Have you ever taken a series of facts and jumped to the absolutely incorrect assumption?

Here are the facts I know about Patrick O’Callaghan [2], Bridget’s father and my four-times great grandfather.

Irish immigrant.  Labourer. Farmer.  Son.  Brother. Husband. Father.  Died and buried at age 81 in 1940 at Warwick.

It’s that last bit that caught my attention. My family’s brand of Catholic used to believe where you were buried held the same importance as where you were born.  You wanted to be laid to rest as close as possible to what used to be home.  Near family and friends is best. 

Patrick’s wife, three daughters and at least two of his grandchildren [4] slumber for eternity in the insanely picturesque cemetery of Allora in Queensland’s Darling Downs.  (Allora is the larger and prettier neighbour of Hendon, Bridget's hometown.)

So, Patrick’s hanging out for eternity in Warwick, some 30 kilometres away from his home and his family. That seems … odd.

Cecilia, my grandmother and Patrick’s granddaughter, always used to regale me with tales of her “grannie”, Bridget’s mother. She’d mimic her Grannie’s Irish accent and laugh over the fun they had. Patrick, Grannie’s husband, was always curiously absent. 

Was Patrick a ne’er-do-well?  Why is he buried elsewhere and not talked of?

Then there’s the suspected alcoholism.  My grandmother had a lifelong aversion to alcohol.  Cecilia’s vocal dislike of the demon drink stemmed from growing up with an alcoholic for a grandfather, or so claimed one of my worldlier, older cousins.

All this led me to assume the worst of Patrick.  I thought, he’s weak and irresponsible.  Maybe, if he’d been stronger, then he could have prevented Bridget from marrying her murderous husband?

I’m sorry, Patrick. I was too busy casting shade to give you any benefit of the doubt.

Patrick didn’t die in Warwick because he was cast off.  He usually made his home in Hendon with Cecilia’s family. In 1940, they’d moved up north for her father’s work.  Patrick was doing odd jobs for a farming family in Warwick in 1940 to earn a crust and have a roof over his head.[5]

Far from being an unstable influence for his family, Patrick was the kind of dude who worked his whole life.  He even helped financially support Cecilia's family when Cecilia's father didn't (or couldn't). Cecilia likely didn’t see too much of him growing up because the man was working all hours to support them.  

As for the alcoholism, Patrick did occasionally (often?) drink to excess.  According to Cecilia, he’d finish up a hard week of work and then sometimes drink his entire week’s wages.  She also recalled that he sang when he’d over-imbibed.  He was a “happy drunk”.  It seemed important that you know that he might have been fiscally irresponsible but he wasn’t violent.

More than can be said for Bridget’s husband, Henry.

#WildBridgie

End notes

[1] Moulder, B. M. (2024), Portrait of an early twentieth century gentleman [Photograph], Brisbane, Australia.

[2] These facts are gleaned from searching Ancestry.com.au and Trove.com.au.  All citations can be produced but are too lengthy for this blog.

[3] Death Certificate of Patrick O’Callaghan, 16 November 1940, Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, Brisbane, Queensland. Death Certificate.

[4] More O’Callaghan family secrets reveal themselves beyond the grave, but not yet.

[5] Moulder, B.M.(2022), Picture of a woman in a graveyard [Photograph], Brisbane, Australia.

[6] My misapprehensions about Patrick were speedily corrected by one simple conversation with my mother about why Patrick was buried in Warwick.  It pays to ask the question…