By Colm Wallace

Ireland has had many people of incredible height over the centuries. One of the best known was a native of Co. Derry by the name of Charles Byrne, better known as the Irish Giant.
Born in 1762, Byrne grew to the incredible height of at least 7 feet 6 inches, an enormous height today and even more so in the 18th century. He may even have been taller still: some contemporary newspapers place his height at over 8 feet.

It is believed that both of Byrne’s parents were of average height and a tumour on his pituitary gland was the cause of his abnormal height.
Byrne moved to Britain where he travelled around in exhibitions, appearing in front of large crowds who marvelled at his height while enjoying his gentle and kind demeanour.

Byrne made a large sum of money but he was said to carry it all on his person. While in a public house, he had his life savings, some £700, stolen from him. His grief at this event was said to have caused him to sink into a deep depression and he began drinking heavily. He had never been in good health, probably due to his extraordinary height, and he died aged just 22.

Byrne’s last wish had been that his body be buried under twenty fathoms of water at sea, and newspapers printed shortly after his death reported that his wish had been granted by fishermen at Margate in England.

However, the record was corrected later that week when the media revealed that the body had in fact been purchased by an unscrupulous anatomist, John Hunter, who offered the fishermen £500 for the corpse. It was duly handed over and Byrne’s body was dissected and his skeleton later put on display in the museum of the College of Surgeons in London. There it stayed for two centuries, until a campaign to grant his last wish built up a head of steam. Finally, in 2023, the skeleton was taken down from public view.

Byrne was not the only Irishman who went by the moniker ‘The Irish Giant’.

The Daily Advertiser of 31 January, 1753, stated that a 16-year-old from Silvermines, Co. Tipperary, Cornelius McGrath, was already 7 feet 3 inches with no shoes. He too exhibited himself successfully throughout England but, like many giants, died at a young age.

Continue reading in this week’s Ireland’s Own