Irish Ghost Stories

Unexplained psychic phenomena fascinate people from all walks of life. However, many are afraid, ashamed and embarrassed to come forward for fear of not being taken seriously. Of course, we can’t prove that ghosts exist or don’t exist. We are in a different realm of consciousness when we talk about ghosts. But however strange or unusual the feelings that people experience, the experiences themselves are none the less real.

Celebrated people have had strange experiences. This book includes those of the actor Micheál MacLiammóir and of playwright and author Hugh Leonard (Jack Keyes Byrne). The Lord of the Dance, Michael Flatley, has acknowledged the presence of a ghost named Isabella in his Castlehyde home near Fermoy, County Cork. Oliver St John Gogarty also believed in ghosts.

There are many well-known Irish ghost stories and Padraic O’Farrell tells some of them in this book. He has, however, leaned heavily on the side of lesser-known tales; most of them previously unpublished.