Patrick Cotter O'Brien was the second of 29 known people in medical history to have verifiably reached a height of 8 feet (240 cm) or more. O'Brien was born in Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. His real name was Patrick Cotter and he adopted O'Brien as his stage name in the sideshow circus, claiming descent from the legendarily gigantic Brian Boru. He was also known as the Bristol Giant and the Irish Giant. Another giant of this period, Charles Byrne, also claimed to be an O'Brien.