Final resting place of Achill men found after 104 years

At the end of last summer, the Masterson and Molloy families received news their families had been waiting to hear for over a century.
“I sat and cried because we had finally found someone who was missing for 104 years,” Breege O’Malley told The Mayo News.
In 1918, Breege’s grandfather Peter Molloy, who was from Derreens on Achill Island, and his friend Brian Masterson from the neighbouring village of Carraig, had left their homes and families to find work in Oldham near Manchester. They worked as labourers with Oldham Urban Council and were able to regularly send money home to their families.
However, that summer the two men were struck down by the deadly Spanish Flu that was spreading across Europe. Brian, aged 53 and a father of eight, passed away in June 1918, while Peter, aged 46 years and a father of three, died from the same condition on July 2.
Back home, their families first knew something was wrong when their letters stopped coming. It was another two months before the families in Achill were to receive the awful news of the men’s passing. The information came way of a telegraph to the barracks in Achill Sound.
By the time the news reached the island, the two men, who had lived in the same lodgings, had been buried together – but nobody could say in which cemetery.

Long search
Breege’s father, Tommy Molloy, was only nine years old when his father died. By coincidence, he was in the same class in Derreens school as Brian’s daughter, Biddy.
“I am not sure if he remembered what his father looked like… He didn’t talk about it much,” Breege recalled.
However, neither the Molloys nor the Mastersons forgot about the two men. For years the two families made huge efforts to try to locate the graves, but without success. They knew that the men had died in the Oldham area, but still the burial sites eluded them.
Breege, who had emigrated to Cleveland, recalled how on a visit home to Achill in 1987, her father broke down in tears about not being able to locate his father’s grave.
“It was just the two of us there, and I don’t know how the conversation came about, but it did. It was hard to see your dad sit across the table from you crying at his age.
“I never knew Dad had such strong feelings about finding him until that day. Before that, my mother would say ‘I wish your father could find the final resting place of your grandfather’. But we were young, and sometimes it went in one ear and out the other,” she said.
Breege’s brother Paudie and Brian’s grandson, Michael Masterson, made numerous efforts to try to locate their grandfathers’ graves, but they too were unsuccessful. Paudie passed away in 2016, and not being able to locate his grandfather’s grave was, Breege said, one of his biggest regrets.

Mixed emotions
As the centenary of the two men’s death passed without any grave to visit, it seemed that discovering their final resting place was never to be. However, a major breakthrough came in 2022 when Margaret Grogan, a granddaughter of Brian Masterson, received his death certificate. Recently digitised, it stated he had died in an area called Chatterton.
They searched through all the graveyards online, and after making a number of phone calls they got the information they had been waiting to hear for 100 years. They were told that Brian Masterson and Peter Molloy were buried in Hollingwood Cemetery in Oldham, and there was a grave number to locate the final resting place.
In total, 25 persons are buried in this pauper’s grave. Under local Oldham laws, no tombstones or markers are allowed on such plots.
Michael Masterson, who lives in London, visited the grave to discover it was overgrown with brush and weeds. With help from the Oldham cemetery office, arrangements were made to clean it up, and for this the two families are forever grateful.
Breege recalled receiving an email last year from Michael stating that had found the grave and although she was delighted it was also tinged with sadness.
“I cried because my dad and Paudie tried so hard to find him and they couldn’t. Paudie worked 15 minutes from the cemetery where they were found. He probably passed it many times without knowing, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be.
“My husband passed away in June last year, and I used to talk to him about it, and he wasn’t even here to celebrate that we found their final resting place. There were mixed emotions.”
Breege is Peter’s last remaining grandchild. She has travelled home to Achill this week and will join members of the extended Molloy and Masterson families in celebrating a Mass for Peter and Brian this Saturday, July 22, in Derreens Church.
“They worked together, they died together and are buried together, so it is only appropriate that they are remembered with a Mass for both of them in Derreens Church with their families and friends present,” she said.
After 104 years of searching, the Masterson and Molloy families have finally been given some closure.