Ross Castle stands on a rise above Lough Sheelin in the irish midlands. The tower
house was created in 1536 by Sir Richard Nugent, sometimes called the Balck
Baron because of his cruelty to his tenants. Old stories tell that his daughter
Sabina fell in love with a native Irishman called Orwin O’Reilly, whose family
as fiercely hostile to the Anglo-Norman Nugents, The young couple knew that
their parents would never let them marry and decided to elope. They took a
rowing boat and were crossing Lough Sheelin when a storm blew up. The little
vessel capsized and the two young people were thrown into the lake.
Sabina was
able to reach the shore safely but Orwin O’Reilly drowned in the raging waters. Consumed with grief, she returned to
Ross Castle and refused to eat or drink. Sabina Nugent starved to death and the
tower began to be haunted by her restless spirit; she wanders around the castle
and its battlements mourning her lost lover. Legend tells that the ghostly
presence of her father Sir Richard also lingers in the halls and corridors of
Ross Castle.
In 1644 the
rebel leader Myles O’Reilly stayed at the castle before riding off to his death
at the Battle of Finea Bridge. His wraith manifests itself in a room on the top
floor, where he slept on the night before he was slain. Ross Castle is now a
guesthouse and people staying there have spoken of inexplicable noises at night
in the bedroom called the Whispering Room.
Photos
Virginia Leal ©
Sources
PRITCHARD, David. “Haunted Ireland. Haunting Tales
from an Ancient Land”. By Picture Press.ie Ltd. Page: 47.
