Another expert on such matters reported, “In my opinion you will find no immediate nor easy solution to the problems set out.” He added, “You have a lengthy search ahead of you.” And he took pains both to underscore and double-space the word “lengthy.” The problem was further complicated by the fact that Murphy was the most frequent surname in Ireland.
It became obvious, therefore, that a full-scale search for Bridey would be a truly formidable undertaking. It might actually necessitate my going to Ireland, running down every possible lead, interviewing anyone who might have information, and even advertising in Cork and Belfast newspapers in the hope of finding significant facts. Indeed, it looked as though this were a job for a detective agency.
But all this would take considerable time, and the final manuscript had to be turned in five months before date of publication, which was already scheduled for late fall 1955. Accordingly, it was decided to publish those findings which had developed by the spring of 1955. Several points of interest had been uncovered, and some of the facts were especially interesting.
In regard to Bridey’s father-in-law, the barrister, an Irish solicitor made the following report: “We have heard from the Registrar of Kings Inn regarding the barristers in Cork, 1830, and we understand that there was a John McCarthy. … He was from Cork and was educated at Clongowes School. He would therefore be a Roman Catholic.” The facts as reported would fit Bridey’s allegations, and at that time there was only one barrister of that name.
On one tape Bridey told us that Brian had bought “foodstuffs” from a greengrocer whose name, she said, was John Carrigan. She gave us both his first and last name, and even spelled the last name. A statement from a Belfast librarian discloses that, indeed, there had been a John Carrigan who carried on a business as a grocer at 90 Northumberland Street. And since there was only one such John Carrigan in that business in Belfast at that time, this fact would seem to be noteworthy.
On another tape Bridey had told us that she had purchased “foodstuffs” at Farr’s. She did not give us the first name, but she spelled the last name. Research in Belfast brought confirmation, William Farr, the report said, was a grocer at 59-61 Mustard Street, which lay between Donegall Street and North Street. Here again there appears to have been no other Farr in that business at that time in Belfast.
An Irish commission on folklore was asked whether there had been, as Bridey described, an Irish custom of having a dance when a couple was married “… just an Irish jig thing; you dance and” they put money in your pockets…” The commission answered, “Holding of a dance on the occasion of a wedding was common practice. As regards money, a silver coin slipped into the pocket was a good-luck charm.”
In nineteenth-century Cork it was common practice, as Bridey signified, to keep personal records in the Bible—births, marriages, deaths. Thatched roofs were common in Cork at that time. Galway was a port. There had been, in Bridey’s time, a large rope company and a large tobacco company in Belfast. And her use of the words “banshee” and “tup” was correct.
The investigators state that there was a song—more than one —entitled “Sean” and pronounced Shawn (as Bridey indicated in this case). “The Londonderry Air” was very popular in Bridey’s time. And Keats was born in 1795 and could have been read by Bridey, even though, as she complained, “He was a Britisher.”
Her reference to monetary terms was accurate—pound, sixpence, tuppence, and the copper halfpenny.
A prominent Irish literary figure asserted that Bridey’s account of the Cuchulain story was accurate in all details. (“… When he was seven years old, he could slay big men. When he was seventeen, he could hold whole armies.”)
Bridey provided several bits of evidence which did not seem particularly significant at the time but which later, owing to var ious peculiar twists, took on added weight. She had told us, for instance, that she had read a book entitled The Green Bay. thought this of little consequence, because I presumed there would be several books similarly titled in twentieth-century America. To my surprise, however, I have been unable to find even one such title. (The New York Public Library listed The Green Bay Tree but not a single The Green Bay.) Yet the Irish investigators report that there was such a book—more than one—in nineteenth-century Ireland.
Another example is the matter of Carlingford and Lough Carlingford. Both of these can be found in almost any atlas. But Bridey added a fact that can’t be found in any atlas. In telling us about these places, she had commented that the lough was there before the town had been established. “Lough was there first.” she had said, “and then there was the place.” The researchers in Ireland confirmed her knowledge. (We can’t be sure, however, whether Bridey meant that the village had been established later or that she had approached the lough before the village while traveling from Cork.)
Then there is the matter of Mourne. The Mourne Mountains can be noted on almost any map of Ireland. But Bridey had indicated that there was a place called Mourne. Maps and atlases, however, disclose no such place. Yet we are now informed that there actually was such a geographical place.
As for the Blarney-stone matter, Bridey’s account would have been correct for her day: “… you put your feet above your head… and then you get the tongue… the gift of the tongue.” Curiously, the procedure has since been changed. An Irish authority wrote, “The individual was lowered by his legs over the parapet of the old castle tower. The procedure has now been changed, and what happens is that the person wishing to kiss the Blarney stone sits on the stonework inside the parapet where there is a hole in the ground.”
When asked what kinds of crops her family had grown at Cork, Bridey had mentioned hay, flax, corn, and tobacco. While there is nothing notable about this, there is at least an interesting side light. An authority explains that only small quantities of tobacco would have been grown around Cork, and this fact would not likely have been generally known. (A reliable American source, for instance, reports that tobacco is not listed as one of the crops grown in Cork.)
In regard to Father John and the church, a solicitor of an Irish legal firm employed to check this matter reported, after several months, as follows: “I never received any acknowledgment of my letters to the parish priest of St. Theresa’s Church.”
Both the Belfast ‘News-Letter and Queen’s University were in existence in Bridey’s time, and both are still there. But as this is written, there has not yet been a search to determine whether the Belfast ‘News-Letter has any record of Brian—or whether the university has records of William McGlone, Fitzhugh, or Fitzmaurice.
There was more than one instance when experts and authorities disagreed with Bridey’s statements, yet it turned out that Bridey had been correct. A case in point developed when Bridey was challenged as a result of her insistence that Brian had taught at Queen’s University. Brian, she had contended, was Roman Catholic. Queen’s University, though, was a Protestant institution. That a Catholic could have taught at this particular school, therefore, seemed inconceivable to at least one authority, who promptly registered his objection. But research disclosed that instructors and students were not barred on the basis of religion. The authority was wrong; Bridey was right.
Two Irish authorities maintained that, while Bridey’s remarks about the Deirdre story were essentially accurate, the king involved in this tale was the King of Ulster, not Scotland. (Bridey had said, “She was… beautiful girl, and she was going to marry… this king… this King of Scotland… and she didn’t love him… and this boy came and saved her.”) It is true that Deirdre was to become the bride of the King of Ulster, who figures prominently in all versions of the story. It is also true that most accounts, including the two best-known works on the Deirdre legend.
(W. B. Yeats’s Deirdre and J. M. Synge’s Sorrows of Deirdre), contain no mention of the Scottish King. But another researcher found that there definitely were at least two other versions (one based on the Glenn Masain manuscript in the Advocates’ Libra
ry in Edinburgh and the other on a translation by Theophilos O’Flanagan) which included the additional episode with the King of Scotland, who had heard a description of Deirdre’s beauty and had then sought her as a wife for himself.
Objection was also made to Bridey’s use of the word “slip.” It was contended that this word was anachronistic, that if she had used “petticoat” it would have been more in keeping with the times. Further checking, however, proved that “slip” is an old and honored word and that one of its old-fashioned usages was as a name for “a child’s pinafore or frock,” undoubtedly the meaning in this case. (Refer to her description in the sixth tape—”… they had wide sashes”).
Bridey’s reference to the uncle who married “the Orange” came in for criticism too. Several persons felt certain that she would have said “Orangeman” instead of “Orange.” Here again, however, research supported Bridey. The term “Orange” applied to the ultra-Protestant party in Ireland, in reference to the secret society of Orangemen formed in 1795. And an individual member of the party, especially a female, could have been referred to as “an Orange.”
Then there was the word “linen.” After she had suddenly sneezed during the fourth session, Bridey had asked for “a linen.” She was obviously referring to a handkerchief, but there is apparently no such usage in Ireland today. Once again, though, it was found that one of the meanings of the word “linen”—a meaning now obsolete in the singular—was something made of linen such as a linen garment or handkerchief.
A noteworthy fact developed from the very odd name of Brian’s uncle, the uncle “that married the Orange.” Bridey had said his name was Plazz. On this point an Irish investigator reported: “Plazz. This is genuine all right and throws a sense of authenticity about the whole thing. It is the very, very rare Christian name Blaize, called after the Irish Saint Blaize, patron of those afflicted with disease of the throat.” This researcher made it clear that Plazz was the popularized, phonetic spelling of the Christian name Blaize.
I had been unable to find anyone who had even heard of such a name, so it is hard to understand how Ruth Simmons (who had been raised from infancy by a Norwegian uncle and a German- Scotch-Irish aunt) could have been familiar with it.
The Plazz incident is also representative of another type of authentication found throughout Bridey’s testimony. When she was asked, for example, the name of Brian’s uncle, she does not make a perfunctory, laconic reply—the kind of mechanical answer that would mark the testimony of one who is either making up or repeating a story. Instead, there is an obvious association of ideas as with one who is reflecting upon actual experiences and personal memories: “You mean his uncle that married the Orange?” she asks.
The same question also reminds her that Brian’s father had been upset when the uncle had “married an Orange.” And this, in turn, moves her to recall, “He wasn’t upset when he married me.” All this from merely asking the name of Brian’s uncle. And the tapes are fraught with similar examples.
Undoubtedly additional evidence will continue to develop after this goes to print. Indeed, it may even be possible that some of the book’s readers will be able to contribute pertinent information.
I think it only reasonable to expect that some of Bridey’s memoirs are colored, that some are in error, and that even key dates might be in error. But this is not an area from which an airtight case should be expected. The whole issue, rather, is whether the principles involved here merit more intensive consideration.
The Bridey Murphy experiment, after all, was merely a personal exploration. I am hoping, however, that many more professional people—trained experimenters, doctors, psychologists—will launch their own research programs. Perhaps even one or more of the nation’s leading foundations will become interested. Certainly the stakes involved are high enough.
As Pope said, the proper study of mankind is Man.
Mine has been the trail of a skeptic, a path first glimpsed when I looked away from business and the latest stock quotations long enough to learn that the wonders of hypnosis are realities, not nonsense. The trail wound through the psychic phenomena associated with telepathy and clairvoyance, then it crossed the work of Edgar Cayce, and finally veered smack into Bridey Murphy.
As already indicated, I have been hoping that academic circles would become interested in this work. But the edges of my optimism have already been chipped away, I have been talking to the psychology department of an eastern university, suggesting that they investigate these matters for themselves. But I can see that I’m not getting anywhere.
As Bridey Murphy might have expressed it, “They won’t listen.”
There are a few, however, who do somewhat more than listen. Recently, for instance, a doctor heard about my work and called on me. He reminded me that, even though the general public may not be familiar with the Bridey type of experiment, it represents nothing new, nothing really original.
He then proceeded to outline an idea for expanding the Bridey experiment—an idea so fascinating that I can hardly wait to set up the experiment.
It looks as though I’m about to take another step on the long bridge.
APPENDIX A
SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR USE OF HYPNOSIS IN THERAPY
The following outline sheet, lifted from my file concerning a stuttering case, indicates the extent of the groundwork involved in each session. This particular record includes a review of past sessions, a detailed outline for the next session (including seventeen separate points and numerous subheadings), and notes for future sessions.
CASE OF STUTTERER
Name: For session number————
Date: Scheduled date of session————
A. Review
At this point there have been two sessions. Each session has followed the same general pattern: pre-induction conversation; explanation of the nature of hypnosis; detailed discussion of subject’s ailment; statement of what is expected from subject, pointing out the necessity for facing his problem and discussing it frankly; discussion of embarrassment it has caused him, etc. The subject has shown decided improvement after each session. The autosuggestion appears to be a very effective tool.
B. Outline for Session No. 3:
Any questions from subject?
Pre-induction conversation, including discussion of subject’s progress and current problems.
Induction of trance:
a) deep-breathing exercise
b) candle-flame technique
c) deepening of trance
Explanation of nervous tension and its relief.
Explanation of different manners by which nervous tension discharges itself.
Explanation that relaxation will end the nervous tension: first through hypnosis, then automatically through the action of the subconscious.
Discussion of the subconscious.
Repetition of the key sentence: “When I speak slowly, I speak perfectly.”
Mental pictures during hypnosis: the imagining that he is making speeches before large groups, at the basketball dinner, at school assemblies.
Explanation of autosuggestion with direction of its utilization by the subject. Autosuggestion includes following:
a) repetition of key sentence
b) mental pictures
Autosuggestion should be employed at following times:
a) at night before falling asleep
b) morning, upon first awakening
c) during middle of day at fixed time
Urging interest in social activities, especially those involving girls.
Explanation that setbacks are only bumps on road to recovery; they are only temporary and do not alter fact that he is on road to total recovery.
The setting up in the subconscious of an automatic warning signal to speak slowly whenever he becomes excited. By setting up a subconscious signal he will, the moment he becomes excited, be automatically reminded that he is to speak slowly.
Speaking during trance:
&
nbsp; a) repetition of key sentence
b) detailed discussion of his most exciting basketball game
Relaxation of facial and throat muscles.
Post-hypnotic suggestions:
a) employment of autosuggestion three times daily
1) repetition of key sentence
2) mental pictures (specific)
b) relaxation suggestions
Awakening:
a) discussion
b) set date of next session
C. Future Sessions:
Future sessions will include following:
Summary and review of past sessions.
More detailed speaking during trance.
APPENDIX B
THE PROBLEM OF SYMPTOM REMOVAL
There has been much ado about the question of whether hypnotism treats only symptoms and not original motivations and basic organic causes, Several medical hypnotists, notably some well-known English specialists, have attacked this argument. They point out that when this therapeutic method is properly used the results are permanent and no new symptoms appear.
The Search for Bridey Murphy Page 24
