from her burns.

Witnesses to the killing included Bridget’s father, aunt, and several cousins—all of whom had participated in the earlier rituals. Michael insisted he had not killed his wife because his wife had been taken by the fairies. The burned creature was merely the changeling.

Michael expected the real Bridget to appear riding a white horse near the fairy fort. He went there nightly to wait for her return.

The Trial

The case came to trial in July 1895. Nine people were charged in connection with Bridget’s death. The prosecution argued straightforward murder; the defense complicated matters by presenting evidence of genuine belief in fairy abduction.

Michael Cleary was convicted of manslaughter rather than murder, the jury apparently swayed by evidence of his sincere beliefs. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Other defendants received shorter sentences for their roles in the assault and wounding.

Legacy

The Bridget Cleary case became international news, with newspapers expressing horror at the persistence of “primitive” beliefs in the modern British Isles. The case fueled debates about Irish fitness for self-governance and the relationship between rural tradition and modern society.

The nursery rhyme “Are you a witch, or are you a fairy, Or are you the wife of Michael Cleary?” emerged from the case, preserving the tragedy in dark folk memory.

Assessment

The Bridget Cleary case represents the fatal consequences of possession beliefs taken to extremes. Michael Cleary genuinely believed his wife had been replaced by a supernatural entity. His attempts to drive out that entity and reclaim his “real” wife led to her death.

The case raises uncomfortable questions about the intersection of mental illness, cultural belief, and violence. Whether Michael Cleary’s beliefs reflected genuine psychosis, cultural conditioning, or some combination remains debated. What is certain is that Bridget Cleary died because of those beliefs—a victim of fairy folklore made fatally real.