Irish Gothic Fairy Stories

by Steve Lally

  There are many ghost stories attached to Duckett’s Grove and it is well known for its resident banshee.

  The banshee is said to be a woman who William Duckett had an affair with; the lady was the daughter of a farmer from the area and sadly she died tragically while out riding her horse. After her death, her mother put the ‘widow’s curse’ on William and thus the Duckett banshee was brought into being.

  The property gets a lot of interest and has even had paranormal investigators trying to discover what is going on inside those now ruined walls.

  Over the years the banshee has been seen and heard throughout the property. Witnesses even claimed to have heard her wail for two days straight from one of the towers. As a result, a woman walking along a path on the property died suddenly. Former employees claim to have seen her several times. One thing for sure is she is not shy – some former employees became very fearful of the entity and abandoned the property, never to return. Apparently, a man saw and heard the banshee in the walled garden and his mother died the next day.

  As mentioned at the beginning of this story, the word banshee means ‘fairy woman’. Because of the Victorian portrayal of fairies as delicate, gentle and joyful creatures, which has lived on through their portrayal in Disney films and other children’s entertainment, the word ‘fairy’ has lost its power and has been weakened over the years. We found a wonderful story collected by student Breda Doran from Baile Ui Mhurchadha, Borris, Co. Carlow. This story dates back to around 1898 and was told by the class teacher about a woman named Mary Doyle from the townland of Kyle.

  When the Gaels (Celts) first came to Ireland, there was a race of people who ruled the land and they were called the Tuatha Dé Danann, and they claimed to be magicians.

  When the Gaels came to the shore the Tuatha Dé Danann were not pleased to see these invaders and told them to go back out to sea and not to return.

  So the Gaels sailed out to sea and pretended to go away, but they had every intention of returning. This was an easy manoeuvre for them as they were expert seafarers.

  But the Tuatha Dé Danann were wise and knew that the invaders would try to come back. As the Gaels were out at sea they caused a great fog to come around the shore so that they would not be able to come back.

  They then caused a great wind, known as a fairy wind (Sí Gaoithe), so that many of the ships were dashed to pieces on the rocks and some of the sailors were drowned. But the Gaels were a brave race who never gave in, and in spite of the winds of the magicians they landed in Ireland. When the magicians saw that the Gaels had landed, they knew their day as the monarchs of the land was over. They were very angry for they did not like to be ruled over by the Gaels, nor did they like to leave Ireland for they liked it too well. So they hid themselves in the mountains and hills of Ireland.

  These are the Sidhe, or the fairies of whom we have heard so much of.

  Co. Dublin: From the Irish Dubh Linn, meaning ‘Black Pool’; however, its official Irish name is Baile Átha Cliath, meaning ‘Town of the Hurdled Ford’. Dublin is the capital city of the Republic of Ireland. The dramatist, writer and folklorist James Stephens (1880–1950) was born in Dublin. His book Irish Fairy Tales (1920) was illustrated by the great fairy artist Arthur Rackham (1867–1939).

  The National Folklore Collection is housed at University College Dublin. Sinéad de Valera (1878–1975), the wife of President Éamon de Valera (1882–1975), was a great collector of Irish fairy stories; she was born in Balbriggan, Co. Dublin. Harry Clarke (1889–1931) was a brilliant stained-glass artist and book illustrator. His style of drawing and use of colour was ‘otherworldly’. His depictions of people and fictional characters captured the very essence of the Sidhe. He was born on St Patrick’s Day in Dublin.

  THE FAIRY PASS (CO. DUBLIN)

  The following story is from Lucan in Co. Dublin. It was documented by various sources as part of the National Folklore Collection from 1937 to 1939. It also has a personal connection with Steve Lally, who lived in Beech Park, Lucan, for the first six years of his life and still has fond memories of going to The Grove Cinema with his late father, to see classics such as Star Wars and Superman.

  In Lucan there is also a building called the ‘Fairy House’ up on a small hill, opposite the entrance to Vesey Park, on your way down to the Hollows. Steve vaguely remembers people talking about it as a child, but it was not somewhere he was ever taken and probably for very good reason – for it was believed that it had been built at the end of a fairy pass.

  Now I don’t know if you have ever heard of a fairy pass (or path) before, but if not, please allow us to tell you. Long, long ago the old people said that these fairy passes were used by the good folk, better known as the fairy folk, to travel around the country. They were not marked out and could not be seen like a road or a lane; in fact, they are quite invisible. But if you were to build a house upon one or cause an obstruction on one such pass, you would bring an awful lot of bad luck upon yourself.

  Even to this day there are still precautions taken before building a house, in order to make sure that you are not obstructing a fairy pass. An old college friend of Steve’s, the Wexford artist and folklorist Michael Fortune, explained to us that when he was building his house in Wexford back in 2010 he was advised by his father to place four ash rods (cut branches from the ash tree) in the four corners of the building. The rods were to be left overnight and when they returned in the morning, if any of the rods were knocked over, pulled out of the ground or damaged in any way, then they knew not to build there as it was obstructing a fairy path. Thankfully there were no signs of disgruntled fairy folk and Michael went ahead and built his house.

  Parts of the story of the fairy path of Lucan was collected by Mollie Byrne, a student from the Presentation Convent, Lucan, who interviewed a 90-year-old man named only as Mr T. McConnell (The Schools’ Collection, Vol. 0794, pp. 3–4), while another girl called Maureen Blake, also a student from the Presentation Convent, got her story from a 78-year-old woman named only as Mrs Dignam (The Schools’ Collection, Vol. 0794, p.10). We have taken it upon ourselves to try and piece them together and get an idea of the full story.

  According to Mr T. McConnell there were many historical places in this locality of Lucan. One of these was situated on top of Fairy House Hill – it was a big yellow house. It was formerly the house of Sir John McConnell (maybe an ancestor of the informant) who lived in the fourteenth century. He was a very cruel man. He committed terrible crimes, so awful that no one would ever speak of them. It was said that one night after committing one of these crimes he was punished by the fairies, who were said to have dwelt around the house. It is said that the house was enchanted by the fairies, for it was built at the end of a fairy path.

  Some years after Sir John died, a lady was seen on a white horse every night at midnight: She rode as far as Cruck House and then disappeared. This phantom may well have been a victim of one of Sir John’s terrible crimes. Mr T. McConnell went on to say that two men he knew by the names of Mr James Gleeson and Mr Michael Byrne were walking down the avenue leading from this house. At the end of the avenue are the ruins of an old lodge. Just as they were passing, a lady dressed in white stepped out and the men bade her ‘Good night’; she did not answer but disappeared through the wall. This was, of course, the phantom lady that haunted this area by night.

  There are a great many little hills around this house. They are known as Hollow Hills for they are where the Sidhe dwell.

  This house is called Fairy House because it is said to be the end of the fairy pass. It is a cursed place and best to be avoided.

  We mentioned earlier about Cruck House, this was a stately home in Lucan and, like Fairy House, it was situated along the fairy pass and had its own fair share of strange happenings. Mrs Dignam, of Lucan, stated that the people of Cruck House used to go to bed at ten o’clock every night – the lights were out, fire was out, all had gone to bed. If anyone was up after that hour it is said that the fairies would c
hase them.

  Mrs Dignam tells a tale that took place along the fairy pass in the year 1868. She states that near Cruck House was a small thatched house where there lived an old man called Mr Dignam (possibly an ancestor of Mrs Dignam) and his wife and children. Outside was a lovely garden full of fruit and vegetables.

  One Saturday night Mr Dignam’s wife was washing some small items of clothing when she heard whispering coming from the garden, so she went outside to locate its source. The whispering was coming from the garden alright but she could not see a thing. She knew it was not her husband as he was in bed resting after a long day working at the market. Poor Mrs Dignam could not understand why she could hear voices but could see no one. She tried telling herself that it was two of the local children stealing cabbages from her garden.

  She even called out, ‘Molly Kelly and whoever is with you, be away with ye now, for if I catch ye, there’ll be Hell to pay!’ After that she went back inside to her husband’s room and said to him, ‘Molly Kelly and her sister are in our garden taking the cabbages. Come out and we shall catch them.’

  The old man replied, ‘My good woman, come in and shut the door and go to bed and don’t mind them.’

  ‘But,’ she said, ‘I must go out and put these clothes on the line.’ Her husband had fallen asleep as this point and her concerns fell on deaf ears.

  So she went outside again to put the things on the line. As she was hanging out the clothes she thought she felt something brush past her, like a small person, a child. She got an awful fright and she called them most awful names and all the robbers as they were. She was both angry and afraid at the same time, and she threatened to go after them with a stick and give them a good thrashing.

  This did not seem to frighten her tormentors in any way at all; in fact, the whispering grew louder and louder and still she could see nobody but herself.

  She ran inside the house and again went into her husband’s room and said, ‘If you don’t come out we will have no vegetables and then what shall we do and the times are so bad.’ But he only nodded his head and said, ‘Shut the door and go to bed, it is the best thing to do, for to do otherwise would draw them upon you!’

  She had no sooner shut the door when a terrible noise shook the house like thunder. The windows shook, the clothes flew off the bed and the holy statues fell from the mantelpiece but they were not broken. ‘Now,’ said the old man, ‘you see what you have done! The fairies will haunt this place every night.’

  The old man knew that his house was built on the fairy pass and he had never said anything about it and he knew the best thing to do was not to interfere or get involved with any of their activities. But his poor wife did not know of this and had upset the wee folk with her shouts and threats. Ironically, it was her that was trespassing on their path and they were not too happy about it at all.

  The fairies wanted to see if the humans who were living on their path would encounter them physically, for if they did, it would allow them to cross over into their world. Unfortunately, the poor woman did touch them and as a result the house and its inhabitants were fair game for the fairy folk.

  If only Mr Dignam had told his poor wife, they may have been saved the torment. But he was a proud man and would not speak of such things to his wife, for fear that she may see him as foolish. But she was to find out the hard way and their story was passed on as a warning to anyone who dared build their house on a fairy pass.

  According to Mrs Dignam, back in those days if you went into a certain field in Lucan known as ‘The Fairy Field’ near Cruck House after twelve at night you would not be able to leave. Instead you would be carried off to an unknown place and there you would have to stay until morning.

  The fairy pass itself extends for about a mile; the entrance is between two trees, which stand on the left-hand side of the fairy field, and passes over the fort and into another field and ends at an avenue where the Fairy House stood. Long ago a lady on a white horse used to be seen galloping across the fairy pass every night at twelve until she came to a certain bush, where she disappeared. This, of course, is the same phantom woman mentioned by Mr T. McConnell.

  The fairy pass is still there and I wonder if any houses are built upon it now? Well, if there are we are sure the occupants would know all about it.

  Co. Kildare: From the Irish Cill Dara, meaning ‘Church of the Oak Tree’. Kildare is a county full of magic, mystery and myth. It was at the Curragh of Kildare where St Brigid lay down her cloak and covered the land with it. Maynooth Castle and Kilkea Castle both belonged to Earl Gerald Fitzgerald, better known as ‘The Wizard Earl’. In the grounds of Kilkea Castle, outside Castledermot, is a small medieval church with a carving of a mermaid; she has a comb in her right hand and there is a serpent with a cat-like head about to bite off her tail. The High King and Queen of Leinster, King Mesgegra and his wife Queen Buan, are laid to rest in Co. Kildare. ‘The Hill of Allen’ in Co. Kildare is one of the most famous mythical locations in Ireland, as Fionn mac Cumhaill had an enormous fortress there. It was in Castletown House, Celbridge, where the Devil himself apparently appeared to Tom Conolly. Co. Kildare was also home to Christy Moore, Dónal Lunny and Liam O’Flynn, all members of the legendary Irish folk group Planxty.

  THE POOKA HORSE (CO. KILDARE)

  Steve first came across the story ‘The Kildare Pooka’ in William Butler Yeats’ 1888 publication Folk and Fairy Tales of the Irish Peasantry. In Yeats’ collection the story was retold by Patrick Kennedy (1801–1873) from his own book, Legendry Fictions of the Irish Celts (1866). Kennedy, from Kilmyshal, Co. Wexford, was well known for his collection of Leinster folk tales. At the age of 21 he enrolled in a teacher training program meat the Kildare Place Society, officially known as the Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor of Ireland, and in 1822 he was appointed as a teacher there. He gave up teaching at some point and opened a lending library and bookshop in Dublin.

  What is very strange about Kennedy’s story is that he has all the names of places, characters and buildings removed from the text only to be replaced by the first letter of each word followed by a dash, but all of which alluded to Rathcoffey Castle or House. Since then Steve has seen this story in many other folklore collections, all with the same names and titles removed. Growing up in Rathcoffey, Steve was once told by an old-timer that Rathcoffey Castle had its own ghost or pooka in residence.

  The pooka is a solitary and sinister fairy who has most likely never appeared in human form. His shape is usually that of a horse, bull, goat, eagle or an ass. As a horse, he takes great delight in throwing an unwary rider from his back, and taking them over ditches, rivers and mountains, shaking them off in the early grey light of morning.

  Then, many years later, by sheer chance, Steve came across a collection called Irish Fairy Tales by the Irish historian and folklorist Padraic O’Farrell, published in 1997. And there it was, ‘The Rathcoffey Pooka’. And the missing names were filled in! This is one of our favourite stories and, like all the stories in this collection, we have put our own twist on the tale. This story is part of Steve’s repertoire, and he shares it whenever he travels around storytelling.

  In the province of Leinster there lies Co. Kildare and within Kildare lies Rathcoffey in the civil parish of Balraheen, halfway between Maynooth and Clane, and standing on top of Rathcoffey Hill is Rathcoffey Castle. The castle is now in ruins but it was once a magnificent building renowned for its feasts and banquets. Now you see there are two parts to Rathcoffey Castle, one is the original remains of the twelfth-century Norman castle built by the Wogan family. The second and most prominent feature is the shell of Rathcoffey House, built by Archibald Hamilton Rowan in 1784. Rowan was a prominent figure in the 1798 Rebellion. In 1790 he was a founding member of the Dublin Society of United Irish Men, working alongside such famous revolutionaries as William Drennan and Theobald Wolfe Tone. It is more than likely for this reason that Patrick Kennedy was so secretive about the names and places associated with the story.


  Archibald was often away a lot on serious business, as it was around the time of the Great Rising of 1798. But the people of the great house still entertained guests and whenever the master of the house returned they always made sure to put on a great spread for him and his comrades.

  Now, auld Archibald was in a lot of bother for his involvement in certain political activities around the time. To put it another way, he was what you might call a ‘Wanted Man’. On one occasion he was hiding out at Rathcoffey House when he saw a troop of English soldiers riding towards him over the hill. Well, Archibald did not waste any time for he knew these boys were not calling round for a cup of tea and a chat. So he whistled out for his horse, who came galloping out from his stable beside the house. Archibald was standing on the balcony of his house and jumped off it, landing square on the horse’s back, and away they rode towards Clongowes Wood, which was known at the time as Castlebrowne. His pursuers were hot on his trail and firing their muskets at him. He rode like the devil towards Castlebrowne and when he got there he burst through the front doors, went straight up the stairs, opened the window in one of the top rooms and threw his hat out of the window. Well, now his posse were close behind and followed him up to the room and saw the open window and his hat lying on the ground below so the figured he had jumped out to escape. They ran back down the stairs and searched everywhere for him but there was neither sight nor sound of him at all.

  What his tormentors did not know was that there was a secret chamber in the library on the top floor of Clongowes Wood Castle. Archibald opened a secret door that was disguised as a row of bookshelves and in he went to join his dear friend Wogan Browne for a glass of fine wine and a game of cards and enjoy a good laugh at his pursuers’ expense. That secret room has since been sealed up but the door that looks like a row of bookshelves is still there. In June 2018 Steve and Paula were shown this secret door by Charlie Connor, a Jesuit still living at Clongowes Wood College. It was indeed a great privilege to feel part of such a great story.