Some of West Corks spookiest places

ALLIHIES: The Children of Lir Mythical Site. 

The signposted site will lead you to large white boulders under which it is believed the children were buried once they returned to land and were transformed back into their human forms. Their stepmother, overcome by jealousy had transformed them into swans 900 years earlier.  After being out at sea for the last 300 years, they heard a monk ringing a bell in Allihies and returned to shore, where they were transformed, baptised and died shortly afterwards.  

Nearby at Ardgroom, there is the impossibly deep and supposedly haunted Glenbeg Lake, where it is believed the swan children rested for the last time before hearing the bell rung by the monk. There is also a mass rock where a priest was beheaded and his body buried nearby.  The stillness at the lake can be eerie for sensitive visitors.  

ROSSCARBERY:

Coppinger’s Court 

Coppinger’s Court or Ballyvireen House, was built in the 17th century. It is said that there was a window for each day of the year, a door for every week and a chimney for each month.  Coppinger ruled like a tyrant and had a tendency to hang anyone who offended him.  

To facilitate his hangings, he had a special yard-arm secured to one of the gable ends of his house. Once a widow approached him for help with her wayward son and received a promise from Coppinger that the problem will be dealt with. She was horrified to return to the house to find her son swinging from the yard-arm and Coppinger gloating that the problem was now solved as promised. 

Coppinger died roaring and screaming due to a seizure he suffered when he flew into a fit of rage for not being allowed to hang a servant on a Sunday.  It is said that his angry spirit still roams within the walls of the court. 

DRIMOLEAGUE:  

Castledonovan

There is a constant drip of water from the ceiling of the lower chamber and it is said that the water is a stream of Dorothy Forde’s tears who was hung by the O’Donovan clan. The story is that Dorothy and her family had loaned a sum of money to Donal O’Donovan and when she requested the money back she was taken as a captive and imprisoned in the castle and eventually savagely hung from a window in the tower. 

Local legend has it that her tears will drip until the last of his genetic line have died.  

BANDON:  Money Stone. 

According to ‘Legends of Hidden Treasure’ the Monerone area in Bandon has a rock in the middle of the road which is known locally as ‘the money stone’.  It is claimed to be a marker for a vast buried treasure but whoever tries to dig it up are frightened away by a supernatural presence. 

Dunmanway:

 Ballynacarriga Castle

The medieval ruin of Ballynacarriga Castle near Dunmanway is the home of a fearsome and devilish ‘pooka’ who lurks and lives in the depths of a chute known as ‘Moll the Pooka’s Hole’.  Visitors to the castle often suffer from twisted ankles in the vicinity of the pooka’s lair. 

According to the Paranormal Database, nearby Lake Attariff is said to have cryptozoology sightings of a mysterious creature that lives in the water there.  In 1966, Mr W J Wood was trout fishing when he spotted a mysterious creature of about 3 meters in length with a head like a calf swimming just above the waterline.  In 2004, a Japanese film crew visited the lake to search for the monster.

Enniskeane: Long Lane

Long Lane in Enniskeane is supposedly haunted by the manifestation of a phantom girl surrounded by a pale blue light.  When spotted, witnesses claim that she drifts over a nearby fence and vanishes from sight. 

Glandore: The Druid’s Altar

The Druid’s Altar in Glandore stone circle is said to be haunted by the ghost of a pregnant woman who drowned herself only a few weeks before she was due to give birth. Psychics who have visited the circle claim there are many souls lingering amongst the stones as they had been sacrificed by druids in bygone ceremonies. 

If you would like more information www.praofi.org