When Patrick Frawley (1894) married Brigid Griffin at Kinsale Church, Co. Cork, on 24/1/192, he was a Civic Guard at the Civil Guard Barracks, Kinsale. Brigid was living on Market Street, Kinsale, at the time. When their first child ([Mary] Philomena Frawley) was born on 14/2/1925, the family were living at St Aidans, Ferns, Enniscorthy, and Patrick was still a Garda.
By the time their second child ([Hannah] Clare Frawley) was born on 12/7/1926, they were living in Stradbally, Co. Waterford, about 50 miles SW of Enniscorthy, where Patrick was still a Garda.
On Christmas Day 1929, Larry Griffin, local postman in the village of Stradbally, went missing. Rumours suggested that people were drinking illegally in Whelan's pub (Ó Faoláin) the night before, and that Griffin died either as the result of an accident or an altercation. No body was ever found, and the case was never solved. Witness statements were changed and often conflicted, suggesting some collusion in covering up the truth.
The detailed story is covered in The Missing Postman (Mercier Press, 2011) by Fachtna O’Drisceoil, and also in the Irish Independent and on Wikipedia.
During February 1930, an article appeared in the Daily Express suggesting that Patrick Frawley and others were accused of murder. This prompted an attempted libel case by the Frawleys against the newspaper, seeking damages of not less than £500. They received an apology but their solicitor advised against a lengthy and costly action against the newspaper.
Frawley was dismissed as a civic guard on 25 April 1930. As Bridget had cooperated with the investigation, and was a prime witness [O’Drisceoil, pp.113–114], she was shunned by the community who treated her as a "spy and an outcast". Local shopkeepers refused to give her credit. Patrick sought work in many places, including England, but was unsuccessful, leaving Bridget and their two daughters, Phil (6) and Clare (4), destitute.
In 1933, there was an attempt to reinvestigate Patrick's part and get him reinstated, but it failed. In 1937, he became mixed in another murder case, this time involving a Garda who was also a friend of his, and from the same parish of Kilmaley. [O’Drisceoil, pp.281–282].
Below is a three-page story written by Philomena, collected as part of the Schools' Folklore scheme, 1937-1938, while a student at Clochar na Trócaire, An tSráidbhaile school (Stradbally, Co. Waterford). The original is held at UCD.
This site is located via https://parallaxviewpoint.com/FrawleyHistory/Menu.html.
Author, Anthony C. Proctor, currently lives in rural Ireland.
