The Well Drawing Mother of a Bishop!
“May you be the mother of a bishop!” An Irish “blessing”, depending on the context of the utterer At the well she …
The Carnmoney Vicar and the Devil
The vicar of Carnmoney was a greedy sort for money So the histories of the time of him tell The Devil spotted …
Lady Christmas on the Moor
You have heard of Father Christmas, even Mrs Christmas his alleged wife… but you will not have heard of Lady Christmas… for …
Soldiers Death Announced By Spirits Unseen
Christmas Eve, House hushed, the lonesome cry echoed through the frosty air It was said to be but an owl by all …
Lovers of Loftus Hall
She was a fine maiden of thirty years At the table playing cards He, the dark stranger who had come A gentleman …
The Web of Linen
Based on a folk take of the Carty (as Carthy should be spelled!!!) family, told to the Irish Folklore Commission, Eileen’s great …
She Loved Not Him Who Her Father Chose
A poem I wrote some years back, on love, a disapproving family, and a tragedy of murder and suicide! which I now …
The Old Bond Store Ghost
ghost tale from Tullamore retold in verse, first told by Walter Burke, former leasee of the bar in the Tullamore Dew Heritage …
Babser
My family came to Banagher in 1977 from Ballinalee in North Longford (via Clones, Athlone, Daingean and Moate!) and I grew up …
Tyler from Beyond the Grave
Sometimes, within the dead of night, the lodge held in the grip of the dark, When no master sits on the Dias …
The Headless Horseman Rides At Night
The headless horseman rides at night The story the locals tell From Charleville walls is seen the sight Of the spectre from …
Old Clonbroney
This is a ghost story told to me by my mother, from her grandparents, either Kiernans Mill or Treacys. The roadway mentioned …
Dead Souls And Black Dogs
The little old lady had lived for long, She was great of age And the time was coming along For her to …
Sitting There Saying Nothing
She sits there saying nothing A wee woman and her wains We know not who she is That sits there with her …
The Hounds of Hells Lake
Barking from its rocky shore At sailors passing by Sometimes at the death of day Sometimes under a noontime sky The black …
A Dream Shared Unknowingly
Picture: Athlone refugee centre, scene of some of the fighting in the Sieges of Athlone in the Wiliamite Wars 1689-1692 A dream …
Did a Spirit Knock On Rossbawn’s Walls?
The story is told that an agent was slain By a tenant called Delaney who on the run did die In caves …