Our cousins in a ‘Curious City Case’

When I first started researching our genealogy, my mother mentioned two surnames that she remembered in relation to her mother’s ancestry: McGrane and Vickers. Mam was not sure what the connection was, but knew that they were family. Recently, I came across an article about a truly bizarre court case that took place in Dublin in January 1917. It mentioned the two families. I’m really not sure what to make of it. What do you think?

Curious City Case

In the Northern Police Court yesterday, before Mr. Macinerney, K.C., Frances Barrett, 24 Lower Jane place; Patrick and Myles Vicars, 24 Lower Oriel street; William A. Macken, 11 Canning place and Thomas McGrane, 14 Lower Jane place, were charged by Constable McGlion (158C) with having on the night of December 1st broken into the licensed premises of Mr. Patrick Doyle, Lower Oriel street, and stolen a quantity of whiskey, tea, sugar, Bovril, biscuits, etc., value £18 11s. 6d.

The only witness called for by the prosecution was Myles Vicars, one of the accused, who it was alleged had made a voluntary statement incriminating the others. He now denied the alleged statement on oath.

Mr. Macinerney said no jury would convict and discharged the accused. 

Mr. James Brady defended.

Freeman’s Journal, 9 January 1917, p.15. 

Bovril poster c1900, Wikimedia Commons
 Original uploader was VAwebteam  

The McGranes: Those following this blog will know that McGrane was the maiden name of my great-great-grandmother, Margaret (McGrane) Byrne. This unusual story relates to her nephew, Thomas McGrane, the son of Margaret’s younger brother Francis. Thomas was born in 1898, according to his birth register.

The Vickers: We are actually related to the Vickers on two fronts. Alice McGrane, Margaret’s younger sister, married James Vickers in 1896, while Margaret’s daughter, Mary Anne Byrne, married William Vickers, James’s younger brother, in 1901.  Today's story involves Alice’s two sons, Patrick Vickers, born in 1898 and Myles Vickers, born in 1900.

Patrick, Myles and Thomas were all first cousins of my great-grandfather, James Byrne, although they were far closer in age to his sons, John, Frank and Jerry. While the Byrne boys lived beside their cousins, they were not mentioned in the article. They must have been tucked up at home drinking their Bovril, at the time!

I'd say this gave the family something to talk about, back in the day!

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