The story behind 'Our Brown Box'

When Susan Stanley was growing up with her siblings in Clara, they always wondered what was inside the brown box that their parents carefully kept locked away.

Born just three months after her eldest brother and the first-born of Joe and Teresa Stanley’s family, 16-year old Paddy, was killed instantly in the Belturbet bombing, on December 28, 1972, Susan says the tragedy was “rarely spoken of” as times were different and there was no such thing as counselling or family therapy.

16-year old Paddy and 15-year old schoolgirl, Geraldine O’Reilly, from Drumacon, outside Belturbet, were both killed instantly in a bomb explosion in the Cavan town.

“One day we opened the brown box and inside were all these newspaper cuttings, Mass cards, letters and other memorabilia about the bombing, so we took turns reading everything while someone else kept watch to make sure our parents didn’t see us,” recalls Susan.

The discovery of the contents of the brown box prompted Susan Stanley to write a poem, simply called ‘The Brown Box’ which she read on behalf of the Stanley family at the 50th anniversary memorial event.

Susan recalls how she was “almost 18 years old” when her mother first spoke to her about the tragic death of her oldest brother. “She told me how she felt when she heard the news and how I just curled up in a ball inside her and that’s where I stayed,” says Susan

She says it was “very tough” on her parents and also on her brothers and sisters. “Paddy was the oldest and they all looked up to him, and it devastated every one of us in different ways over the years.”

Susan said the impact of her brother’s death was also acutely felt in the town of Clara, and up to the time Paddy was killed, ‘The Troubles’ in the North of Ireland seemed “a million miles away” from day to day life in a small town in Offaly.

“Our parents were well loved in Clara, and Paddy was well loved too, and we are so grateful for all the support we have received over the years from the people of Clara,” says Susan Stanley, who adds that, from an official point of view, the family felt “very alone” in their grief as it was “many years” before a member of An Garda Siochana ever visited their home to speak with them about the terrorist attack that had robbed the family of their eldest brother.

This is the poem read by Clara's Susan Stanley at the Belturbet Memorial event on December 28 last to mark the 50th anniversary of the bomb that killed her 16-year old brother, Patrick, and 15-year old Geraldine O'Reilly.

The Brown Box

Hidden,

Locked away with all our treasures.

In the day we sneak in,

One looking out, we don’t get caught.

What will happen when it’s opened?

What secret treasure is held under lock and key?

It’s where we found all the happiness went.

Taken away, without a smile or a goodbye.

We thought we had all the time in the world.

Our brown box told us something different.

One night, far away from the coal fire,

All alone in the rain.

Taken away without a kiss or a touch.

Letters, cards, newspapers,

We read a story, no lips could speak for fear of anger, sadness, loss.

We cried, we wondered, we missed.

We discovered why our Mammy and Daddy were lost and sad.

So much gone, but we had to carry on.

We sang, we laughed, we fought, we cried.

All wrapped up in the arms of the one taken away,

without a smile, a goodbye, a kiss, a touch.

A small brown box that holds so much.

SEE FULL STORY OF MEMORIAL EVENT IN BELTURBET here