Family History | Nine Irish Brothers

Berton William Patrick O'Bryan, the first Irish brother, was, in his own words a "strong, healthy, handsome, intelligent, and adorable lad." In fact, Bert claims that when he was born, "Mom and Dad felt so blessed, they tried again and again—in fact 13 times—to replicate their first bundle of joy.

James Sylvester O'Bryan, brother number two, left the family farm at the age of 16 for the seminary. And while his mother Julia prayed that he would become a priest, God and Jim had other plans, and by the mid 50's, he was serving his country in the US Army in Japan. At the end of his service, Jim married Mary Anne, earned his accounting degree from Marian College, became a CPA and Indianapolis businessman, and had three beautiful Colleens.

Patricia O'Bryan was the first of the sisters, and a true "sister" at that! A Catholic nun, Sister Pat was also the founder and director of Edelweiss House, a home for abused boys in Southern Indiana. Sister Patty loved being the eldest female and remembers how much fun it was to help raise her other brothers and sisters; and they, in turn, have helped Sister Pat in her mission to turn around the lives of the misfortunate.

Colleen O'Bryan, the second Irish sister, remembers being seven years old and playing dolls with her sister, Pat, when they both decided that "they were going to take care of all the poor kids in the world." Little did either of them know that Patty would start a home for children, or that Colleen would be "raising a bunch of my own."

"Mo" is the third Irish sister, and as her father called her, the first "blue-eyed blonde good luck charm" to be born into the family. She idolized her two older brothers (that is, until the day they chased her around the barnyard with a chicken.).

Julia Josephine Elizabeth was the sixth O'Bryan child. As she claims, Judy was "of such beauty that God caused only boys to be born in the family for the next six years." A real tomboy (as you would expect her to be with nine brothers), Judy loved to climb trees, fight like the boys, and even once, at her brothers' urging, climbed up for a ride on the back seat of the manure spreader. She never did that again.

Michael Joseph is the third brother and seventh overall. Born after a string of four girls who doted on him, by the age of six he was know as the "little chef" for making his older brothers pancakes, bacon, and eggs every morning before they went out to milk the cows.

William Thomas, the fourth Irish brother, is absolutely certain that the teachers at Lebanon High School "could wait to get me out of school!" Willie had his first job at 15 and never looked back, ending his working career after 31 years at GM. Willie now devotes his time to volunteering at St. Joseph's.

Norman is the fifth Irish brother. Sandwiched, he claims, "between the wise older ones and the gullible younger ones." Both he and brother Tim remember how they cooked up the Great O'Bryan Plan: The boys had to milk the cows in the morning and were always running behind for the bus. If they missed it, it meant a four-mile walk to school.

Timothy Patrick, brother number six, also loved Christmas on the family farm, more than any other day, because of the "five gallon lard cans full of cookies and the piles of oranges, apples, and candy under the tree." The best Christmas morning? Well that would be the one when the boys got BB guns. The worst? The same one, when they proceeded to shoot out all the windows of the henhouse.

Robert George, brother number seven, claims to have worked at different times for Michael, Norman, and Jim, but he doesn't remember actually getting paid for the work. Bobby was educated at Ball State, where he was a wrestler and a soccer player. He taught school for 33 years and coached just about every sport any kid in Indiana ever played, including Chess. He also worked as an EMT for several years.

Karen Gerard Patricia is sister number five, whose parents were surprised when their promised bouncing baby boy turned out to be a girl! She says she may as well have been a boy, though. In sixth grade, she hit a home run so far that it busted out the stained glass window in the church at the very end of the schoolyard.

John Anthony is the second-to-last Irish brother, who made a grand entrance into the world, "butt first." His formative years at St. Joseph's Elementary, where the nuns presided as "judge, jury, and executioner," prepared him for a career in the military. After graduating from Marian like his brother Berton, Johnny joined the National Guard and eventually retired after twenty-two years as a major in the U.S. Army reserves.

Jerry (or "Gerd" as his grandson Jack likes to call him), is the younger of the Nine Irish Brothers and Five Irish Sisters who gave this pub its name. Jerry claims that, when he was born and his parents took a look at him, they realized "after 13 tries, they had FINALLY reached perfection!" There are others among us who don't share his certainty. Jerry is the baby of the family, and by admission of all, the orneriest of all.