Every now and then there's a caller to Liveline who really strikes a chord with the presenter and the listeners. Someone who might be calling about any subject at all, but whose personality is so singular you could listen to them talking all day. It's safe to say that Bridget, from Ruan in Ennis, Co Clare, is one of those callers. Ostensibly, she called Liveline to tell Philip Boucher Hayes about the book of condolences that went missing at some stage during her brother's funeral in January last year, but Bridget had much more to share. What she had to say was sad, heartbreaking even, but the way she said it was both moving and full of exuberance.
"You'd like to know who came… even thought you'd be up in a heap because you'd be so confused you wouldn't know who's there and who isn't there."
Bridget's brother Michael went missing in the floods that hit the west of Ireland in the winter of 2015/16. He was found after a day by the Civil Defence. Michael was 65. Philip was interested in Michael's love of tractors and asked Bridget to tell him about it.
"He was stone mad for tractors. Sure he'd change tractors like you'd change your clothes."
Before Michael's death in 2016, Bridget had lost two other brothers, one – Michael's twin – to a heart attack at 51 and the other to suicide at 21. Despite the tragedies in her family, and one or two moments talking about Michael when her voice faltered, Bridget managed to sound remarkably upbeat. She told Philip that her brother was laid out in the parish church in Ruan, the place where he had been baptised and made his confirmation.
"We've loads of mass cards, that's the funny part of it, but no book."
Philip did advise her that putting it out there was a bit of a long shot, but if there's any chance that you know anything about the whereabouts of the book of condolences from the Ruan parish church from January 2016, Bridget would love to hear from you.
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