Tuesday 5th March 2019

The Nenagh Players

What Happened Brigie Cleary

By Tom McIntyre

In 1895, husband Mikey Cleary burned his wife Bridgie Cleary, to death in their home in County Tipperary. He was jailed for manslaughter along with nine others who were variously convicted for their part in this heinous and sinister crime including her father and six of her cousins.

He claimed his wife was abducted by fairies and replaced with a changeling. The unusual and shocking case was reported worldwide and inspired the local rhyme – ‘Are you a witch or are you a fairy, or are you the wife of Mikey Cleary?’

Set in an anteroom to Heaven, this play reunites Bridgie with her husband and one time family friend and lover William Simpson. These men are left haunted by their love for Bridgie and their role in her terrible death. This dramatic fantasia delves into the dark alliance of superstition, fear and the afterlife. A potent meditation on love, desire and magic.