This story begins not in Dungarvan but with a Cork man…
There once was a Reverend named Fr. Arthur O' Leary. He was born near Dunmanway in Co. Cork in 1729. In his youth he moved to France to live and seek out his education with the capuchin monks in Saint Malo. After he became ordained he stayed in France for several decades. Fr. O' Leary enjoyed exploring the French countryside and would often travel on foot from village to village, soaking up all the views, culture and experiences the country had to offer. It is said he travelled the length and breadth of France regularly while he lived there
- taking him a month at a time to complete each journey.
However it was on one journey of his during the 1770s in particular that he witnessed the most peculiar event. This peculiarity is where our story takes place.
On yet another one of his many excursions traversing across the Northern coast of France on his way to visit a fellow clergyman and friend, he happened to find himself passing through the port town of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
The port had a bustling atmosphere with various cargo ships coming and going, market stalls, traders and performers lining the quays. While staying in a local tavern he overheard the locals discussing a new performance act that had recently arrived and set up along the quays. They were in disbelief at what they had seen and discussed the experience with such amazement that Fr. O' Leary decided he would stroll down to the quays to take a look for himself.
After his supper he went down to the quays, it was dark by that time but the quays were lit up with candle light. As he walked further along the Quay he came across a small crowd gathering around one area in particular and headed towards it.
As he made his way through the front of the crowd he saw the spectacle drawing everyone in. There he found what the locals in the tavern had discussed. A large brown bear wearing a chain around his neck and being commanded by a French man holding a small spear. Even though he had overheard in advance what he would find... Nothing could prepare him for what he actually saw with his own two eyes.
This bear was no ordinary bear doing simple tricks he had been taught for his master. This bear interacted with the crowd saluting individual males and bowing to female members of the audience. When directed to look at the clock tower this bear could even write out the corresponding time in the sand. Fr. O' Leary marvelled at the intelligence this bear was exhibiting.
Over the next couple of days during his stay Fr. O'Leary would visit the Bear on the quays each day. However news had begun to travel to the neighbouring areas and so each day the crowd grew larger and larger. Fr. O' Leary began to notice the bear seemed to be appearing more tired and lethargic with each passing day. He even made note of how the bear seemed to be sulking on one visit. Despite the bear becoming increasingly and obviously exhausted his master would poke him with the spear to get him to continue performing. After each performance the master would collect 6 sous from everyone in the audience and so the master would keep the bear performing for hours and hours each day and his pockets would be full of coins.
On the fourth and final day of his stay in Boulogne-sur-Mer Fr. O' Leary decided to visit the quays and see this extraordinary bear one last time. However on this last visit the bear was visibly exhausted. The bear kept trying to lie down on the ground but his master would pull his chain and poke him with his spear.
After several more tricks the poor bear lay down and despite the efforts of his master refused to get back up. Frustrated his master began yanking the chain more forcibly and when this didn't work prodded the bear several times in a row with the spear. The last poke was a harder poke than all the rest and resulted in the bear jumping up on his hind legs and letting a roar out of him that sounded almost human in its pain. Sounded almost human to the French audience...
However to the Irishman Fr. Arthur O 'Leary from Dunmanway, Co. Cork it didn't just sound human it was human. He understood the bear's long loud growl to actually be as Gaelige that the bear had shouted with fierce anger "‘t’anam ón Diabhal, táim cráite go deo leis an buc seo!" as the Bear pleaded in his pain "The devil take him, this guy has me persecuted!".
Shocked Fr. O' Leary ran straight to fetch the Mayor of the town. The mayor did not believe the story Fr. O' Leary told but respected the clergyman enough to walk down to the quays with him to see this bear for himself.
Once they reached the by now massive crowd the Mayor and Fr. O'Leary moved to the front. Fr. O' Leary shouted to the bear "Conas atá tú, a Phadring?" (How do you do Pat?) to which the bear turned directly to face him and responded "Slán, go raibh maith agat!" (Pretty well, thank you!).
The crowd were shocked that the bear seemed to understand this strange language that a priest had spoken to it. Whispers of confusion and disbelief began to swirl throughout the French audience. The mayor understanding that the priest had been right in his suspicions ordered the bear's skin to be cut open. At first the bear's master protested and tried to convince them not to but was made step aside as two guards sliced through the bear's back. They struggled to get their knives through the thick fur but eventually they managed to make a large enough slit and after some pulling and dragging the bear fell down and a naked man climbed out of the hole. The crowd gasped in horror at what they were witnessing and the bear's master made a break for it running off through the crowd.
The naked man was escorted away from the quays and given clothes, food and water. It was only then that Fr. O'Leary was able to speak to the man and find out how he had come to be in such a bizarre situation.
The man who only spoke Irish told a harrowing tale. He was originally from Dungarvan Co. Waterford where he had gotten work on a cargo ship. The ship had left Dungarvan with a cargo of dried cod that was headed for Bilboa in Spain. However they were caught in a storm off the French coast and the ship was wrecked and sank to the bottom of the ocean. This poor man from Dungarvan was the sole survivor who had managed to survive by clinging on to a hen coop floating on the surface. It was here that a small French fishing boat had happened upon the man afloat at sea and brought him on board. They brought him ashore and helped him to recover giving him food and water.
However after he had eaten the food they had provided the fisherman decided he must repay them for saving his life. This is when the fisherman produced a full bear skin and forced the man to get in and he was sewn into the suit.
Horrified by the story he had just heard Fr. O'Leary asked the man why did he play along with this whole charade. So the man explained he was far from home without any possessions and unable to speak or understand the language. Further explaining that sure he didn't mind it too much as they fed him well and what other option did he have?
And that is the story of how the Irish speaking Bear from Dungarvan came to be in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France; and how a Dungarvan man learned there’s no such thing as a free meal.
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