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Huntington Castle

Huntington Castle in Clonegal,County Carlow was built in 1625 by the First Lord Esmonde, replacing an earlier stronghold that had been built in the fifteenth century on the site ofan ancient monastery. For the past two hundred years it has been home to the Durdin-Robertson family. Now open to the public, one of its best-known attractions is the 6 of the fewfeatures to sur vive from the days of the monastery.

Branches form a long and sinister tunnel in the Yew Walk and on occasion the ghosts of monks have been seen walk ing up and down in silent conversation or contemplation. Also in the gardens is the restless spirit ofAilish O’Flaherty the first wife of Lord Esmonde. She has been seen stand ing by the ‘spy bush’ combing her hair in the moonlight and sobbing in grief. According to local lore she would stand at that bush whenever her husband and son went off to the wars, anxiously awaiting their return. It’s not just the gardens that are said to be haunted but the castle itself. A spectral soldier thought to have lived in the seventeenth century during Cromwell’s rebellion has been heard knocking on the door. In life he disguised him self in the uniform of the opposition in order to spy on the enemy, but tragically his comrades didn’t recognise him and shot him through the grille of the door where his ghostly face is now sometimes seen.

The spirit of Bishop Leslie of Limerick, who stayed at the castle when he retired in the eighteenth century is thought to haunt the ‘Four Poster Room’. Guests have woken at night to see his face staring down at them. The Bishop’s face also appears in a portrait of a Spanish Flower Girl, frightening guests through the years. Another spirit that lingers in Huntington is said to be that of Barbara St Lege (1748—.1820), who married into the family She adored Huntington and is often seen walk ing the corridors with her keys jangling as she goes. Sometimes she is followed by her maidservant, Honor Byrne, who pauses to polish door-handles with her hair. Female Ghost | Green Lady | Lauder | Aberdeenshire | Angus | Barcaldine | Barcaldine | Birmingham | Bishop Cameron | Bladnoch | Braemar | Doncaster | Dublin | Dumfriesshire | Dundee | Essex | Female Ghost | Ghost | Goatfell mountain | Green Lady | Green Lady | Ireland | Ireland | Ireland | Kent | Leap | Loch Fyne | Nairn | Pontefract castle | River Tyne | Scotland | Scotland | Scotland | Scotland | Shropshire | Southeastern Ireland | Sussex | The female ghost | Witchcraft |