Scientists seek to exhume remains of Donegal ‘giant’

A team of research scientists are seeking permission to exhume the skeleton of what they believe was one of Ireland’s tallest men.

The body of the man, who is measured at 7ft 8in tall, was discovered on Cruit Island in Co Donegal in 1964 by council workers filling a road.

The body was interred just a short distance away at Cill Bhride cemetery on Cruit Island but his identity and background still remains a mystery. Now a team of research scientists say they would like permission to find out more about the Cruit Island Giant.

One of the team, Brendan Holland, says that, judging by the man’s long hair, he could be anything up to 500 years old.

The Co Tyrone-based researcher first heard of the mystery man in an article by historian Andrew Sharkey in the local Rosses Annual. He says to exhume the skeleton and to remove a tooth and some bone fragments would possibly uncover a significant amount of information about the mystery giant.

“I am guessing merely by his hair length that he could be that old. We simply can’t tell. But if we were to be given permission to exhume the skeleton and take some samples then we could get a lot more information. We could put an age on him and tell what his diet was like and such things. At the time gardaí measured him and he was 7ft 8in. That would put him in the tallest 2%-3% in the world,” he said.

The team, who are carrying out a study of pituitary gigantism, are first looking for a copy of the original coroner Dr McGinley’s report into the death.

Brendan, who also suffers from pituitary gigantism, has spoken with many locals including Breige Sweeney who was just 10 when she came across the body.

The body was just eight inches below the surface and just 150 yards from the waterline which meant it could have been washed up.

It is estimated the man was in his late teens or early 20s when he died.

Bizarrely, locals believe a headstone put where the mystery giant is buried was erected in the wrong place in the graveyard.

“We could answer a lot of questions with some DNA samples. We might be too late to help the Cruit Island giant but we can give him an identity of sorts,” added Brendan.