CITY OF BELFAST GUIDED TOURS

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." Hamlet Act 1. Scene 5.

HELENA BLUNDEN

Helena Blunden was a bright, cheerful, popular and talented young girl who lived in Raphael Street in the old Market area of Belfast and worked in the linen mill which was situated there. She had been born in Ireland but raised in England and she returned to her country of birth with her family in 1911 and settled in Belfast, where she found employment in the spinning room of the linen mill. Helena had an excellent voice and a promising career as an opera singer lay in front of her. (A recording on wax cylinder reported to be Helena can be heard on You Tube) On the 14th April 1912 Helena was due to attend a concert in the Grand Opera House, Belfast and expected to finish work that day at 12 noon. However, she became detained and didn't finish until 7pm and hastily headed to the staircase to make her exit. She didn't notice the mop which had been momentarily discarded by an exhausted cleaner called Margaret and tripped over it. She fell over the banister landing on the floor below and died instantly.
 
Helena's tragic death was to be overshadowed by another tragedy which was to occur in the early hours of the next morning (the sinking of the Titanic) but her ghost was said to continue to haunt the linen mill and although the building is now a printing press, her spirit is still said to roam the building, seeking to make her escape to the new, promising life that had once been ahead of her. 

This is the recording of Helena'voice 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MLw4EqnXOg  

There are also cameras installed in the premises and some people claim to have either seen or heard Helena, follow the link... 

www.irelandseye.com/ghost/6mon3.shtm - Cached  

Co CORK

The Commodore Hotel overlooks Cobh Harbour and was built in 1855. One of the ghostly phenomena connected to the hotel is tragic and has been experienced by many guests over the years. 
 
In the early years of the twentieth century, a young woman checked into the hotel with a small baby. The next day she boarded a boat and emigrated to America but she left a small suitcase behind. When it was opened by staff, they were greeted by the horrific sight of the poor, unfortunate infant that had been murdered by it's mother. Since then many guests have complained that they were kept awake at night by the sound of a baby crying from outside their door. When they investigate, they find the corridor empty.
 
Another ghost story connected to the hotel is that of a young British soldier who stayed at the hotel one night. The next morning, he didn't show up for breakfast and his friends went to investigate. They found him dead in his room - he had taken his own life. Now, those who stay in the room describe various disturbances and temperature fluctuations every night at the same time. Is this the time the young captain committed suicide?
 
Cobh was also the last port of call for the Titanic before it sank. The building which lead to the pier where passengers boarded the ship was later opened as a bar and restaurant but strange things soon began to happen, which many associated with the tragic fate of Titanic. 
 
When the project was in it's early stages, a plasterer working in the building claimed that he heard quite clearly the name 'Margaret' being called out. Later that same day, three individuals witnessed the apparition of a woman in old fashioned clothing walking along a corridor in the building. Some people believe that this apparition is that of Margaret Rice, a local woman who died on board the Titanic with her five children. It is not known however, who the disembodied voice that calls out to her belongs to.
 
Three years after the Titanic tragedy, the Lusitania was sunk off the Southern Irish coast by a German u-boat, taking the lives of over one thousand people. Three hundred of the dead were pulled ashore at Cobh and many of them were buried there. Since then, locals of Cobh have reported seeing the apparitions of the men and women who died in the disaster in various locations about the town.
 
Spike Island lies across the water from Cobh harbour and is said to be incredibly haunted. In it's long history the island has played host to monks, slaves, prisoners and soldiers. During the Famine, the island was in use as a prison and it is thought that around seven hundred prisoners were buried in unmarked graves on the island at this time. There have been various sightings of these ghostly prisoners who many believe are not at rest because they didn't receive a proper burial.
 
The island is also said to be the home of choice for a Banshee and was home to 'Little Nellie' who reputedly received messages from the Virgin Mary. Nellie made quite an impression on the Bishop of Cork and he allowed her to receive Holy Communion at the tender age of five.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

 


Jackie, Mossy - your photos are great. You were such a wonderful guide to us. 11:18 PM on February 10, 2010 by hauntedtraveler@gmail.com

 

HALLOWEEN

Halloween has its origins in the ancient festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sau-an), which is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end". This was a Gaelic festival celebrated mainly in Ireland and Scotland. However, similar festivals were held by other Celts – for example the festival of Calan Gaeaf (pronounced kalan-geyf) which was held by the ancient Britons.The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".

 

 Bonfires played a large part in the festivities

The  celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. The purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities then and even to this day. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.

Another common practise was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink. The name Halloween (Hallowed Eve) and many present-day traditions, derive from the Old English era.

The name Halloween and many present-day traditions, derive from the Old English era.
The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. 
The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.
Another common practise was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.
The name Halloween and many present-day traditions, derive from the Old English era.

 

The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".
The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.
Another common practise was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.
The name Halloween and many present-day traditions, derive from the Old English era.

 

THE HAUNTED BRIDGE

 
The area where we are now is known as Drumbeg which in old Irish means ‘little ridge’.  The ridge is uphill as far as Upper Dunmurry Lane and levels out for approximately four miles where it sweeps down into Belfast City Centre. Many people believe that this stretch of roadway one mile long from here to Upper Dunmurry Lane is one of the most haunted in Ireland. On the opposite side of the road across from the Drum Bridge, stands the Parish Church of St. Patrick. We know that a church has been in existence there since the late 13th century from Papal tax records 1n 1306 AD. We also know that the area did not escape the Black Death in 1348 which wiped out at least a third of the population of Europe. In 1355 AD a flu epidemic ravaged Europe decimating the population further. 
The area where we are now is known as Drumbeg which in old Irish means ‘little ridge’.  The ridge is uphill as far as Upper Dunmurry Lane and levels out for approximately four miles where it sweeps down into Belfast City Centre. Many people believe that this stretch of roadway one mile long from here to Upper Dunmurry Lane is one of the most haunted in Ireland. On the opposite side of the road across from the Drum Bridge, stands the Parish Church of St. Patrick. We know that a church has been in existence there since the late 13th century from Papal tax records 1n 1306 AD. We also know that the area did not escape the Black Death in 1348 which wiped out at least a third of the population of Europe. In 1355 AD a flu epidemic ravaged Europe decimating the population further. 
The area where we are now is known as Drumbeg which in old Irish means ‘little ridge’.  
 
 The Drum Bridge over the River Lagan
 
The ridge is uphill as far as Upper Dunmurry Lane and levels out for approximately four miles where it sweeps down into Belfast City Centre. Many people believe that this stretch of roadway one mile long from here to Upper Dunmurry Lane is one of the most haunted in Ireland. On the opposite side of the road across from the Drum Bridge, stands the Parish Church of St. Patrick. We know that a church has been in existence there since the late 13th century from Papal tax records 1n 1306 AD. We also know that the area did not escape the Black Death in 1348 which wiped out at least a third of the population of Europe then in 1355 AD a flu epidemic ravaged Europe decimating the population further. 
The present church was built in 1870. At the entrance to the church we see a ‘Lych Gate’, LYCH is from the old English word meaning corpse and originally the body was set on a bier underneath the Lych Gate where the clergy would perform the funeral rite.

During the 17th and 18th centuries the main route from Belfast to Dublin  passed along the Drum Bridge and on to Ballyskeagh to Lisburn . The contour of the old road can still be seen at the rear of the church.

Halloween has its origins in the ancient festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sau-an), which is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end". This was a Gaelic festival celebrated mainly in Ireland and Scotland. However, similar festivals were held by other Celts – for example the festival of Calan Gaeaf (pronounced kalan-geyf) which was held by the ancient Britons.
.
The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".
The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.
Another common practise was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.
The name Halloween and many present-day traditions, derive from the Old English era.

We will now move up river and I will tell you a little more.

HADDOCKS GHOST
When Lieutenant James Haddock died unexpectedly on 18 December  1657, he left his affairs unfinished. He had been in the process of finalising a lease of his property from Lord Donegal in favour of his son, John. Now the administration of his estate was left in the hands of his neighbour, Jacob Davis.

Seeing an opportunity to acquire the property for himself and his heirs, Davis soon married James Haddock's widow, Arminell, and set about changing the lease and will of James Haddock. By the time the legalities were nearing completion, Arminell bore him a son whose name he inserted into the lease instead of James Haddock's son, John. Rumour of this perversion of justice had circulated amongst Haddock's fellow officers and friends but, since Davis had the affairs in his own hands, little could be done to prevent the miscarriage of justice.

James Haddock had been dead for four years when one evening a A young man named Francis Tavener was riding home towards Belfast at the end of a busy day attending to some business connected with the estate of Lord Donegal, whose servant he was. He may have been meditating on the stories he had heard about James Haddock's betrayal or maybe he was recalling the day of Haddock's funeral to Drumbeg churchyard four years earlier when he had been one of the mourners along with many of Haddock's friends and a contingent of Crown Forces. At any rate, as he journeyed along past Drumbeg churchyard it was getting late in the day, and although he considered pausing for a refreshment at the Bell Inn just outside the church grounds, he decided to press on in order to get through the heavily wooded stretch of road ahead, up the Bell Hill and on to Malone. Thus it was that in the gathering dusk, as he passed over the Drum Bridge his horse suddenly shied violently and became so agitated that Tavener dismounted and soothed the animal. As he stood on the road at the horse's head, he became aware that the horse had become rigid and gradually a shadowy figure materialised from the gloom beside him. Although Tavener was badly scared he nevertheless demanded to know who what was happening and a voice answered him which he instantly recognised as that of Haddock, who demanded that Tavener take action against the perversion of justice which was being done and instructed him to have his son restored to his legal inheritance. Tavener tried to break away from his ghostly detainer but the apparition threatened to haunt him until justice was done. At last Tavener managed to remount and ride quickly to his home. For some days afterwards, Francis Tavener tried to put the whole episode into into the back of his mind, persuading himself that thinking about the whole matter, together with the lateness of the hour and his tiredness, had contributed to an insubstantial hallucination on that notorious stretch of road. But just as he was beginning to get easier in his mind, James Haddock appeared to him in his own home, repeating that, until justice was done, he would never cease to haunt him.
In desperation Francis Tavener went to lodge with a shoemaker friend named Pierce, who had a house close to the docks in High Street in Belfast, and here he hoped to have given the ghost the slip. Not so. Shortly, as the two friends sat around the turf fire one evening, Haddock appeared again, demanding why Tavener had not done as he had requested and assuring Tavener that if he failed to convince Jacob Davies and Arminell that they must restore the inheritance to his son he was then to take the case to Carrickfergus court, when Haddock would provide a witness. Although the shoemaker had heard and seen nothing, he was aware of his friend's distress and together they went next day to consult with Lord Donegal's curate. He referred them to Dr Lewis Downes, Vicar of Belfast, who was convinced of the genuineness of the visitation and, having failed to persuade Jacob Davis to alter his mind, he prepared a case for the Ecclesiastical Court at Carrickfergus.
On the day of the hearing, a great crowd had assembled, as news of the litigation had spread through the countryside, and all were speculating as to how the case would be concluded. When the witness for Haddock's application was required, there was a roar of laughter inside the courtroom as the usher stood up and shouted 'Call James Haddock' for all present knew that Haddock had been dead for five years. The laughter was mixed with cat-calls as the usher shouted 'Call James Haddock' for the second time. Complying with the law, the usher for the third time shouted 'Call James Haddock.' Immediately there came a blinding flash of lightning accompanied by a deafening peal of thunder. The building was shaken by a great gust of wind, a hand appeared on the Bible and a voice said 'Is that enough?' It was enough. Jacob Davis left the court a disgraced man, to the jeers of the crowd, and in his fury spurred his horse cruelly. Attempting to negotiate a tricky piece of laneway, he was thrown heavily over his mount's head and broke his neck.
 Eventually the Lord Bishop, the famous Jeremy Taylor, set up a commission to enquire into the strange story and the conclusion was reached that it was an instance of an 'autentic visitation'.

This could be regarded as a classic case of a ghost returning to right a wrong. Haddock has never been seen since however his headstone still lies over in the churchyard….numerous attempts to set it upright have always failed …it keeps falling over and even today it still does not lie straight or parallel to the ground

This area along the River Lagan was notorious for highwaymen, robbers and all sorts of vagabonds who were attracted by rich pickings from wealthy travellers. Rich and poor were equally robbed without any compassion and as the fledgling linen industry developed along the river thefts from linen mills and bleach greens were common occurrences. By 1763 crime had reached such a zenith that the local magistrate ordered the construction of a gallows on the Drum Bridge. We have on record the case of Patrick Gordon convicted for stealing linen from a bleach green being hung in 1783 before a crowd of three hundred people. 

On the 26th July 1784, a woman was ordered to be publicly whipped from Lisnagarvey (now Lisburn) to the Drum Bridge for committing several crimes in the area. 

Many motorists have reported taking evasive action to avoid an old woman carrying an infant child along this stretch of road around the bridge, some say she was the wife of a highwayman hanged at the bridge. 
Let us move along further and I will tell you a story which may be connected to this old woman.

I have done a lot of study and research into the old Belfast Workhouse. About 20 years ago I conducted some oral histories and one elderly lady who had trained as a nurse in the infirmary (circa 1930’s) adjoining the workhouse to me this story. She had come from a medical family and one uncle was a prominent doctor here in Belfast. Whilst wealthy and successful he was a very kind altruistic human being. One Sunday around 1908 he decided to take his pony and carriage for a ride around the outskirts of Belfast and passed over the Drum Bridge. He saw an old woman clutching a child about three months old begging for money to take the child to the infirmary. The child’s head and one eye were heavily bandaged but he noticed blood and puss emanating from the bandage across the child’s eye. He approached the woman stating he was a doctor and asked to see the child, she began to run away but he caught up with her and she threw the child to the ground and ran through the woods. The doctor picked up the child, took it to his carriage and as he unwrapped the bandage a huge spider scuttled away from the child’s eye. We have all seen those large tarantula type garden spiders which come into our homes at this time of year.

Although we have no venomous spiders in Ireland all spiders bite and this woman was allowing the spider to eat into the infants eye to gain sympathy and as a means of begging. The Doctor took the child home and it died a few days later.



Take the example of the appearance of the ghost of John McKeown at the Belfast workhouse on the Lisburn Road. McKeown had been a pauper at the workhouse before his suspicious death in 1894. He had committed a minor offence in the workhouse and was locked away in the ‘lunatic section’, chained to his cell floor by the notorious housemaster Hamilton Douglas. In a short period of time McKeown was dead. The cause of death was recorded as ‘exhaustion’. During the inquest there was no reasonable explanation as to why his body was covered in bruises. The jury at the inquest knew that something was not right: they recommended that the rules for locking up paupers in the ‘lunatic section’ should be changed. The chaplain of the workhouse noted that ‘a strange figure was seen in ragged clothes and it disappeared without leaving the room’. Soon stories began to be told in Belfast that John McKeown had come back from the dead to take his revenge on Hamilton Douglas. 

The ghost of the Belfast workhouse was an apparition in ragged clothing who would be seen whenever a death occurred in suspicious circumstances there. (Unfortunately, those who ran such institutions were often immoral, wicked and abusive and being poor was seen as a criminal offence in those hard days) The deaths always occurred in the lunatic asylum in the building although the ghost was only seen in this section once, he had previously been seen within the dormitories. However the last sighting of the ghost is, in my opinion, the most interesting.

In May 1895 a woman named Sarah McCreevy was getting ready to go to bed at her home in Portland Street in the York Street area. As she reached the top of the stairs she saw the clear figure of a man in ragged clothing FLOATING in front of her. She ran screaming from the building to her neighbour's home where she recounted her story. Some other neighbours went to investigate but they found the house empty. Nevertheless, Mrs McCreevy stayed with her neighbour that night. 
The next morning, officials from the workhouse came to Mrs McCreevy to tell her that her husband had died. He died in suspicious circumstances in the lunatic asylum of the building!

We are given to believe that Hamilton Douglas was removed from his post but no charges were ever brought against him.
The present church was built in 1870. At the entrance to the church we see a ‘Lych Gate’, LYCH is from the old English word meaning corpse and originally the body was set on a bier underneath the Lych Gate where the clergy would perform the funeral rite.

During the 17th and 18th centuries the main route from Belfast to Dublin  passed along the Drum Bridge and on to Ballyskeagh to Lisburn . The contour of the old road can still be seen at the rear of the church.

Halloween has its origins in the ancient festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sau-an), which is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end". This was a Gaelic festival celebrated mainly in Ireland and Scotland. However, similar festivals were held by other Celts – for example the festival of Calan Gaeaf (pronounced kalan-geyf) which was held by the ancient Britons.
.
The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".
The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.
Another common practise was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.
The name Halloween and many present-day traditions, derive from the Old English era.

We will now move up river and I will tell you a little more.

HADDOCKS GHOST
When Lieutenant James Haddock died unexpectedly on 18 December  1657, he left his affairs unfinished. He had been in the process of finalising a lease of his property from Lord Donegal in favour of his son, John. Now the administration of his estate was left in the hands of his neighbour, Jacob Davis.

Seeing an opportunity to acquire the property for himself and his heirs, Davis soon married James Haddock's widow, Arminell, and set about changing the lease and will of James Haddock. By the time the legalities were nearing completion, Arminell bore him a son whose name he inserted into the lease instead of James Haddock's son, John. Rumour of this perversion of justice had circulated amongst Haddock's fellow officers and friends but, since Davis had the affairs in his own hands, little could be done to prevent the miscarriage of justice.

James Haddock had been dead for four years when one evening a A young man named Francis Tavener was riding home towards Belfast at the end of a busy day attending to some business connected with the estate of Lord Donegal, whose servant he was. He may have been meditating on the stories he had heard about James Haddock's betrayal or maybe he was recalling the day of Haddock's funeral to Drumbeg churchyard four years earlier when he had been one of the mourners along with many of Haddock's friends and a contingent of Crown Forces. At any rate, as he journeyed along past Drumbeg churchyard it was getting late in the day, and although he considered pausing for a refreshment at the Bell Inn just outside the church grounds, he decided to press on in order to get through the heavily wooded stretch of road ahead, up the Bell Hill and on to Malone. Thus it was that in the gathering dusk, as he passed over the Drum Bridge his horse suddenly shied violently and became so agitated that Tavener dismounted and soothed the animal. As he stood on the road at the horse's head, he became aware that the horse had become rigid and gradually a shadowy figure materialised from the gloom beside him. Although Tavener was badly scared he nevertheless demanded to know who what was happening and a voice answered him which he instantly recognised as that of Haddock, who demanded that Tavener take action against the perversion of justice which was being done and instructed him to have his son restored to his legal inheritance. Tavener tried to break away from his ghostly detainer but the apparition threatened to haunt him until justice was done. At last Tavener managed to remount and ride quickly to his home. For some days afterwards, Francis Tavener tried to put the whole episode into into the back of his mind, persuading himself that thinking about the whole matter, together with the lateness of the hour and his tiredness, had contributed to an insubstantial hallucination on that notorious stretch of road. But just as he was beginning to get easier in his mind, James Haddock appeared to him in his own home, repeating that, until justice was done, he would never cease to haunt him.
In desperation Francis Tavener went to lodge with a shoemaker friend named Pierce, who had a house close to the docks in High Street in Belfast, and here he hoped to have given the ghost the slip. Not so. Shortly, as the two friends sat around the turf fire one evening, Haddock appeared again, demanding why Tavener had not done as he had requested and assuring Tavener that if he failed to convince Jacob Davies and Arminell that they must restore the inheritance to his son he was then to take the case to Carrickfergus court, when Haddock would provide a witness. Although the shoemaker had heard and seen nothing, he was aware of his friend's distress and together they went next day to consult with Lord Donegal's curate. He referred them to Dr Lewis Downes, Vicar of Belfast, who was convinced of the genuineness of the visitation and, having failed to persuade Jacob Davis to alter his mind, he prepared a case for the Ecclesiastical Court at Carrickfergus.
On the day of the hearing, a great crowd had assembled, as news of the litigation had spread through the countryside, and all were speculating as to how the case would be concluded. When the witness for Haddock's application was required, there was a roar of laughter inside the courtroom as the usher stood up and shouted 'Call James Haddock' for all present knew that Haddock had been dead for five years. The laughter was mixed with cat-calls as the usher shouted 'Call James Haddock' for the second time. Complying with the law, the usher for the third time shouted 'Call James Haddock.' Immediately there came a blinding flash of lightning accompanied by a deafening peal of thunder. The building was shaken by a great gust of wind, a hand appeared on the Bible and a voice said 'Is that enough?' It was enough. Jacob Davis left the court a disgraced man, to the jeers of the crowd, and in his fury spurred his horse cruelly. Attempting to negotiate a tricky piece of laneway, he was thrown heavily over his mount's head and broke his neck.
 Eventually the Lord Bishop, the famous Jeremy Taylor, set up a commission to enquire into the strange story and the conclusion was reached that it was an instance of an 'autentic visitation'.

This could be regarded as a classic case of a ghost returning to right a wrong. Haddock has never been seen since however his headstone still lies over in the churchyard….numerous attempts to set it upright have always failed …it keeps falling over and even today it still does not lie straight or parallel to the ground

This area along the River Lagan was notorious for highwaymen, robbers and all sorts of vagabonds who were attracted by rich pickings from wealthy travellers. Rich and poor were equally robbed without any compassion and as the fledgling linen industry developed along the river thefts from linen mills and bleach greens were common occurrences. By 1763 crime had reached such a zenith that the local magistrate ordered the construction of a gallows on the Drum Bridge. We have on record the case of Patrick Gordon convicted for stealing linen from a bleach green being hung in 1783 before a crowd of three hundred people. 

On the 26th July 1784, a woman was ordered to be publicly whipped from Lisnagarvey (now Lisburn) to the Drum Bridge for committing several crimes in the area. 

Many motorists have reported taking evasive action to avoid an old woman carrying an infant child along this stretch of road around the bridge, some say she was the wife of a highwayman hanged at the bridge. 
Let us move along further and I will tell you a story which may be connected to this old woman.

I have done a lot of study and research into the old Belfast Workhouse. About 20 years ago I conducted some oral histories and one elderly lady who had trained as a nurse in the infirmary (circa 1930’s) adjoining the workhouse to me this story. She had come from a medical family and one uncle was a prominent doctor here in Belfast. Whilst wealthy and successful he was a very kind altruistic human being. One Sunday around 1908 he decided to take his pony and carriage for a ride around the outskirts of Belfast and passed over the Drum Bridge. He saw an old woman clutching a child about three months old begging for money to take the child to the infirmary. The child’s head and one eye were heavily bandaged but he noticed blood and puss emanating from the bandage across the child’s eye. He approached the woman stating he was a doctor and asked to see the child, she began to run away but he caught up with her and she threw the child to the ground and ran through the woods. The doctor picked up the child, took it to his carriage and as he unwrapped the bandage a huge spider scuttled away from the child’s eye. We have all seen those large tarantula type garden spiders which come into our homes at this time of year.

Although we have no venomous spiders in Ireland all spiders bite and this woman was allowing the spider to eat into the infants eye to gain sympathy and as a means of begging. The Doctor took the child home and it died a few days later.



Take the example of the appearance of the ghost of John McKeown at the Belfast workhouse on the Lisburn Road. McKeown had been a pauper at the workhouse before his suspicious death in 1894. He had committed a minor offence in the workhouse and was locked away in the ‘lunatic section’, chained to his cell floor by the notorious housemaster Hamilton Douglas. In a short period of time McKeown was dead. The cause of death was recorded as ‘exhaustion’. During the inquest there was no reasonable explanation as to why his body was covered in bruises. The jury at the inquest knew that something was not right: they recommended that the rules for locking up paupers in the ‘lunatic section’ should be changed. The chaplain of the workhouse noted that ‘a strange figure was seen in ragged clothes and it disappeared without leaving the room’. Soon stories began to be told in Belfast that John McKeown had come back from the dead to take his revenge on Hamilton Douglas. 

The ghost of the Belfast workhouse was an apparition in ragged clothing who would be seen whenever a death occurred in suspicious circumstances there. (Unfortunately, those who ran such institutions were often immoral, wicked and abusive and being poor was seen as a criminal offence in those hard days) The deaths always occurred in the lunatic asylum in the building although the ghost was only seen in this section once, he had previously been seen within the dormitories. However the last sighting of the ghost is, in my opinion, the most interesting.

In May 1895 a woman named Sarah McCreevy was getting ready to go to bed at her home in Portland Street in the York Street area. As she reached the top of the stairs she saw the clear figure of a man in ragged clothing FLOATING in front of her. She ran screaming from the building to her neighbour's home where she recounted her story. Some other neighbours went to investigate but they found the house empty. Nevertheless, Mrs McCreevy stayed with her neighbour that night. 
The next morning, officials from the workhouse came to Mrs McCreevy to tell her that her husband had died. He died in suspicious circumstances in the lunatic asylum of the building!

We are given to believe that Hamilton Douglas was removed from his post but no charges were ever brought against him.
The present church was built in 1870. At the entrance to the church we see a ‘Lych Gate’, LYCH is from the old English word meaning corpse and originally the body was set on a bier underneath the Lych Gate where the clergy would perform the funeral rite. During the 17th and 18th centuries the main route from Belfast to Dublin  passed along the Drum Bridge and on to Ballyskeagh to Lisburn . The contour of the old road can still be seen at the rear of the church.
 
 St Patricks Church Drumbeg showing the Lych Gate at the entrance
 
This area along the River Lagan was notorious for highwaymen, robbers and all sorts of vagabonds who were attracted by rich pickings from wealthy travellers. Rich and poor were equally robbed without any compassion and as the fledgling linen industry developed along the river thefts from linen mills and bleach greens were common occurrences. By 1763 crime had reached such a zenith that the local magistrate ordered the construction of a gallows on the Drum Bridge. We have on record the case of Patrick Gordon convicted for stealing linen from a bleach green being hung in 1783 before a crowd of three hundred people.
 
On the 26th July 1784, a woman was ordered to be publicly whipped from Lisnagarvey (now Lisburn) to the Drum Bridge for committing several crimes in the area. This would have been a distance of some five miles.
 
 Many motorists have reported taking evasive action to avoid an old haggard woman carrying an infant child along this stretch of road around the bridge, some say she was the wife of a highwayman hanged on the bridge who later killed herself and her child. Some have seen her alongside the bridge and others claim she materialises  through the wall alongside the road whilst other reports claim she is suddenly standing in front of their vehicle.  Few people dare walk this stretch of road alone at night!
 
 Few walk this road alone at night
 
This writer has done a lot of study and research into the old Belfast Workhouse. About 20 years ago I conducted some oral histories and one elderly lady who had trained as a nurse in the infirmary (circa 1930’s) adjoining the workhouse to me this story. She had come from a medical family and one uncle was a prominent doctor here in Belfast. Whilst wealthy and successful he was a very kind altruistic human being. One Sunday around 1908 he decided to take his pony and carriage for a ride around the outskirts of Belfast and passed over the Drum Bridge. He saw an old woman clutching a child about three months old begging for money to take the child to the infirmary. The child’s head and one eye were heavily bandaged but he noticed blood and puss emanating from the bandage across the child’s eye. He approached the woman stating he was a doctor and asked to see the child, she began to run away but he caught up with her and she threw the child to the ground and ran through the woods.
 
The doctor picked up the child, took it to his carriage and as he unwrapped the bandage a huge spider scuttled away from the child’s eye. We have all seen those large tarantula type garden spiders which come into our homes at this time of year.
 

Although we have no venomous spiders in Ireland all spiders bite and this woman was allowing the spider to eat into the infants eye to gain sympathy and as a means of begging. The Doctor took the child home and it died a few days later.

Although we have no venomous spiders in Ireland all spiders bite and this woman was allowing the spider to eat into the infants eye to gain sympathy and as a means of begging. The Doctor took the child home and it died a few days later.
 Although we have no venomous spiders in Ireland all spiders bite and this woman was allowing the spider to eat into the infants eye to gain sympathy and as a means of begging. The Doctor took the child home and it died a few days later.
 
On March 16th 2008 people reported seeing a glowing ball hovering over the headstones in the new graveyard extension at St Patricks Church.  
 The new graveyard extension at St Patricks Church
 
This will take the reader to another famous ghost associated with the Drum Bridge......
 
James Haddocks Ghost 

HADDOCKS GHOST

 When Lieutenant James Haddock died unexpectedly on the 18th December 1657, he had left his will and personal affairs unfinished. He had been finalising a lease of his property from Lord Donegal in favour of his son, John but now the administration of his estate was left in the hands of his neighbour, Jacob Davis.

Seeing an opportunity to acquire the property for himselfand his own heirs, Jacob Davis soon married James Haddocks widow, Arimell, and set about changing the lease and will of James Haddock. By the time the legalities were nearing completion, Arminell bore him a son whose name he inserted into the lease instead of James Haddocks son, John. Rumour of this perversion of justice had circulated amongst Haddocks' fellow officers and neighbours, but, since Davis had the affairs in his own hands, little could be done to prevent the miscarriage of justice.  

James Haddock had been dead for four years when one evening a  young man named Francis Tavener was riding home towards Belfast at the end of a busy day attending to some business connected with the estate of Lord Donegal, whose servant he was. He may have been meditating on the stories he had heard about James Haddock's betrayal or maybe he was recalling the day of Haddock's funeral to St Patricks  churchyard in Drumbe four years earlier when he had been one of the mourners along with many of Haddock's friends and a contingent of Crown Forces. At any rate, as he journeyed along past Drumbeg churchyard it was getting late in the day, and although he considered pausing for a refreshment at the Bell Inn just outside the church grounds, he decided to press on in order to get through the heavily wooded stretch of road ahead, up the Bell Hill and on to Malone. Thus it was that in the gathering dusk, as he passed over the Drum Bridge his horse suddenly shied violently and became so agitated that Tavener dismounted and soothed the animal. As he stood on the road at the horse's head, he became aware that the horse had become rigid and gradually a shadowy figure materialised from the gloom beside him. Although Tavener was badly scared he nevertheless demanded to know who what was happening and a voice answered him which he instantly recognised as that of Haddock, who demanded that Tavener take action against the perversion of justice which was being done and instructed him to have his son restored to his legal inheritance. Tavener tried to break away from his ghostly detainer but the apparition threatened to haunt him until justice was done. At last Tavener managed to remount and ride quickly to his home. For some days afterwards, Francis Tavener tried to put the whole episode into into the back of his mind, persuading himself that thinking about the whole matter, together with the lateness of the hour and his tiredness, had contributed to an insubstantial hallucination on that notorious stretch of road. But just as he was beginning to get easier in his mind, James Haddock appeared to him in his own home, repeating that, until justice was done, he would never cease to haunt him.

 At last Tavener managed to remount and ride quickly to his home. For some days afterwards, Francis Tavener tried to put the whole episode 

 In desperation Francis Tavener went to lodge with a shoemaker friend named Pierce, who had a house close to the docks in High Street in Belfast, and here he hoped to have given the ghost the slip. Not so. Shortly, as the two friends sat around the turf fire one evening, Haddock appeared again, demanding why Tavener had not done as he had requested and assuring Tavener that if he failed to convince Jacob Davies and Arminell that they must restore the inheritance to his son he was then to take the case to Carrickfergus court, when Haddock would provide a witness. Although the shoemaker had heard and seen nothing, he was aware of his friend's distress and together they went next day to consult with Lord Donegal's curate. He referred them to Dr Lewis Downes, Vicar of Belfast, who was convinced of the genuineness of the visitation and, having failed to persuade Jacob Davis to alter his mind, he prepared a case for the Ecclesiastical Court at Carrickfergus.

HADDOCKS GHOST
When Lieutenant James Haddock died unexpectedly on 18 December  1657, he left his affairs unfinished. He had been in the process of finalising a lease of his property from Lord Donegal in favour of his son, John. Now the administration of his estate was left in the hands of his neighbour, Jacob Davis.GHOST
When Lieutenant James Haddock died unexpectedly on 18 December  1657, he left his affairs unfinished. He had been in the process of finalising a lease of his property from Lord Donegal in favour of his son, John. Now the administration of his estate was left in the hands of his neighbour, Jacob Davis.

In desperation Francis Tavener went to lodge with a shoemaker friend named Pierce, who had a house close to the docks in High Street in Belfast, and here he hoped to have given the ghost the slip. Not so. Shortly, as the two friends sat around the turf fire one evening, Haddock appeared again, demanding why Tavener had not done as he had requested and assuring Tavener that if he failed to convince Jacob Davies and Arminell that they must restore the inheritance to his son he was then to take the case to Carrickfergus court, when Haddock would provide a witness. Although the shoemaker had heard and seen nothing, he was aware of his friend's distress and together they went next day to consult with Lord Donegal's curate. He referred them to Dr Lewis Downes, Vicar of Belfast, who was convinced of the genuineness of the visitation and, having failed to persuade Jacob Davis to alter his mind, he prepared a case for the Ecclesiastical Court at CarrickfergusOn the day of the hearing, a great crowd had assembled, as news of the litigation had spread through the countryside, and all were speculating as to how the case would be concluded. When the witness for Haddock's application was required, there was a roar of laughter inside the courtroom as the usher stood up and shouted 'Call James Haddock' for all present knew that Haddock had been dead for five years. The laughter was mixed with cat-calls as the usher shouted 'Call James Haddock' for the second time. Complying with the law, the usher for the third time shouted 'Call James Haddock.' Immediately there came a blinding flash of lightning accompanied by a deafening peal of thunder. The building was shaken by a great gust of wind, a hand appeared on the Bible and a voice said 'Is that enough?' It was enough. Jacob Davis left the court a disgraced man, to the jeers of the crowd, and in his fury spurred his horse cruelly. Attempting to negotiate a tricky piece of laneway, he was thrown heavily over his mount's head and broke his neck.

Eventually the Lord Bishop, the famous Jeremy Taylor, set up a commission to enquire into the strange story and the conclusion was reached that it was an instance of an 'autentic visitation'

This could be regarded as a classic case of a ghost returning to right a wrong. Haddock has never been seen since however his headstone still lies over in the churchyard….numerous attempts to set it in an upright vertical position have always failed …it keeps falling over and even today it still does not lie straight or parallel to the ground the ground

 James Haddocks headstone. Attempts to raise it to an upright position have failed and it even sinks into the ground. 

THE WORKHOUSE GHOST

John McKeown had been a pauper in the Belfast Workhouse on the Lisburn Road and died there under suspicious circumstances in early 1894. Having committed a trivial offence which violated 'workhouse rules' he was committed to the 'lunatic section' of the workhouse and manacled to the floor by the then notorious workhouse master, the sadistic Hamilton Douglas.

The following day John McKeown was found dead, still manacled to the floor, his body badly bruised and beaten. As inmates of the workhouse were regarded as people of no value to society and a burden on the ratepayer, the jury, at the inquest, whilst aware that something was not right, simply recommended that the rules for locking up ordinary paupers in the 'lunatic section' should be changed. This ruling was never enforced 

Shortly after this incident the chaplain of the workhouse reported having seen a strange figure in ragged clothing appearing in his room and then disappearing again without actually leaving the room. This apparition in ragged clothing continued to appear whenever a death occurred under suspicious circumstances. These deaths always occurred in the 'lunatic section' of the institution and the ragged figure always appeared around the same time.

The following year in May 1894 a Sarah McCreevy was preparing for bed in her home at Portland Street in the York Street area of the city. As she reached the top of the stairs she saw the figure of a ragged man hovering there. Fleeing the house screaming, she was taken in by her neighbours and told them of her experience. The neighbours investigated but found nothing.

The following morning workhouse officials called with Sarah McCreevy to tell her that her husband had died that previous night in the 'lunatic 'section' of the Belfast Workhouse. He had died under suspicious circumstances.

This time the jury at the inquest recommended that Hamilton Douglas be removed from his post. John McKeowns' ghost has never been reported since. 

http://video.uk.msn.com/watch/video/the-best-ghost-cases-ever-caught-on-tape/1gedrfzve

THE GIANTS RING

The Giants Ring is a henge or dolmen monument at Ballynahatty, near Shaw's Bridge, Belfast,and was preserved by Viscount Dungannon in the 18th century. (See Belvoir Graveyard below) The site consists of a circular enclosure, 180 metres in diameter and 2.8 hectares in area, surrounded by a circular earthwork bank 3.5m high. At least three of the five irregularly spaced gaps in the bank are intentional and possibly original. East of the centre of the enclosure is a small passage tomb with a vestigial passage facing west. There were reports of other tombs outside the enclosure, but there is no trace of these.

SeeGoogle Earth at 54 deg 32 min North and 5 deg 56 min West. 

 

The Giants Ring Dolmen.The upper stone has slipped over the past 5000 years. 

Today the site attracts all sorts of people from Pagan worshippers to New Age Hippies who come to celebrate The Winter and Summer Solstice or Autumn and Spring equinox and indeed other festivals associated with their Celtic ancestors.

This site is included for two reasons. The first is that there have been many instances wherein people have passed through columns of freezing cold air even in the warmest of summer days.  The other concerns individuals who claim to have been resting against the stones and have seen long haired, bearded ancient males carrying spears approaching them. When they stepped away from the stones, the warriors disappeared. In another instance a gentleman who was sunbathing on the top stone, fell sleep and awoke to find the sun still beaming down whilst he was bitterly cold and similar Neolithic men surrounding him.

Needless to say he ran for his life...... but whatever he saw had disappeared. Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

 

A POLICEMANS' STORY

"I joined the R.U.C. back in 1962. In those days we did six months training in the Depot in Enniskillen and after passing out we were allocated to a station where we served for roughly two years under a Sargent and a couple of other officers. I was sent to C-------- in Co T-------.  For the first year I had to live-in at the station and I was at every-ones' beck and call day and night. I was fed up with it and was determined to find somewhere to live on my own as soon as the year was up.

I was friendly with the local Parish Priest, Father M--------- P.P. and when I asked him if he knew of anywhere he suggested a labourers cottage about two miles out of the town. He was a lovely old man and drove me down to see it. It had no electricity and just a well outside for water. I immediately loved the place, rough as it was and the owner agreed to throw in an old bed, table and chairs plus a few other primitive comforts.  Anything was better than living in the station and I owned an old bicycle.  

 

 I got settled in and about a week or so later I was lying in bed when I heard a scraping sound coming from the loft above the bedroom. Thinking it was mice I was resolved to find a cat somewhere to get rid of the problem. I cannot remember the time sequence exactly now but about week later I fell into bed having had a few drinks and about three am in the morning I was awakened by banging coming from what I thought was the front door. I took a torch and proceeded to the door but there was nobody there. Now I was working shifts then but this banging at the door occurred on a number of occasions and nobody was there. Then one night before I went to sleep I heard the banging and realised it was coming from the loft above me. Taking the torch in one hand and a hurricane lamp in the other I checked the ceiling and while I had noticed it was tongue and groove wood I also noticed there was no access by way of a trap door into it. The banging sound had stopped but was replaced by intermittent scratching. I decided that not only did I have mice I also had rats.

The owner was a farmer and when I told him my problem he gave me a couple of cats that ran around the yard and I took them back, locked them into the cottage and left for work. When I got home, they were gone, to this day I dont know how they escaped. That night I went to bed after a hard day and fell into a deep sleep.

About two am I heard a chair being trailed across the old stone floor in the parlour. I jumped out of bed and grabbing my revolver ran into the room. The chair was lying in the middle of the floor. I knew I hadnt left it like that. Then out in the kitchen glass broke. When I went in a cup was lying broken on the floor. Next I heard a noise back in the bedroom and when investigated I saw all my bedclothes lying in a corner. I was seriously afraid. I lit a couple of candles and started to dress. As I got my great coat on the candles went out. Then from the ceiling above me came the most deafening hammering I ever heard. This was not rats. I was on the verge of firing off a few shots into the ceiling but thought better of it and ran from the cottage. I jumped on my bicycle and pedalled frantically to the priests house. 

The old priest opened the door and brought me in. When he saw the state I was in he gave me a few whiskies and I told him everything that happened. Then he told me that a family had moved in some years ago but left after a few weeks and were never seen again. The priest agreed to accompany me back to the cottage the next night and stay with me to see if the occurrence would repeat itself. I reluctantly agreed.

We returned to the cottage the next night and while the priest read his prayer books I discreetly fortified myself with tea laced with whiskey. After three or four hours we both clearly heard the scratching sound coming from the bedroom. We went in and the priest said something which I can only assume was in Latin and there was a loud deafening thump above us. I recall the priest saying something along the lines of, 'Tell us what you want?' This was followed by a low tapping sound which crossed the ceiling into the next room and stopped in the furthest corner of the room. We only had torches, a hurricane lamp and a few candles but we could see nothing. Again the priest asked. 'What do you want from us?' which resulted in a slow rhythmic thumping coming from above the ceiling. We knew no human being could be up there and while we pondered this situation the thumping got louder and louder until it became almost deafening. Dust started to fall through the joins of the tongue and groove wood work. Both of us were shaking with fear, and again I wanted to fire a shot into the area where the hammering was coming from but the priest refused to let me. He caught my arm and we ran outside. 

With his voice shaking and barely audible he asked me if I had a spade or bar or something of that nature. I found an old turf spade and when I gave it to him he returned to the room where the hammering sound still continued and with all his strength he started to break a hole in the wooden ceiling. The hammering stopped immediately. When he had satisfied himself the hole was large enough he pulled a chair and table across the floor underneath the opening. He then climbed on to the table, asking for a torch and shone it through the hole in the ceiling. I had to admire this old mans courage as he then stood on the chair and raised himself into the loft. Calling me he asked me to take what appeared to be an old parcel of newspapers tied with string from the loft and as I did so I realised there was something within. Then he reached down two more similar parcels.

When he had climbed down we began to open the first parcel. To our absolute horror it contained the skeletal remains of a newly born baby, as did the second and third parcels. The old priest then asked me where I kept the whiskey I had been drinking and when I offered to pour him a glass he took it from me and put the bottle to his head swallowing several mouthfuls. Then he made the sign of the cross and prayed over the remains of the babies. Taking a blanket from my bed we carefully wrapped the remains and put them into the priests car and brought them back to the rectory.

The following day I informed my superiors of our discovery and an investigation was immediately instigated. The owner of the cottage was interviewed regarding past occupiers and it appeared that only a few people ever stayed there and only for short periods of time. The Electoral Register showed that the longest occupancy was back in the 1930's. It appeared that a man, his wife and daughter had lived there for some fifteen or sixteen years. The mother had died giving birth to the daughter and her father had brought her up on his own. When the girl was about fifteen years old her father died and it was left to relatives to look after her. Descendants of these relatives were traced and they recall being told that the girl was 'sub-normal' and kept maintaining that her father had made her have babies. For this crime she was sent to a Magdalene Laundry somewhere in the Republic of Ireland. It was there that she died and was buried in the 1950's. The investigation went no further.

A few weeks after I left the cottage I realised I had left some family photographs and other personal items behind. I had met the priest and again he offered to drive me out to the cottage to retrieve them. As we were leaving the cottage the sun was setting and shining through the dusty window which I confess I never cleaned. I had to look twice and my heart leaped into my mouth. A piece of writing was clearly evident on the glass, it said, THANK YOU FATHER. "

 (Names of individuals, towns etc have been withheld to protect the identities of individuals and families who are still alive)    

TO BE CONTINUED.....

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