John Birmingham

A famous person in my village (28th April)

Long ago there lived near our village a famous man named Mr. Birmimgham. He owned a mansion in Millbrook and the ruins of this mansion are still to be seen. He was a cousin of the Kirwans of Dalgin and he belonged to one of the twelve tribes of Galway.

He was a great astronomer and was able to read the stars and he found out new stars also. He was a poet and he wrote books of poems. He was able to foretell what was going to happen in the future. He used to make wine out of nothing and no one could find out how he could make it. He was able to put money down through a table without any hole in it.

It is sixty years since Mr. Birmingham lived in Millbrook. There was a poor man in the village once. It was in the year black ’47. The man had no food to give his children. He set out one day for the river to drown the children which was near the mill. He met Mr. Birmingham who asked him where he was going. Mr. Birmingham told him to go up to the mill and get meal there. Mr. Birmingham was a very good man to the poor. He was a Catholic also and he was a cousin to the Kirwan’s of Castlehackett and Dalgin.

Old School’s Collection