At St Joseph’s Hospital in Clonmel, where Liam Lynch was brought, two nurses with local connections were present: Brigid Halley from Goatenbridge and Mary Ryan from Knocklisheen, Ballymacarbry. Bridgid tended to his wounds, but she later commented that Liam had gone too far for anyone to save him. Mary was finishing her shift when Liam was admitted to the hospital, but she returned the next morning to assist with placing Liam in the coffin.Brigid had familial connections to Colonel Tom Ryan, who led the Free State troops combing the Knockmealdowns, and to Edmund O’Leary, an Anti-Treaty fighter imprisoned in Clonmel Borstal by the Free State. Known as Nurse Halley to all, Brigid was a highly respected nurse in both the hospital and the community. She began working at St. Joseph’s as a student nurse in 1919 and continued there until her retirement in 1963. Brigid passed away in 1980 and was laid to rest in Ballybacon cemetery.
Sources John O’Leary Goatenbridge and Anthony Ryan Knocklisheen.
