Location: Cornarooslan townland, near Cooneen, Co. Fermanagh. (Grid ref: 54.33012, -7.25617)
The Cooneen (pronounced Koon-yin) Ghost was one of the few spooky stories told to me by my father. He was born on Slieve Beagh in the townland of Fardross, Co. Tyrone only 4 miles as the crow flies from the Cooneen Ghost house just over the county border in Co. Fermanagh. He first mentioned it on a day trip back to visit an aunt in Fivemiletown when I first spotted the road-sign to Cooneen and mispronounced it as expected. He corrected the pronunciation and went on to tell me the story in broad terms – how the family had been plagued by the activities of a ghost, that finally exasperated they had decided to emigrate to America to escape it (as ghosts cannot cross water!) but that to their dismay the ghost appeared on the boat during the crossing. He said he thought the ghost continued to haunt the family in America but the detail in the story was scanty after that. He also mentioned that some people had felt the steering wheel being wrenched from their hands as they passed down the road where the house still sat. Fascinated, I asked him if he could drive out to see the house but he refused, saying we wouldn’t have time.
I brought it up again later in the day, but there was a strange reaction to my question in my aunt’s house and I was “shushed” gently but firmly. Only later did I realise the reason for this was the latent superstition of the country folk in those areas and sightseeing at a haunted house was definitely to be avoided – no-one said why, but it seemed to be considered a poor thing to even consider. In retrospect, I think this visit was the first to my aunt in her, then new, pensioner’s bungalow accommodation in Fivemiletown – a move she had been obliged to make due to having been physically blown out of her house in Clogher by an IRA bomb. Given that recent bad luck, I don’t think she was inclined to risk anything further by treating the paranormal in a frivolous fashion.
The house at Cooneen has been hidden in trees for many years as the forestry grew up round the ruin and obscured any view of it from the road, and while hiding it, also gave it a much more sinister aspect for any one dropping by. The surrounding trees have now been felled and the house stands in the open and visible from the road. The only question remaining is why it still stands at all. The Forestry Commission routinely demolished old houses on land they purchased for a variety of reasons; rates avoidance, maintenance, anti-social activity, or even just lost space for trees. The houses my father had been born in and the one he later grew up in at Fardross had both been taken over by the Forestry Commission in the 1960s and each one had been demolished for these very reasons. So how come they didn’t do the same for the Cooneen House? Could they not get any workmen willing to demolish it, I wonder?
Maurice Milligan / July 2023
The Haunting of the Murphys of Cooneen, Co. Fermanagh
from Fermanagh Roots
Mrs. Murphy, a widow, her son and five daughters, all lived together in a house in the townland of Cornarooslan, near Cooneen, County Fermanagh from roughly 1901 to 1913.
The family became plagued by a poltergeist shortly after Mrs Murphy’s husband died in a freak accident. Paranormal events started to occur in the house, it began with the occasional knocking of the front door and when any member of the family would go to answer the door there would be nobody there. The noises then became more frequent with knocking on all the doors and windows. Above the house was a room used as storage for hay. This room was only accessible by a stone staircase adjoined to the farmhouse and in the room heavy footsteps were often heard yet every time someone went to investigate there was nobody in the room.
The family decided to get friends and neighbours to come to the house and listen to these strange noises for themselves. Mrs. Murphy, her children and some friends would sit in the kitchen listening to the banging on the windows and doors and the footsteps coming from upstairs. Unfortunately things took a turn for the worst when more intense paranormal activities started to happen. Mrs. Murphy would watch as plates would lift off the table and fly across the room smashing against the walls. The family would also watch in the bedroom as a bed would lift several inches of the ground by itself and fall back down again. Things got so bad that Mrs. Murphy turned to the Church for help. Father Coyle from Maguiresbridge visited the house and watched for himself as mysterious shapes appeared and disappeared on the walls as he stood inside the house. He also watched pots and pans that would suddenly fly across the room on their own. Another witness to the events was the MP Cahir Healy, who could simply not believe what he was seeing.
Father Coyle was given permission for two exorcisms to be performed in the house. It is said that during the exorcisms, bed sheets would rise of the beds, cups and plates would fly around the room, and deafening groans could be heard coming from upstairs. Both exorcisms were among the very few exorcisms to ever be carried out in Ireland. Unfortunately they didn’t work and the Murphy family continued to live in this house with the poltergeist.
The Murphy’s were understandably terrified they had hoped that the exorcisms might work, however the poltergeist activity in the house seemed to be getting worse. It is also said that friends and neighbours started to blame the Murphy’s for practising witchcraft, therefore bringing this entity upon themselves. There were claims that Mrs Murphy’s son found a book in a forest near Cooneen called “The legions of doom” and was supposed to give instructions on how to practice satanic rites, how to contact demons etc. The son started to develop an unhealthy interest in the spirit world, and was supposed to have tried to raise a demonic spirit in the house. It was this story among others that became the last straw for the Murphy’s and they decided to leave their home and set sail for America in 1913.
Much to the horror of the Murphy’s, it seemed like the poltergeist had followed them on the boat to America. It is well documented that passengers on the ship complained about the rappings and bangings that were coming from the Murphy’s Cabin. The noises became so bad that the Captain went personally to Mrs. Murphy to tell her to stop making so much noise in her Cabin. It is stated that the Captain did not believe that there was a poltergeist on the ship, but did however threaten the Murphy’s that he would put them off the ship if the noise continued. It is known that the poltergeist activity did follow them to their new home in America, but over time the manifestations and rapping’s subsided and eventually stopped completely allowing the family to get on with their lives the best they could. One of the girls of the family was so traumatised by these events that she is said to have spent the rest of her life in a mental institution in America. As for the Cooneen house it is claimed that a ghostly presence still remains there to this very day.
The Cooneen ghost is considered to be the most famous Irish ghost story in history. Some Hollywood movies are actually based on this story. The story has been told in many a house céilí, usually around Halloween to scare the younger generations and even some of the older folk, who remembered the fear of the local community. It is worth noting that this was no ordinary ghost! It was much much serious than that, it was deemed to be a poltergeist. Whereas a ‘normal’ ghost is said to be a spirit of a dead person who lingers around places he or she would have been familiar with while alive. A poltergeist is usually considered to be an entity that causes distress by moving objects around. The word ‘Poltergeist’ is actually German and means “noise making ghost”, they have a reputation of being a dangerous or evil type of ghost.