- 20 minutes ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:01Boy George is a pop star, DJ and fashion designer
00:04who hit the headlines in the 1980s with his band Culture Club.
00:09I would describe myself as the kind of pink sheep of the family.
00:12I definitely, growing up, had a real sense of being different,
00:15of not really having a place.
00:18That's good.
00:19Not only within my family, but just in the world.
00:22I've got four brothers and one sister.
00:25We used to fight a lot, a lot of name-calling.
00:27Everybody had a name for each other, file names.
00:30Obviously, mine was Puff.
00:34George grew up in South London,
00:36but was always aware of his family's Irish roots.
00:39I think I was raised with very Irish sensibilities.
00:42My mother was born in Dublin.
00:44My dad, Jeremiah, has passed away.
00:46He was born in England, but his family are from Ireland.
00:51Growing up in the 70s, being Irish,
00:53you were really aware of, you know, the IRA bombings
00:55and innocent people were being killed,
00:57and they were such big news.
01:00You'd be made aware of the fact that your family were Irish.
01:03Are you OK to turn the music on?
01:05I don't care.
01:05I hate music.
01:10Over the years, George's often turbulent life
01:13has been headline news,
01:15but dealing with his demons has brought him closer to his family.
01:20When I got sober, I remember kind of calling up my mum
01:24and kind of crying and just wanting to apologise,
01:27and my mum said,
01:28don't want to apologise.
01:30I've been doing a really bad out of Shanks on that.
01:31Just stay clean.
01:36Today, George is a practising Buddhist.
01:42I'm doing this for my mum.
01:43I'm doing it for me as well,
01:44but I'm doing it essentially for my mum
01:46because my mum recently started to explore her family history
01:53and started to find out fragments about my grandmother, her mother.
01:58My grandmother was found wandering
01:59when she was a very young child in the streets of Ireland
02:01and she was put in a children's home.
02:03Other than that, it's just kind of fragments, really.
02:10There's one other family connection to Ireland
02:12that has always intrigued George.
02:15When we were growing up,
02:17we used to think that one of our relatives was Kevin Barry,
02:19who was a very famous Irish freedom fighter,
02:22but it turns out one of my mother's cousins
02:24was hung with him in Mount George Jail.
02:26There's a very famous song called Kevin Barry,
02:28which we used to play when we were kids,
02:30so we know that there's a connection there.
02:32But that's all we know.
02:35I think there'll be a lot of sadness,
02:38a lot of mascara running.
02:42Even though I'm not wearing any makeup.
02:43I don't know.
02:44I don't know.
02:45I don't know.
02:45I don't know.
02:46I don't know.
02:48I don't know.
02:49I don't know.
02:50I don't know.
02:50I don't know.
02:56I don't know.
02:57I don't know.
02:58I don't know.
02:58I don't know.
02:59I don't know.
03:00I don't know.
03:01I don't know.
03:17George is on his way to south-east London to visit his mother, Dinah.
03:22My mum is so Irish.
03:24And I think very, you know, very proud of her Irish roots.
03:30I want to ask her some questions about her mum, because I was very close to my grandmother.
03:35But then when my grandmother was dying, I was a teenager and I was a little bit kind of full
03:40of my own self-reportance.
03:42But I kind of regret that now, you know, because I always think back and think about how much of
03:46a big part of my life she was when I was a kid.
03:50And, you know, I would have loved my grandmother to see me get famous.
03:54I think that would have been so amazing for her. She would have been so proud.
04:10Oh, so nice not to know dogs yapping.
04:13Hello, mum. Hi, mum. How are you? Thank you.
04:15Gorgeous. How's your face?
04:17Good thing. Gorgeous, yeah. Great.
04:19Shut it off.
04:21I'll make a cup of tea, mum.
04:23Oh, look, an Irish cup. I found an Irish cup. Very poignant.
04:28You go and sit and I'll come in.
04:29OK.
04:32How many cups of tea have been made over the years? You have the nun cup.
04:35Oh, thank you.
04:38So, obviously, recently, you know, you've been talking a lot about tracing your family history.
04:44Yeah.
04:44And that's really got me interested in exploring a lot more of, you know, where I come from.
04:50Well, you definitely are Gerry's son. Don't worry about that.
04:55Who's Gerry? You mean Dad?
04:56Your dad, yeah.
04:58This is a picture taken of you and me.
05:01That's amazing.
05:02I remember seeing that picture years ago. I look like, you know, those Victorian dolls.
05:06Lovely.
05:06I mean, I'm huge.
05:09You look gorgeous there, by the way.
05:10You were ten months old.
05:11You look like me in drag.
05:13You were ten months old, eh?
05:17What's this, mum?
05:18This was taken in the front row.
05:20Which one's me?
05:21Look at how sweet you are.
05:22Look at Nan. Nan looks very serious.
05:24She looks, yeah, she does, actually.
05:26She was quite scary sometimes, Nan.
05:28Maybe she's, like...
05:29Well...
05:29If you cheeked her, she used to hide with a wet flannel and slap you in the face when you
05:32weren't looking.
05:33She had some quite, like, crafty little tactics.
05:35Yeah, you have to remember, like, where she was brought up, like, you know, I mean, very strict.
05:39Your mum never talked about her childhood.
05:41No, she never did.
05:42Never spoke about it.
05:44And lots of times I asked her and she just, you know,
05:48I've nothing to say.
05:50But I've always wondered why she couldn't talk about it.
05:54And it's funny for me because, obviously, when I was a kid, I was very close to Nanny Glynn and
05:59I spent a lot of time with her.
06:01Well, I remember when she came here and she must have gone upstairs and you were singing, because you were
06:07always singing.
06:08And she came down and she said to me, if you'd better nurture that child.
06:12And I went, what do you mean?
06:14She went, you nurture him.
06:16She says, he's got a beautiful voice.
06:18And I went, oh, OK, Mum.
06:20But, you know, I didn't know what to do.
06:23Yeah, no, it's interesting because, obviously, you know, I have kind of quite strong memories of Nanny Glynn.
06:29So I really want to find out more stuff.
06:31Yeah, well, this is one of the things that I found.
06:34Oh, look at that.
06:36Order of Detention, Satisfied Industrial School.
06:38Whereas Bridget Margaret Kinahan, that's Nanny Glynn, who appears to the court to be a child under the age of
06:4514 years, having been born, so far has been ascertained on the 9th of January, 1913.
06:51Wow.
06:52Who resides at 39 Upper Gloucester Street in the county borough of Dublin, has been found on the 15th day
06:58of December, 1919, at North Cumberland Street, wandering and not having any visible means of subsistence.
07:08So she was six years old, wandering the streets.
07:12That's amazing.
07:13I mean, that must have been really upsetting for you to...
07:14For me, I cried.
07:16I couldn't sleep for two nights because I wondered whether she had shoes on her feet, whether she had a
07:23coat.
07:23You don't know how she got to be wandering the streets.
07:26No, no.
07:26It's so shocking.
07:28When you see something like this, I mean, this is...
07:31That's your grandmother.
07:32Yeah, it's your family.
07:34And it's very cold.
07:35Yeah.
07:36You know, you look at it and, you know, you're talking about a six-year-old child, but it's just
07:40very matter-of-fact, you know.
07:42Do you know what was going on with your mother's parents when...
07:45No.
07:46You don't know anything?
07:46I have no idea.
07:48Wow.
07:49It is hereby order that the said child should be sent to the Golden Bridge Convent Certified Industrial School at
07:56Dublin.
07:57I don't know who told me, but I remember being told that when your mum was in this place, they
08:03did terrible things.
08:04Like, if she wet the bed, they'd make her wear the sheet.
08:06Oh, yeah.
08:06That was, yeah.
08:08That was one of the things she did tell us, yeah.
08:10Sounds like a really hideous, I'm sorry, that's so sad.
08:13That really breaks my heart because these people were supposed to be nuns.
08:17I mean, these are people that are supposed to be godly people.
08:20So I think it's actually more inexcusable when you hear things like that.
08:23I still ponder, I want to know more about my mum.
08:28And I'm going to do my best to find out everything I can about your mum.
08:32I hope it's not too sad.
08:35Hmm.
08:39George has come to Ireland to try and discover more about his grandmother Bridget's early life.
08:45I'm in Dublin, as my mum would say, the old country.
08:51But I'm really interested to know what this was like.
08:53A hundred years ago, from my grandmother when she was a little kid, you know, six years old,
08:58wandering around the streets of the city.
09:01I would love to know more about why she ended up at an industrial school.
09:07Hello.
09:08George has come to North Cumberland Street, where his grandmother Bridget was found wandering,
09:13to meet historian Katrina Crowe.
09:15Good.
09:16And what a great pleasure to meet you.
09:17Nice to meet you too.
09:18Walk down with me here.
09:19Yeah.
09:19And I'll show you where Bridget's home would have been.
09:23So, number 39, Gloucester Street, would have been just about ten houses down on this side.
09:29She would have been very close to the market here on Cumberland Street, where she was picked up.
09:34Wow.
09:35So, she was found wandering the streets, but she was actually outside her house.
09:39She's actually outside her house.
09:41Such a kind of shocking revelation.
09:44It's insane.
09:45Yeah.
09:46So, why was she taken away?
09:47Because it was a common thing at the time for the NSPCC and the police to give us a reason
09:53for taking a child into care that they were wandering without a guardian.
09:59At the time, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, or NSPCC, saw it as its mission
10:07to rescue vulnerable children from the streets.
10:11But its inspectors were criticised for being overzealous in removing children like Bridget from poor families like the Kinnerhans.
10:21The NSPCC didn't understand that taking children away from their families is a really serious and crucial thing to do.
10:27So, she was kind of nabbed like a stray dog.
10:28Well, can I tell you what the inspectors from the NSPCC were called in this area?
10:33The cruelty men.
10:34Wow.
10:35The cruelty men.
10:36Because they came and took children away from their families.
10:39And they were dreaded and feared by everybody.
10:41My mum is going to be so shocked to hear that.
10:45Does she not know?
10:46She doesn't know that part of the story.
10:48She knows as much as I did that my grandmother, when she was six, was found, you know, wandering the
10:53streets.
10:54I mean, that's what it says on this document, that she was found wandering, which is obviously a lie.
10:57Yes.
10:58Which is really shocking.
11:00No, I mean, if she was wandering, she would have been a good bit away from her home.
11:02She's literally outside the door.
11:04Yeah.
11:05So, it was very unfair and very hard on her parents and on her siblings who must have missed her,
11:11you know.
11:17Katrina is bringing George to the Tenement Museum at 14 Henrietta Street to show him the living conditions for poor
11:25families in the city at the time his grandmother, Bridget,
11:28George was picked up.
11:31Okay, let's come on in here.
11:33There we go.
11:35Wow.
11:41Now, this part of the room is set up as it might have been for a tenement dwelling in around
11:481911, 1912, up to the mid-20s.
11:51So, it's bang on the button for your family's period in Gloucester Street.
11:56I mean, how many people would have been in here?
11:58There could have been eight.
11:59Wow.
12:01We have a straw mattress.
12:03So, people would have slept on top of each other, under the bed.
12:05Head to toe, very often.
12:06If you can imagine what it was like to live here.
12:09I mean, people washed in here.
12:11They cleaned their clothes in here.
12:13Yeah.
12:13These were the conditions for 20,000 families, including yours.
12:18Yeah.
12:19Back at the turn of the last century.
12:21So, you can see why it would be very agreeable for children to go out of doors.
12:26Children everywhere in the city were out in the streets.
12:29They're very visible in photographs.
12:30And we could look at some of those photographs now and let you see what life was like on the
12:35streets.
12:36And this gives you an idea of the numbers of people who lived in these houses.
12:39At this point, Dublin had the worst slums in Europe.
12:44I think this may be the contents of two of the houses on the street.
12:49Bridget would have understood this kind of scenario very easily.
12:53I mean, she would have been about that big, the one in the white dress.
12:56She would, exactly.
12:57And mortality rate's incredibly high.
13:00I think when you look at that, and then you kind of look back at that, it gives it a
13:04whole new kind of gravitas.
13:06I'm just imagining how I would survive in a situation like that.
13:10How do you think you would?
13:11Oh, I don't know.
13:12But, you know, you just think if you were a child with a lot of spirit or you had any
13:16kind of individuality, I mean, it would have been a nightmare.
13:19Yeah.
13:21Now, here are a bunch of little kids.
13:24Three of them barefoot.
13:26One, a little boy who's dressed as a girl because they would close them.
13:30That would have been me.
13:31That would have been you.
13:32That's an early George.
13:34And fab boots, look.
13:36And it was tough.
13:37And a lot of them didn't make it to their 10th birthdays.
13:41So my grandmother would have been kind of removed from a situation like this, really.
13:46She would.
13:47That's a point to remember.
13:48Or was it better?
13:55This is my grandmother Bridget's birth certificate.
14:00The 9th of January, 1913.
14:03And I recognise that date because I have a document that states that my grandmother was born on that day.
14:10John Kinahan, that was the father, right?
14:12That's right.
14:13What does that say?
14:14Kate Kinahan.
14:15And that's his occupation.
14:16Labourer.
14:17He was a labourer.
14:18Well, we carried that tradition on.
14:20We're moving on now to another document, George.
14:22This is the indoor relief register from the North Dublin Union workhouse.
14:28You know what a workhouse is?
14:29I do.
14:29The place where people went when they had nowhere else to go.
14:32It wasn't the Holiday Inn.
14:33It was not the Holiday Inn.
14:35No.
14:35Well said.
14:36John Kinahan, 39, Upper Glossary Street.
14:40He's 36.
14:42Yes.
14:43He goes in on...
14:44November 22nd, 1915.
14:471915.
14:47Hospital treatment.
14:49So he's in for his health.
14:51And go across to the end then.
14:54When does he leave?
14:55He's number eight.
14:5630 December, 1915.
14:59So he's in there for three weeks.
15:02He's using the workhouse intelligently as a place to get healthcare.
15:05Doctors were expensive and we didn't have a free health service or anything like it.
15:09So the thing we know from this now is that in 1915, John has poor health.
15:14So was he around when my grandmother was taken away?
15:20Well, the next documents we're going to look at will answer that question.
15:24And first of all, there's her mother, Catherine, or Kate.
15:28And this is the death certificate.
15:301922.
15:321922.
15:32Yeah.
15:33So that's three years after Bridget was taken in.
15:38She died.
15:39She died.
15:40Yeah.
15:41She lost her mother.
15:4545.
15:46Young.
15:47Very young.
15:49Pneumonia.
15:50Which was a disease of the poor.
15:53And what about John?
15:56Here's John.
15:58Again, check the date.
16:00So she dies in 1922.
16:031926.
16:0426.
16:04He's 41.
16:05Yeah.
16:06Heart failure.
16:07But also up here, malignant disease.
16:10Disease of the esophagus.
16:11That's right.
16:11It sounds like he had cancer.
16:13Yes.
16:14So young.
16:15So she's taken away and they both die.
16:19They both die pretty soon.
16:20Pretty soon afterwards.
16:26So they died.
16:26That still doesn't answer the question of where they were.
16:30What was...
16:31Hold on.
16:31Does it answer the question?
16:32Sorry, am I being completely dim here?
16:33No, you're not.
16:34No.
16:34We don't know.
16:36But what I can tell you...
16:37So we don't know where they were when she was taken,
16:38but we know that...
16:39We know that they were in ill health.
16:41That he was in particular in ill health.
16:43As far back as 1915.
16:46Maybe the family decided because their health,
16:49was bad and because conditions were poor,
16:51that she might be better off in an industrial school
16:54rather than staying...
16:55We don't know that.
16:56We don't know that.
16:57And the other question is,
16:59these lovely people,
17:01did they make these kids' lives better?
17:03Yeah.
17:03At putting them in an industrial school?
17:05And that is the big question.
17:07I don't think it is a question.
17:08I don't think things were better.
17:11You know, I think that however bad things are,
17:14when you're with people that love you,
17:16even the worst conditions can be bearable.
17:19You know, I think that...
17:21You're always better off with your family.
17:23It is very sad.
17:24Very sad.
17:25Yeah.
17:31I think it's important for us as a family
17:33to know the circumstances of Bridget's parents.
17:36The fact that they were ill.
17:38And they were really poor,
17:39as most people were.
17:40So it does kind of give you some solace.
17:46But it is a kind of irony, you know,
17:49the NSPCC, their job was to protect children.
17:54It's just...
17:55You know, that's what makes me really angry.
18:06George is on his way to the site
18:07of Golden Bridge Industrial School,
18:09where his grandmother Bridget was sent in 1919.
18:14I found my mum.
18:16She was very, very upset.
18:18She cried.
18:19And then I rang her again
18:21and sort of tried to explain
18:23the circumstances of her grandparents,
18:27what was going on for them.
18:30And I think that made her feel a little bit better.
18:35I have my own ideas about what went on at Golden Bridge.
18:38So I feel it's going to be quite an emotional experience
18:43to be in that space.
18:55Hello.
18:56George is meeting historian,
18:58Lindsay Erna Byrne.
19:00Hello.
19:01You're Lindsay, yeah?
19:02Yeah, Lindsay.
19:02Very nice to meet you.
19:03Hi, nice to meet you.
19:04This is it?
19:04This is it, yeah.
19:05But it was bigger than this, though, obviously.
19:07Yeah, it was actually a huge estate
19:09that this is all being built on.
19:10There was a farm, a dairy secondary school
19:12and a laundry and also this chapel here.
19:15It was the original chapel,
19:16which the children would have also worshipped in
19:18with the nuns.
19:19And the industrial school
19:20was actually situated behind this building
19:23and nothing of that remains.
19:24Should we go in?
19:25Yeah, let's go.
19:26Okay, come on.
19:30So here we are in this defrocked chapel
19:34at the Golden Bridge Convent.
19:36So my grandmother, Bridget, may have...
19:39More than likely did worship in here
19:40with the nuns, that's right, yeah, yeah.
19:42I suppose what I'm interested in
19:43is what would life have been like
19:45for my grandmother here?
19:47Well, maybe to give you an idea
19:49about what life was like,
19:50we'll start with one of the few visual images
19:52we have of children in the industrial school.
19:55So that's actually the girls' lace making
19:58in this image.
19:59So the industrial schools were created
20:01in the 1860s with the specific purpose
20:04of taking in vulnerable or abandoned children
20:07and giving them a training
20:08to make them, as they would have said at the time,
20:10useful citizens.
20:12It doesn't look like a happy place.
20:14I can only imagine how grim it must have been
20:17for a six-year-old kid
20:18to be put into a situation like this.
20:20I can't even begin to imagine.
20:22In a sense, the aim was very noble.
20:24The aim was to give particularly girls
20:26access to free education.
20:28They would be educated partially,
20:29reading and writing,
20:30but they would be trained,
20:30there was laundry,
20:32sewing,
20:33some manual work,
20:34domestic service.
20:35Most Irish women made their living
20:37as domestic servants
20:38until the 1950s.
20:39So an awful lot of girls
20:40in industrial schools
20:41were being trained to fill a market
20:42for middle-class ladies
20:43from when they came out.
20:44You're making it sound very gracious.
20:46I know.
20:46The information that I do know,
20:48I mean,
20:48if they wet the bed, for example,
20:50they were made to wear the sheet
20:51around the neck
20:52and to walk around with it.
20:54It just sounds like
20:55such a grim place.
20:57And that story reoccurs
20:58quite a lot in witness testimony
20:59for the period
21:00that your grandmother was there,
21:01so from the 1920s
21:03to the 1930s particularly.
21:05In fact,
21:05this is a witness statement
21:06that is reproduced
21:08in the Ryan Report,
21:09which was a report done
21:11into the industrial school system.
21:13And this is one account.
21:15If you wet the bed,
21:16Sister X would make you
21:17stand out of the bed
21:17with a sheet over your head.
21:19If you fell asleep,
21:20she'd come out with a stick.
21:21She'd hit you on the back
21:22and then you'd be so sore
21:23you couldn't sleep.
21:25Yeah, this kind of
21:26fits in with
21:27some of the stories.
21:28Yeah.
21:28So we have a lot of
21:29anecdotal evidence
21:30to support that.
21:30So you wake up to that.
21:32How does the day
21:33get any better?
21:34Yeah.
21:35I suppose what I really
21:36want to know is
21:37do you have anything
21:37that really relates
21:39to my own grandmother
21:40being here?
21:41The one document
21:42that all the children
21:43in the industrial school
21:44generated
21:45was the entry.
21:46And every child
21:47who came in
21:48since 1880
21:50got a page.
21:51And this one
21:51is your grandmother's.
21:52Bridget Margaret Kinahan.
21:56Six and 11 months.
21:58Date of admission
21:5923rd of the 12th of 1919.
22:01Mm-hmm.
22:02What is she charged
22:03with?
22:03Wandering.
22:04Oh, my God.
22:06If that was a crime,
22:07I'd have been put away
22:08years ago.
22:09This is interesting here,
22:10the reports of conduct
22:12and character.
22:13Intelligent,
22:14anxious,
22:15and amiable,
22:17gentle and kind,
22:19ambitious
22:19and painstaking.
22:21Do you think that
22:22reflected the woman
22:22you knew?
22:23So much.
22:24Really?
22:24Yeah.
22:26Useful,
22:27very good child,
22:28very bright.
22:29It's focused on
22:29her character.
22:30But it also feels like
22:33she kind of accepted it.
22:35Yeah.
22:35She's anxious initially,
22:36but by this stage
22:37she's kind and willing.
22:39But I think that
22:39when you think about
22:41a normal child's
22:42life,
22:43how rich
22:44it would be.
22:45How colorful
22:46it would be.
22:47that's all.
22:47It's pretty tragic.
22:49There is a sense
22:49that she just
22:50kind of got on
22:51with it.
22:53So she's discharged
22:54on the 8th of the 1st,
22:571929.
22:58So my grandmother
22:58was here until she was 16.
23:00Until she was 16.
23:01Sent to be a housemaid
23:02at a private hospital,
23:03St Vincent,
23:05wages 15 pounds.
23:06So we know
23:07that your grandmother
23:08worked in that hospital
23:09until 1932.
23:10Do you want to have a look
23:11at the document
23:11that tells us why
23:12she left?
23:13Okay.
23:14So this is the
23:15last document we have.
23:18Married.
23:193rd of November,
23:211932.
23:23Bridget Kinahan.
23:24Frances Glynn.
23:26My granddaughter, Frank.
23:27He's a butcher.
23:29That explains a lot.
23:31He used to kill chickens
23:33all the time.
23:33So he was very good
23:34at preparing chickens
23:36and things.
23:37Richard Glynn.
23:38Father of Frank Glynn.
23:40My granddaughter, Frank.
23:41Well, that's her father
23:42there, John Kinnan.
23:43John.
23:43Obviously, he wasn't alive
23:45then.
23:45And I'm sure she was
23:47desperate to start
23:48her own family,
23:49having been ripped
23:51from her own family,
23:52you know.
23:52Yeah, because there was
23:53no compulsion on her
23:54to marry,
23:55in a sense that she did
23:56have a job,
23:57which made her,
23:57well, quite lucky.
23:59A lot of young women
23:59in Dublin would have
24:00struggled for a job
24:01and left the city.
24:01Let's hope it was love.
24:03Yes, let's take
24:04that reading in it.
24:05That made her marry
24:08my grandfather.
24:09What your grandmother's
24:10story tells us
24:11is a little bit
24:12about survival.
24:13She survives 10 years
24:15in an industrial school,
24:16comes out literate,
24:17with the ability
24:18to hold down a job,
24:20and she goes on
24:21and lives a life.
24:22So she made it.
24:24Yeah, she's definitely
24:25a survivor,
24:26and, you know,
24:26when you hear these stories
24:27you kind of realise
24:29why she was the way
24:30she was.
24:31In what way do you mean?
24:32She was tough.
24:32Okay.
24:33You know, my mum
24:34always describes her
24:35as having incredible
24:36sadness in her eyes.
24:38She wasn't really able
24:39to kind of show affection.
24:41You know, she was stern,
24:43you know,
24:43a formidable force.
24:45It's a really interesting
24:46window into her life.
24:49Yeah.
24:58I knew her, obviously,
25:00as my grandmother,
25:00but I didn't know much
25:01about her childhood.
25:03So finding out
25:05that she may have once
25:06been in this very chapel
25:07is quite...
25:08It feels good.
25:11Her experiences here
25:13were quite harrowing,
25:14but reading the report
25:15on her character,
25:17one can only hope
25:17that that kept her
25:19out of too much trouble.
25:22Being here,
25:23it makes me understand
25:26why she was the person
25:27that she was,
25:28that she was
25:30obviously hiding
25:31a lot of pain.
25:34But she got on with it.
25:36She managed to raise
25:37a pretty healthy family
25:38and she's left
25:39an incredible legacy.
25:42Yeah, I'm proud of her.
25:44I'm really proud of her.
25:53George is keen,
25:55while in Dublin,
25:56to investigate
25:57the family connection
25:58to Irish Republican
25:59Kevin Barry,
26:00who was executed
26:01by the British.
26:03He's visiting his aunt,
26:04Phyllis.
26:05I can't believe Phyllis
26:07she's like Batman
26:08or Wonder Woman.
26:09She always turns up.
26:11You know,
26:12when my mum's been sick
26:13or when I've been in trouble,
26:15you know,
26:15Phyllis is always there.
26:17I want to find out
26:18a bit more
26:19kind of family history
26:20because I'm interested
26:21to find out
26:22about my grandfather,
26:22Frank,
26:23and his father,
26:24who was called Richard.
26:25I don't really know
26:26his story.
26:35Let me in!
26:40Oh, look at you.
26:41Hey!
26:42You're glamorous.
26:44Nice to see you.
26:45Good to see you.
26:45You too.
26:46Right.
26:47In you come.
26:49So,
26:50I found out
26:51a little bit of information
26:52about Nanny Glynn.
26:53on their marriage certificate,
26:55which I saw yesterday,
26:56which was really nice.
26:57All right.
26:57They put her father's name,
26:59even though he wasn't around.
27:01All right.
27:01He'd already died,
27:02but they put
27:02John Kinahan as the father,
27:04and they put Richard Glynn,
27:06and Frank's father,
27:08which is your other grandfather,
27:09right?
27:10Oh, right, yeah.
27:11Yeah.
27:11Because obviously,
27:11I never met them,
27:12Frank's mother or father,
27:13so what do you know about them?
27:17Well, now,
27:17that's my granny and granddad,
27:19and my uncle Dixer,
27:21which is your great granny
27:22and granddad.
27:23When you think of it,
27:24like...
27:25So, that's Richard?
27:25That's Richard,
27:26and that's Richard,
27:27well, he was called Dixer.
27:29That's Daddy's oldest brother.
27:31So, which is Grandma?
27:32Grandma, there.
27:33This one?
27:34Yeah, yeah.
27:35So, these two were married?
27:36No.
27:37Hold on.
27:38That's granny and granddad.
27:40That looks like a woman.
27:42Oh, does it?
27:45So, these two were married?
27:48I'm getting confused.
27:49Who was married to who?
27:50Granny and granddad.
27:52There,
27:53my thumb is on them.
27:54So, that's Richard there?
27:55Yeah.
27:55What do you know about him?
27:57Well,
27:58I know he was in the British Army,
28:00and he fought in the First World War.
28:05Until 1922,
28:06Ireland remained under British rule
28:08from London.
28:10During this period,
28:11many working-class Irishmen,
28:13like Richard Glynn,
28:14joined the British Army,
28:15as it provided a decent job
28:17and a regular income.
28:20Now,
28:20his wife, Granny Glynn,
28:21was married before,
28:22and she had two children.
28:24So, she was married before him?
28:26Four, yeah.
28:26She was married, yes.
28:27That's quite scandalous.
28:28She was married to his brother.
28:30LAUGHTER
28:32And then when he died,
28:33she married me granddad.
28:35Oh, so she was married to his brother?
28:37Yes.
28:38The brother got killed in the war?
28:39Yeah.
28:39So, she married the other brother?
28:41She married the other brother.
28:42Practical.
28:42And then she had her daughter
28:44from the first marriage.
28:45Her name was Annie,
28:46Annie Glenn.
28:47And Annie married
28:49a fella called Thomas Bryan,
28:51and he was a Republican.
28:54And he was in Mount Joy Prison,
28:56and he was hung
28:59in 1921
29:00by the British Army,
29:02and he was buried beside Kevin Barry.
29:05Now, you know Kevin Barry.
29:07I've heard you singing that song.
29:08I have.
29:08Well, I remember when we were kids,
29:10obviously,
29:11we had this album
29:12called The Freedom Fighters.
29:13Oh, right.
29:14It was a guy
29:15in a sort of cloth cap
29:16standing in front of the Irish flag.
29:18OK.
29:19And I used to play those songs,
29:21obviously, you know,
29:21Kevin Barry,
29:22My Only Son Was Shot in Dublin,
29:24The Wearing of the Green.
29:25Give us a barren of a doubt.
29:26No.
29:28The one that was always,
29:29My only son
29:32was shot in Dublin.
29:34Do you remember that one?
29:34Yeah.
29:35And then we used to play,
29:36Oh, the wearing of the green,
29:38Oh, the wearing of the green,
29:39They're hanging men and women
29:41for the wearing of...
29:42I never had to go to the north again,
29:45I remember playing those songs.
29:47I remember my auntie Kit,
29:50she always used to say,
29:51like, around about 7 o'clock
29:52when there's been a bit of drinking
29:53on Christmas Eve,
29:54Put on the revenue songs.
29:55And we'd play them.
29:57Just a lad of 18 summers
30:02Yet no one can deny
30:07Lad like Barry Wilfey Island
30:12For her fate men live and die.
30:15I remember the words.
30:17Oh, that's very good.
30:18Yeah, no, I always thought
30:19when we were growing up,
30:20I thought we were related to Kevin Barry.
30:22Oh, did you?
30:22For some reason.
30:23So, it was Brian.
30:24It was Brian, yeah.
30:25Thomas Brian.
30:26And he was someone
30:27that married into the family.
30:29Yeah, he married, yeah.
30:31So, Richard Glynn,
30:33Yeah.
30:33My great-grandfather,
30:35was in the British Army.
30:36That's right, yeah.
30:38His son-in-law, Thomas Brian,
30:40was hung with Kevin Barry.
30:41Yeah.
30:42In Mount George Jail.
30:43So, that makes sense.
30:45Yeah, yeah.
30:49George has learned
30:50that his maternal great-grandfather,
30:52Richard Glynn,
30:53married his brother's widow
30:54and that her daughter, Annie,
30:57George's great-aunt,
30:58married an Irish Republican
30:59called Thomas Brian,
31:01who was executed by the British.
31:05So, I'm doing a little bit
31:06of detective work.
31:07I'm looking at the marriage
31:09of my great-aunt, Annie Glynn,
31:11and Thomas Brian.
31:16They got married
31:17on the 28th of November, 1920.
31:20Thomas Brian and Annie Glynn.
31:2314 Henrietta Street, Dublin.
31:26So, they actually lived
31:28in 14 Henrietta Street,
31:29where we went the other day
31:30to that museum.
31:32That's trippy.
31:33I wish I'd known that
31:34when I was there.
31:35Wow.
31:36Now it kind of takes
31:37on a whole nother
31:39sort of frequency.
31:46George is returning
31:47to the tenement museum
31:49at 14 Henrietta Street,
31:50where he's discovered
31:51his great-uncle,
31:52Thomas Brian, lived.
31:54How are you?
31:55Welcome back to Henrietta Street.
31:57Lovely cold weather.
31:58Absolutely.
31:59Come on through.
32:00So, let me show you
32:00where Thomas Brian
32:01and his family lived.
32:02Very exciting.
32:03He's meeting historian
32:05Kieran Wallace.
32:06Come on through.
32:08Oh.
32:10Is this the original?
32:12This is the actual room
32:13where he grew up.
32:14Oh, man.
32:14That's amazing.
32:16Okay.
32:16It's been slightly redecorated
32:19for the purposes of the museum.
32:20Yeah.
32:20But this is the room.
32:21This is the view
32:22he would have had.
32:23So, have you met
32:24Thomas and Annie?
32:25No.
32:25Let me introduce you.
32:32He's a very handsome man.
32:33Isn't he?
32:34She looks quite fierce.
32:37Do you think?
32:37Yeah.
32:39She had good taste, Annie.
32:41So, Annie and Thomas
32:43would have lived
32:43in this space,
32:44in this room.
32:45This was their home
32:46as they set out
32:46on their married life
32:47as a young couple.
32:48I've got a lot of questions,
32:49obviously,
32:50because it's
32:51such an interesting
32:51contradiction,
32:52the fact that my
32:53great-grandfather, Richard,
32:54fought in the British Army
32:56and then you've got
32:57this young,
32:58handsome,
32:59whippersnapper
33:00coming into your family
33:02with quite
33:03radical views,
33:05you know.
33:05That's going to be interesting.
33:06For Richard with his background.
33:08Yeah, yeah.
33:09Come on,
33:10I've got a few more
33:10things to show you.
33:11No problem.
33:14What I'm interested in
33:15is I don't know
33:16anything about
33:17Thomas Bryan
33:17prior to him
33:18meeting my
33:19great-aunt.
33:20Well,
33:21I have a document here
33:21that might give you
33:22some background
33:23as to who he was.
33:25Mountjoy Prison.
33:27Wow.
33:29Thomas Bryan.
33:30He was 19...
33:331917 to 1918,
33:3519, 19, 20.
33:35So he was in prison
33:37three years before
33:38he married Annie.
33:39He's an electrician.
33:41So that's quite a good job
33:43at the time
33:43for a guy from this area.
33:45He's got a trade.
33:4714 Henrietta Street.
33:48Yep.
33:50So this is what he's
33:51charged with,
33:51his effects.
33:52acted in contravention
33:53of Regulation 90
33:54of the defence
33:55of the realm reg
33:56by taking part
33:57in a certain drill
33:58of a military nature.
34:00So basically,
34:01he was pretending
34:02to be a soldier.
34:04Well,
34:04pretending is
34:05an interesting word.
34:06So,
34:07he's rounded up
34:09in 1917
34:10for taking part
34:11in a drill
34:12of the Irish volunteers.
34:14Are the Irish volunteers
34:14the IRA?
34:15They're the precursor
34:16to the IRA.
34:17OK.
34:18So we have to step
34:18back a bit
34:19to understand
34:19how he comes
34:20to be here
34:21to the 1916 Rising.
34:23Have you heard
34:24of the Rising?
34:25OK.
34:27The Easter Rising
34:28in 1916
34:29saw Irish Republican
34:31rebels launch
34:32an armed campaign
34:33in Dublin
34:33to bring an end
34:34to British rule.
34:36Although the British
34:37quickly put down
34:38the Rising,
34:39when they then decided
34:40to execute its leaders,
34:42the public mood
34:43swung behind
34:44the Republican movement,
34:45especially among young men
34:47like Thomas Bryan.
34:50So Thomas grew up
34:51in this area
34:52where there was
34:52suddenly a really brutal
34:54set of killings
34:55of civilians
34:56during the 1916 Rising
34:57and this would have
34:58radicalised him
34:58and many other guys
34:59like him.
35:00OK.
35:00And they thought,
35:01right, it falls to us now,
35:02the younger men of the city,
35:03to do something.
35:04So they were forming
35:04a secret army,
35:05which was the Irish volunteers,
35:07out in fields
35:07in the countryside
35:08and that's how he was
35:09picked up and arrested.
35:11Mm.
35:11Amazing.
35:12And that's who he is
35:14by the time he meets
35:15and marries Annie.
35:16She definitely went
35:17for a bad boy.
35:19That seems to be
35:19a family tradition.
35:21It's amazing.
35:23They're married in 1920.
35:24Yeah.
35:25And you think,
35:25well, here's the happy
35:26ever after.
35:27This is what happens next.
35:29Secret evidence
35:30at Drumcondra.
35:32On the 21st of the 1st,
35:331921,
35:34Thomas Bryan
35:35was found with
35:36one revolver
35:37and 20 rounds of ammunition,
35:38Francis Flood also.
35:40So this relates
35:41to an incident
35:42in Drumcondra,
35:43which is a suburb
35:44about a mile north from here.
35:45At Drumcondra,
35:46there's a bridge
35:47across the river
35:47and this is a unit
35:49of IRA men
35:50who's waiting
35:51behind the balustrade
35:52of the bridge
35:52to attack a police lorry
35:54that's coming past.
35:55This is during
35:56the Irish War of Independence,
35:58so things have really
35:59heated up in the city
36:00and in the country entirely.
36:03The Irish War of Independence
36:05began
36:05when the Republican
36:06Sinn Féin Party
36:07formed a breakaway government
36:09in January 1919
36:11and declared
36:12independence from Britain.
36:14The Irish volunteers
36:15that Thomas Bryan
36:17had joined
36:17now became
36:18the Irish Republican Army
36:20or IRA.
36:22It launched
36:23a guerrilla campaign
36:24in Ireland
36:25and the British
36:26responded
36:26by imposing
36:27martial law.
36:29This meant
36:30being arrested
36:31could have
36:32serious consequences
36:33for an IRA volunteer
36:34like Thomas Bryan.
36:38And this event
36:39goes horribly wrong.
36:42The raid actually
36:42goes ahead,
36:43it happens.
36:43Nobody's killed
36:44on the police lorry
36:45but it keeps going
36:45but within moments
36:47the other battalion
36:48of police arrive
36:49and they start
36:50to capture
36:50and chase after
36:52the IRA unit
36:53and they round up
36:54most of them.
36:54Does he go to prison
36:55for this?
36:56He's arrested
36:56on this very serious charge
36:58and he's taken
36:59to Kilmainham Jail.
37:00And this is where
37:01things get very serious
37:03for Thomas Bryan.
37:07It's amazing
37:08to think
37:09that my great aunt
37:10Annie marries
37:11Thomas Bryan
37:12and within four months
37:13he's arrested
37:13on very, very serious
37:15charges
37:15and he's in prison.
37:17And her future
37:19must have seemed
37:19so uncertain
37:20at that point
37:21but I imagine
37:23that she knew
37:25what she was
37:25getting involved in.
37:27Maybe that's
37:27what attracted her
37:28to Thomas,
37:29you know,
37:30his passion.
37:31He was a very
37:31handsome man.
37:34For me this is
37:35really interesting
37:36because, you know,
37:37when I was a kid
37:37I used to play
37:38this album of rebel songs
37:40and being here,
37:43you know,
37:44it's like climbing
37:45into those songs,
37:46you know,
37:47and, you know,
37:48it's interesting
37:49because I became
37:49a musician
37:52and music's
37:53such a big part
37:54of my life.
37:54It is my life.
37:56So it just feels
37:58like I'm climbing
37:58into a piece
37:59of really important
38:00kind of not only
38:02family history
38:03but also Irish
38:04history,
38:04you know,
38:05and that just
38:05feels kind
38:07of incredible.
38:17Now that I know
38:18who he is,
38:19now that I've seen
38:20a picture of him,
38:21I feel like
38:22I need to know more,
38:23I need to kind
38:24of experience more,
38:25you know,
38:25because I'm in
38:26his life now.
38:30George is visiting
38:32Kilmainham Jail,
38:33now a museum,
38:34to find out more
38:35about his great uncle
38:36Thomas Bryan's
38:37imprisonment.
38:38Hello.
38:38Hello.
38:40Here we are.
38:41Nice to meet you.
38:42Welcome to Kilmainham.
38:44He's meeting historian
38:45Aoife Torpy.
38:48This is the more
38:49modern part
38:50of Kilmainham Jail.
38:51It opens in the
38:521860s.
38:53It's lovely
38:54and light
38:54and airy.
38:55Yeah.
38:56That's probably
38:57anything it's got
38:57going for him.
38:59Yes.
38:59It's beautiful
39:00for a Jail.
39:03And this is where
39:04Thomas Bryan
39:04and the other men
39:05would have been held,
39:06in this wing here.
39:09Unfortunately,
39:09we don't know
39:10which cell
39:11was Thomas's.
39:12So we're going
39:13to have a look
39:14to give you an idea
39:15of what the conditions
39:16would have been like.
39:24when Thomas
39:24and the other men
39:25were here
39:25it was a military
39:26prison.
39:29Definitely not pleasant.
39:30Exactly.
39:31A little bit of light.
39:32It would have been
39:33quite sparsely furnished
39:35as well.
39:35They probably had
39:36some blankets,
39:37maybe a wooden board
39:38for a bed.
39:39It's impossible
39:40to even think about
39:41what you'd feel
39:42being in a room
39:42like this.
39:43You know,
39:43it's basic,
39:46isn't it?
39:47It's almost
39:47like a tomb.
39:53So Thomas
39:54was here in Kilmainham
39:55but only for quite
39:57a short period
39:57because they moved
39:58the men from Kilmainham
39:59to Mountjoy prison
40:00and it was in
40:01Mountjoy
40:02about a week later
40:03that Thomas
40:04receives his
40:05sentence
40:06and we have
40:07the document
40:08he would have
40:09been handed.
40:10Thomas Bryan,
40:11the court has found
40:12you guilty
40:12of the following
40:13charges.
40:14High treason.
40:18The court has passed
40:20a sentence of death
40:20upon you.
40:21Wow.
40:25That's hardcore.
40:28They're court-martialed
40:29on the 24th of February
40:311921
40:32and then
40:33they receive
40:33their sentence.
40:34the court-martialed
40:34times.
40:36But no trial,
40:37nothing?
40:38No.
40:39Interesting,
40:40when you look at a document
40:41it just kind of gives it
40:42a whole other frequency,
40:44you know,
40:45when you think,
40:45you know what I mean,
40:46this piece of paper
40:47is just...
40:47What strikes me
40:48is that you could
40:49take away
40:49someone's life
40:50with a form.
40:51Yeah.
40:52It's just so startling.
40:53Yeah.
40:56What happened to Annie?
40:57I know they were just married,
40:59I mean,
40:59four months.
41:00Well, actually,
41:01on the 25th of February
41:021921,
41:03he writes
41:03to his father-in-law,
41:05Richard Glynn,
41:06who was
41:06your great-grandfather.
41:09Dear Dick,
41:11just a few lines
41:12hoping you all at home
41:14are in the pink.
41:15Well, Dick,
41:16my trial is over,
41:17I have received
41:18my death sentence,
41:19but it's not confirmed yet,
41:20but that is only
41:21a matter of time.
41:23I have not told Annie
41:24my sentences
41:24to say I don't know
41:26how to do so.
41:28Personally,
41:28I don't mind death
41:29in any form,
41:30but naturally,
41:30my thoughts stray
41:31to my dear little wife,
41:33for as she truly said
41:34some time ago,
41:35it is our women
41:36who suffer the most.
41:39I wonder how
41:40she will take it.
41:42Well, Dick,
41:43I know you will
41:44do your best
41:45to keep her spirit up,
41:46and I will now close
41:47wishing to be remembered
41:49to all the rest,
41:51remaining your loving
41:51son-in-law,
41:53Thomas Brown.
41:55Cheerio.
41:58It's so, like,
41:59oh, my God,
42:00this is so amazing
42:01to just even read this
42:04is just...
42:09There's great sensitivity
42:10in the letter.
42:11I think the most
42:12poignant line,
42:12I don't mind death
42:13in any form,
42:14but naturally,
42:15my thoughts are straight
42:15to my dear little wife.
42:18He's just clearly
42:20a very sensitive human being.
42:22And he loves her.
42:23Yeah, and that's beautiful.
42:28When I started this journey,
42:29I never imagined
42:30that I would actually
42:30sit here and read
42:32something that was written
42:32by Thomas.
42:34I mean, it's...
42:36overwhelming, really.
42:41So this is another piece
42:43by Thomas,
42:44and this is actually a poem
42:45he wrote.
42:46So we have the original here.
42:48In pencil.
42:49Yes.
42:50So we have a transcript here.
42:52On a bed made of plants
42:54and a pillow of hair,
42:55I lie down to sleep,
42:57but I find no rest there.
42:59I am thinking of home
43:00and the joys of my life
43:01and the sweet little calling.
43:03I now come up with
43:04calling this girl,
43:04I know that.
43:05I ponder all.
43:06I am nearly bereft.
43:08My life or my honour,
43:09a witch will be left.
43:11It's a good poem.
43:14I please and I pray
43:15to my mother on high
43:17to ask God to save me
43:18for I don't want to die.
43:20Wow.
43:21But to live for my wife
43:22and the dear little child.
43:23He had a child.
43:24And he was pregnant.
43:26Oh!
43:27Phew.
43:27Yes.
43:29Wow.
43:30He's thinking of Annie
43:32and this child
43:33they're going to have,
43:34and he's hoping
43:35that he's spared for them.
43:37I think the sense
43:38that we get of Thomas
43:39is that he kind of knew
43:40what he was doing
43:41and accepted
43:43the sort of consequences
43:44in a way,
43:45but still dying for a cause
43:47must be quite difficult.
43:50So this
43:52is something more official
43:53and it's a letter
43:54to the Governor of Mountjoy.
43:56Sir,
43:56I have the honour
43:57to forward you here
43:58with the written order
43:59of the General Officer
44:00Commanding-in-Chief
44:01for the execution
44:01of the following persons
44:03now in your custody
44:04under a sentence of death.
44:06Patrick Moran,
44:07Thomas Whelan,
44:07Frank Flood,
44:08Thomas Bryan,
44:09Patrick Doyle,
44:11Bernard Ryan.
44:12Wow.
44:14Very matter-of-fact.
44:15And then on the reverse
44:16there's something there as well.
44:19Oh, yeah.
44:21So it tells you the time.
44:22Yeah.
44:26Thomas Bryan,
44:2714th of March,
44:288am.
44:29That was the time
44:29he was hung
44:30and he was hung
44:31with Frank Flood
44:32at the same time.
44:35So it was double hangings.
44:37Wow.
44:37They went to the gallows together.
44:39The hanghouse
44:40in Mountjoy
44:41is actually preserved
44:42and you can see
44:43where they were hanged
44:44in Mountjoy prison.
44:45Mm-hmm.
44:47Definitely climbing
44:47into history.
44:48Yes,
44:49you can't get any closer
44:49than that.
44:55So...
44:59you get the sense
45:00you get the sense that he started
45:00this political struggle
45:01knowing what the outcome might be.
45:05The fact that my great-on, Annie,
45:08was pregnant,
45:10what a thing.
45:11To find out that, you know,
45:13they'd been married four months,
45:15he was now facing
45:16the hangman
45:16and he was having a kid.
45:19I mean, that is just...
45:22How human do you want to get?
45:23You know,
45:24it's just a nice, awful thing
45:25to find out.
45:30Mountjoy prison
45:31is a mythical place
45:32in my mind.
45:33You know,
45:33I've known about it
45:34since I was 12 years old,
45:36but it wasn't something
45:38that I imagined
45:38that I would ever see
45:39any or experience.
45:46At Mountjoy,
45:47George is meeting
45:47historian Sean Reynolds.
45:50Hello, Sean, how are you doing?
45:52Very welcome to Mountjoy.
45:53Yes, thank you.
45:53Now, I'll take you down
45:54to the hanghouse
45:55and I'll show you
45:55where your great-uncle
45:56suddenly passed away.
45:58OK.
46:00Here on the left-hand side
46:01here is the hanghouse.
46:03Now,
46:04I'll just open up here now.
46:07My daughter's stuck.
46:08Now,
46:09just watch your step, please,
46:10and you're into the hanghouse
46:13or the execution chamber,
46:15as some people call it.
46:16This is where
46:17Thomas Bryant
46:18and Frank Flood
46:19who were the last
46:20of the six
46:21to be executed.
46:23So,
46:24if you'd like to come upstairs now.
46:30Now,
46:31you have arrived
46:31on the floor
46:33where the trapdoor is.
46:35The force will like
46:36to start the execution
46:37at six o'clock.
46:39Another four or two
46:40went at seven.
46:41Thomas Bryant
46:42and Frank Flood
46:43were eight o'clock.
46:45The execution
46:46would have taken
46:46as little as 13 seconds
46:48for the two individuals
46:50to die.
46:51It was very sad.
46:5113 seconds is a long time, though.
46:52It is a long time.
46:54It was a sad morning
46:55because the two men
46:56that stood side by side
46:57were comrades in arms
46:59and they shared a cell
47:00here in the prison as well.
47:02You can see the chain
47:03there.
47:06Left standing
47:07on the platform
47:08and while that's in position
47:13the trapdoors won't release.
47:15You would extract that.
47:19You would send that forward.
47:22That is possibly the last sound
47:23the individuals would have heard.
47:25If you'd like,
47:26you can try that there,
47:26that show.
47:27You could feel it.
47:28I don't think I will.
47:31You're very welcome.
47:32And this is a nice touch.
47:33It is.
47:34It is.
47:35It is.
47:37It's brutal.
47:39The remains were removed
47:40then from here
47:41and they were buried
47:43just up to the left-hand side.
47:45As you come in the main gate
47:46they were buried up there
47:47in the garden.
47:52I'll leave you here
47:53to see your thoughts.
47:54OK.
48:00What a place.
48:07I'll be really honest
48:08and say I actually
48:08feel quite angry
48:09actually at the moment.
48:11My overall feeling
48:12is of anger.
48:14It's just awful.
48:16It's like macabre theatre.
48:23Having read the letter
48:24from Thomas to Richard
48:25I imagined that
48:29my great-grandfather
48:30would have hated this
48:31would have been
48:31heartbroken I suppose,
48:33you know.
48:35Because not only
48:36has he got to think about
48:38what's going to happen
48:39to Thomas
48:39but also his own daughter
48:40who's pregnant.
48:43I mean that just adds
48:44even more
48:45like sadness to this.
48:47It's just
48:47God, can it get any more sad?
48:51It's just so sad.
48:53You know.
48:58What I should do
48:59when I'm here is
49:00Nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo
49:03Nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo
49:07Nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo
49:09Nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo
49:11Nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo
49:17Almost forgot.
49:18The most important bit
49:19to visit.
49:23Thomas Bryan
49:24and the five other
49:25IRA men
49:26executed that day
49:27in 1921
49:28along with four others
49:30including Kevin Barry
49:31hanged the year before
49:33were buried
49:34in unmarked graves
49:35within the prison walls.
49:37In time
49:38they became known
49:39as the Forgotten Ten.
49:43In 2001
49:44that changed
49:46when their bodies
49:46were exhumed
49:47and nine of the ten
49:49taken to Glasnevin Cemetery
49:50where they were reburied
49:52with state honours.
50:09Thomas Bryan.
50:11It's incredible.
50:13It's amazing
50:14to discover
50:15that
50:15this is kind of
50:17part of my family history.
50:20It's incredible.
50:23Kevin Barry there
50:26obviously
50:26that was the name
50:27I did know
50:27growing up
50:31and now I know
50:32about Frank Flood
50:33as well.
50:35I'm proud
50:36and I'm sad.
50:40I'm proud
50:41and I'm sad.
50:42I think that's
50:43the best way
50:43to describe
50:44how I feel.
50:50I think that's
50:51what's going on.
50:59Now I really want
51:00to know
51:01what happened
51:01to the child?
51:02What happened
51:03to Annie?
51:04To find out
51:05George has come
51:06to the museum
51:07at Glasnevin Cemetery
51:08to meet historian
51:09Connor Dodd.
51:11So we have a record
51:12here for you
51:12to take a look at
51:16and this is
51:17an order
51:18for an interment
51:19within the cemetery.
51:21Thomas Ryan
51:2215
51:24Dominic Street
51:25Dublin
51:26This is the age
51:28the years are blank
51:29the months are blank
51:30and
51:32one day.
51:34Oh so this is
51:35the baby that
51:38Annie was having
51:39when he was
51:39hung
51:40so this is
51:41the child here
51:42and the cause
51:43of death
51:44Convertions
51:44so that baby
51:46literally was
51:47born and died
51:48wow that's
51:50correct
51:53and if we
51:54look here
51:55we can see
51:56the date on
51:57which
51:5710th of March
51:581921
52:01so this
52:03happened before
52:04he was hung
52:05that was
52:07Thursday
52:07the 10th of March
52:09and he was hung
52:10on the 14th
52:11correct yeah
52:11the following
52:12Monday
52:12day oh my god
52:15how much more
52:16tragedy can you
52:17point to a story
52:18and it's just
52:18the saddest thing
52:21god so much
52:23going on
52:23in that week
52:28but we have
52:29another record
52:29here
52:31for you to
52:31have a look
52:32at
52:36I need
52:37Christine
52:37O'Brien
52:39and you can
52:40see he died
52:41the date
52:4327th of August
52:441930
52:48had been an
52:49electrician's
52:49wife
52:50so she lived
52:52for
52:52hang on
52:53he died
52:541921
52:55maybe 8 or 9 years
52:569 years
52:57yeah
52:57and you can see
52:59the cause
53:00death
53:00which is
53:01FISIS
53:02which is
53:02tuberculosis
53:04TB
53:04wow
53:06so she
53:07never married
53:08again
53:10and died
53:119 years
53:11later
53:14that was
53:14heavy
53:17I mean
53:18I knew
53:18it wasn't
53:19going to end
53:19well
53:20but that's
53:21sadder than
53:22even I could
53:23have imagined
53:23wow
53:24poor Annie
53:33George is
53:34looking for
53:35the grave
53:35of his
53:35great aunt
53:36Annie Glynn
53:43I see
53:43someone's
53:44written on
53:44the back
53:46Annie
53:48well
53:50at least
53:51there's
53:51something
53:51here
53:57that's
53:57very long
53:58but
54:01so this
54:02is where
54:02she lies
54:13having now
54:14found out
54:14what she
54:15endured
54:16it's just
54:17unimaginable
54:18you know
54:18to think
54:18that
54:19while our
54:20husband was
54:21waiting to
54:21be hung
54:22she lost
54:22their first
54:23child
54:24and we'll
54:25never know
54:25whether he
54:26knew
54:26whether he
54:27went to
54:27his death
54:28knowing that
54:29his first
54:30born
54:31had already
54:32died
54:32I mean
54:33what a
54:35I really
54:36hope he
54:36didn't
54:36know
54:37I really
54:38really hope
54:38he didn't
54:39know
54:44it's
54:46such an
54:46incredible
54:47story
54:47and
54:48mad that
54:49no one's
54:50ever talked
54:50about it
54:52they will
54:52now
54:54I shall
54:55make sure
54:55they do
55:11this story
55:12this story's
55:12like a great
55:13Irish song
55:13you know
55:14it's like
55:14you know
55:14sort of thing
55:15you'd hear
55:15someone singing
55:16at a funeral
55:17or a family
55:17wedding
55:18like an old
55:19drunk Irishman
55:20singing this
55:21traditional lament
55:22and that's
55:23really what
55:23this story
55:24is like
55:24you know
55:24it's like
55:25a really
55:26sad song
55:27my family's
55:28kind of
55:29association
55:29to really
55:30important parts
55:31of Irish
55:31history
55:31is a revelation
55:37there's a line
55:38in the letter
55:39to Richard
55:39from Thomas
55:40where he says
55:40it's the women
55:41that suffer
55:41the most
55:42and that's
55:43definitely true
55:43of Irish
55:44history
55:45our mothers
55:46and our
55:46grandmothers
55:47the women
55:47really bear
55:48the brunt
55:48of all
55:49the suffering
55:51knowing what
55:51happened to
55:52my grandma
55:52for Bridget
55:53made me quite
55:54angry to think
55:54that she was
55:55taken from
55:55her family
55:56at six years
55:57old
55:57and put into
55:58a place
55:58where she knew
55:59nobody
55:59but you know
56:00what her
56:01story is a
56:02triumph
56:07I think that
56:07my mum
56:08will find this
56:09story really
56:10emotional
56:11it will help
56:11her put the
56:12pieces together
56:12you know
56:13I think that
56:13she's going
56:13to be really
56:14fascinated
56:15she'll definitely
56:16cry
56:27George's final
56:28visit is to
56:29the pub
56:29next to
56:30the cemetery
56:30to join up
56:31with Irish
56:32band
56:32Lancome
56:33to sing
56:34the rebel
56:34song he
56:34remembers
56:35from his
56:35childhood
57:04I think for
57:05me you know
57:06music is such
57:07a powerful
57:07medium
57:08and Kevin
57:10Barry as a
57:11song still
57:12resonates
57:12you know
57:12because I
57:13knew that
57:13it had a
57:14real importance
57:15but I
57:15didn't really
57:16know how
57:16it related
57:17to me
57:23and to be
57:24able to walk
57:25in those
57:25footsteps
57:25and to
57:26actually find
57:26out
57:27sort of
57:27family
57:28history
57:29has been
57:30very very
57:31enlightening
57:32and powerful
57:33for me
57:34shoot me
57:35like
57:37an Irish
57:38soldier
57:40do not
57:42hang me
57:44like
57:45a dog
57:46for I
57:48fought
57:49for Ireland's
57:52freedom
57:53on that
57:55dark
57:57September
57:58morn
58:02and now
58:03I've proved
58:04beyond any
58:05questionable
58:05doubt
58:06that I'm
58:06definitely
58:07part of
58:07Irish
58:07history
58:10so stick
58:11that in your
58:11pipe and
58:12smoke it
58:12in your
58:13in your
58:15country
58:15and now
58:16and now
58:22and now
58:22it's
58:22and now
58:41we're