The Irish Giant

Patrick O'Brien (courtesy of Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives).

 Patrick O’Brien (born Patrick Cotter) was 8 foot and 1 inch tall (about 2metres and 40cm). He would have had to stoop a bit in some modern day houses so as not to bang his head on the ceiling. The Guiness Book of Records states that he was the seventh tallest man in the world ever.

He was brought over to Bristol from Ireland in 1779 and first appeared at St. James’ Fair that year. People were charged to come and see him and he was reported to have earned £30 (the equivalent of £3,000 in today’s money) in three days in 1780, possibly whilst he was at The Full Moon, Stokes Croft.

He used his money to buy property in Kingsdown and bought two houses on Kingsdown Parade. He died in 1806 at the age of 46.

(Kingsdown: Bristol’s Vertical Suburb, Penny Mellor and Mary Wright, 2009)