Murder at Mother Mac’s

In the early hours of a June morning in 1976, a quiet pub on the edge of Manchester’s Northern Quarter became the scene of one of the city’s most disturbing crimes. Mother Mac’s - then a modest backstreet local near Piccadilly - was run by Arthur Bradbury, a man known to regulars as reserved, private, and deeply devoted to his family. Behind closed doors, however, something was unravelling. When police were called to the pub, they discovered a scene that would shock even seasoned officers: a family annihilated, a building turned into a crime scene, and a man who had taken his own life after killing those closest to him.

Another story I had never heard before – this happened a few weeks before I was born, far away from sleepy Cornwall, so perhaps no wonder.

I discovered this case when I was reading an amazing book by Dr Geoffrey Garrett, the former Home Office pathologist. I devoured the book in one sitting and I highly recommend it.

This story is one of sheer desperation – a man driven to murder by the pressures of survival, a woman who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and a family annihilation.

I’ve seen a comment online from Ann Hennigan’s daughter – she said – “My mother was innocent as were the other victims and I know my family will never truly ever overcome the great sadness we all have to live with. Just great sorrow. We remain heartbroken and we will never ever overcome such a tragic and
painful loss.”

In the comment posted in 2011 she asked that the framed newspaper cuttings about the massacre be taken down from the walls of the pub. I don’t know that this was done at the time, but I hope that the re-birth of the pub as the Rat and Pigeon gives more dignity to all of the victims.