BY GREG O’BRIEN
SPECIAL TO THE BIR
Bucolic Main Street in Brewster on Cape Cod is known for its stately oaks that arch this serpentine country way, graceful sea captains homes, historic churches, and fine cuisine. Brewster in the 1800s was home to more sailing masters per capita than any place in the world. It’s easy to see why.
And so tragedy does not come easy to this town, yet it came suddenly the morning of July 1 as Dubliner Padraig Schaler, a 23-year-old student at Trinity College, was struck by a van and critically injured while bicycling to his job at the stately Bramble Inn, built in 1861 and once a gathering place for locals.

Schaler, who was living in Brewster on a J1 work visa, was not wearing a helmet. He was rushed to Cape Cod Hospital where he was placed in an induced coma to protect his brain, then flown back to Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital days later where he remains in critical condition, his parents, Patricia O’Bryne and Reinhard Schaler, by his side. They parents had flown to the Cape with two of his sisters upon hearing of the accident.
According to Brewster Police report, Schaler was struck by a van driven by Mark Couto, a Brewster plumbing and heating contractor. Both were traveling east on Main Street (Route 6A). Police Chief Richard Koch told the Boston Irish Reporter that Couto’s speed at the time was estimated at 15-to-20 miles an hour in a 30-mile-an-hour zone. No charges have been filed against him.
“The bicyclist without warning darted out in front of the vehicle,” the police report states, noting that Schaler “appeared to have struck the passenger’s side front pillar along with the windshield.” He was knocked to the ground, the report says, and landed on his back on the pavement.
“It appears the driver was trying safely to pass the cyclist with a break in traffic,” Chief Koch said. “The cyclist apparently saw the break as well, and not aware the van was behind him, turned left toward the Bramble Inn in front of the on-coming vehicle.”
“There as nothing the driver of the van could do,” said eyewitness Neal Milan in an on-line comment. “This is heartbreaking,” added Koch. “I wish he had been wearing a helmet.”
“It’s tragic,” said Ciaran Delargy, public affairs officer at the Consulate General Of Ireland offices in Boston. “We’re working closely with the family. They are very private individuals.”
The starkness of a town police report or the compassion of a quotation doesn’t even begin to tell of this story.
Schaler was well liked in Brewster – affable, respectful, and committed to returning to Dublin to continue his studies. He worked two jobs here, one at the Bramble Inn, the other at Gerardi’s Café in neighboring Dennis. On occasion, when the weather was bad in Brewster, some of the locals would drive Schaler home after food shopping at Brewster Farms, putting his bike in the back of their trucks, Chief Koch said.
The Irish Independent reported that Schaler was actively involved with Trinity College’s Irish language society, Cumann na Gaelach, and once held the position of auditor within the society. Founded in 1906 with nearly a thousand members today, Trinity’s Cumann na Gaelach promises, “It is not necessary to be a fluent speaker of Irish to feel at home in the Cumann, as people with only a few words of Irish are also welcome. The Cumann aims to provide an opportunity and a meeting place for those who have an interest in speaking, improving their knowledge of, or learning the Irish language,”
Schaler, a student of the Irish language, was at home with Cumann na Gaelach; he was a passionate, articulate countryman.
Trinity recently organized a special counseling session for affected students, and a Mass was celebrated to pray for Schuler’s recovery. “An awareness night was organized by (Trinity) friends who compiled photo albums of Mr. Schaler,” the paper reported, “and recorded video messages for him.”