In July 1895, there was a trial in Ireland. A woman had been burned to death. Witnesses

gave detailed testimony. International newspapers covered the events. The story would become

famous. But of course, a key part of it was missing. The voice of the murdered woman

herself. Bridget Cleary. It's hard because, you know, you don't have her voice. You just

have the men who were accused of killing her in these court confessions. Sarah Durn is

an associate editor at Atlas Obscara. In college, she studied abroad in Ireland and learned

about Bridget Cleary. What we know of Bridget's story is mostly thanks to these trial records,

the testimonies of the accused. But of course, there's always more to explore. It's fascinated

scholars. I mean, it fascinates me in a very dark, twisted way. Today, Sarah and I unwrap

the story of Bridget Cleary and the power of myths and folklore. I'm Johanna Mayer and

this is Atlas Obscara, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible, and wondrous

places. More, after this.

Bridget was always an exceptional woman. She was from a little town in Ireland grew up pretty

poor, but was able to do very well for herself. She was smart, intelligent. She became an

apprentice to a dressmaker and a town over, which was like super unusual for the time. One

that a woman would work, this was a job that was a higher-paying job, and the fact that

she left her community to apprentice as a dressmaker. All of this kind of really sets

Bridget apart. In a lot of ways, Bridget fit the definition of the late 19th century's

new woman, a woman who was independent, who wanted change. So she's got a lot of hustles

going. She's making hats, she's delivering eggs on the side, and she's apprenticing in

this nearby town. And it's in the town over where she's apprenticing as a dressmaker that

she meets Michael Cleary, and they soon get married after that. And, you know, they were

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