A Little Blarney!

Catherine O’Leary (ca. 1827 – July 3, 1895) was an Irish immigrant living in Chicago, Illinois in the 1870’s. It was alleged that on the evening of October 8, 1871, the fire began with the O’Leary’s cow knocking over a lantern in her barn at 137 DeKoven Street, which went on to burn a large percentage of the city, an event known as the Great Chicago Fire. She was married to Patrick O’Leary.