Irish Examiner view: Call to return Irish ‘giant’

Two-times Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel has suggested that the 18th-century skeleton of Irish ‘giant’ Charles Byrne (7ft 6in) be repatriated from London to his native Derry. Picture: George Miles

Two-times Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel has reignited the question of research ethics and human remains with her suggestion that the 18th-century skeleton of Irish ‘giant’ Charles Byrne (7ft 6in) be repatriated from London to his native Derry.

In his day, Byrne was something of a celebrity — “the most extraordinary curiosity ever known”, as one newspaper put it — and after his death his bones were displayed, against his wishes, at the Hunterian Museum run by the Royal College of Surgeons.

Mantel, author of The Giant, O’Brien, a fictionalised account of his life, said science had learned all it could from his bones and it was now time for him to go home. But it’s a view not shared by Brendan Holland, a 6ft 9in relative of Byrne who carries the same gigantism gene.

He said research on Byrne’s DNA had helped save lives and had prevented others suffering as Byrne had. He said further research could save more lives. 

The case is a poignant reminder of the difficulty in balancing the demands of science with the human need to treat remains with dignity.