Dublin, Ireland - Ghosts and Graveyards

I’ve been to Ireland three times and every trip has included a several days in Dublin. Going to Dublin always feels like coming home. If you’re the kind of person who likes tailgating before a football game, then you’ll probably love it. Different culture of course, but the same feel, casual clothes, plenty of beer, spontaneous singing, and the camaraderie of dear friends. Over the years I’ve seen all most of the top sites; Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Kilmainham Goal, Dublin Castle, Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery, Trinity College and the Book of Kells. I’ve visited the pubs in Temple Bar, strolled through Saint Stephen’s Green and browsed through shops on Grafton Street.

One of my visits to Dublin was in the middle of winter. I often plan trips during the off season to take advantage of lower prices and fewer crowds. Since my traveling companion and I had both been to Dublin previously, we intentionally planned some activities that were a bit off the beaten path. Somehow without realizing it, the trip morphed and became a journey into the macabre as we visited crypts and cemeteries and learned about the dark, tragic, and haunted history of the city.

On the first day we visited Christchurch cathedral, one of the most iconic landmarks in the city. Founded in 1028 by Sitric, the Norse king of Dublin, it was initially a Viking church and served as the ecclesiastical center of Dublin. The original church was rebuilt by Strongbow, (the Anglo-Norman conqueror of Dublin) in 1172 and over the centuries it expanded, survived the 16th century reformation and was restored as an Anglican church. Beneath the church lies the crypt, the largest in Ireland and Great Britain. This vast underground space comprised of thick stone walls, vaulted ceilings and wide columns doesn’t initially feel like a sacred burial site but rather a unique underground museum with various historical artifacts including a 12th-century wooden baptismal font and the stocks used for punishment during medieval times.

There is a certain strange artifact that exists within the crypt that seems both unlikely and yet fascinating. Legend has it that sometime in the 19th century a cat and a rat were trapped within the organ pipes of the cathedral and their corpses became mummified. The pair has come to be known as “Tom and Jerry”. I tried to imagine when the remains were initially discovered and wondered why the discoverer didn’t simply discard the corpses of these two long dead animals. I suppose the fact that they somehow became mummified was intriguing and knowing that the living are often fascinated with the dead, the discoverer rightly supposed that visitors to the crypt would likewise be intrigued. He turned out to be correct as “Tom and Jerry” are the most famous exhibition attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

After returning above ground, we crossed the Liffey and walked over to the small Church of St. Michan’s. The church itself is fairly non-descript and is said to contain the organ where Handel composed the Messiah. Like Christ Church, St. Michan’s also contains crypts below and for a modest price you can tour the place where the dead were laid to rest centuries ago. While the crypt below Christ Church is accessed via wide stone stairs inside of the church, St. Michan’s is very different. While waiting for the tour to begin, a middle aged man looking remarkably like Alan Rickman (The Rickman of Robin Hood, not Harry Potter). motioned for us to follow him. Assuming he was our guide, we obliged and walked with him outside and around the building. With a cigarette dangling from the side of his lips he produced a ring of keys and used one to unlock what appeared to be a cellar door. I thought we would enter the crypt from inside of the church, not through a narrow opening in the ground, but okay, this could be a fun adventure. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and rested it on top of a low stone wall. He told us to go on down while he returned inside the church to see if there were any others that would be joining the tour.

As he turned to go, I looked to my friend with great suspicion. I’ve seen the movies, a couple of American tourists are lured underground and wind up being held as food for some monster, vampire or zombie. Nope, no way was I voluntarily going to crouch down to descend some uneven stone steps into some burial space only to have those metal doors slam shut and locked the second I was out of site. Not gonna happen. My friend laughed at me and eagerly descended into the crypt. I waited a moment until I saw our guide returning with four other visitors. I was embarrassed by my fear so took a deep breath and followed the others down.

The crypt is narrow and small. There were no vaults inside but rather hundreds of simple coffins stacked on top of each other century after century. Over time the weight caused those on the bottom to crumble and it was then that it was discovered that the environmental conditions preserved the corpses and what you see are the mummified remains of four of the interred. Those who study this period of history have ascertained that the four corpses were most likely a crusader, a thief, and two nuns. According to legend, touching the hand of the crusader will bring good luck. At the time of our visit, we were encouraged to do so. It was weird, fascinating and utterly bizarre to be touching skin turned to leather. While visitors are no longer officially allowed to touch the corpses, at least tourists are still allowed to visit the site. Back in 2019 some obviously disturbed individual broke in and stole the crusader’s head and all tours were suspended. Fortunately the thief was caught and those seeking an eerie experience have returned can once again and can book a tour.

The next day we ventured out of the city to visit Glasnevin Cemetery. But before the tour we wanted to have a pint at John Kavanaugh’s. This pub, tucked away in a residential neighborhood has its own history with death, or more specifically with those employed to bury the dead. The establishment earned the nickname “The Grave Digger’s Pub” because of the business received from the gravediggers of Glasnevin. Nickname aside, the pub is warm and cozy and after we were seated the owner presented us with the guestbook. It was so interesting to read the notes left by other travelers from all over the world.

After a couple of pints, we headed over to the cemetery and took the guided tour. There are more than a few famous people buried here including Michael Collins, Charles Steward Parnell, Daniel O’Connell and many others. If you have any interest in Irish history the tour provides a lot of information and historical context. The cemetery is vast, and parts are so old that the headstones are slowly crumbling and falling over. Newer areas are still intact and you will see that the high crosses and other markers are beautiful in their artistry.

On our final night in Dublin, we booked the Ghost Bus Tour. My friend and lover of all things spooky and frightening suggested it. Of course she did since it fit perfectly into the unintentional theme of the trip. Outwardly, I rolled my eyes to indicate that I thought it would be silly though inwardly I just wasn’t sure that I wanted to spend any more time with dead things. I reluctantly agreed to go since this friend and I have been known to engage in all sorts of ridiculous and arguably immature behavior so what the heck, maybe we’ll have a laugh.

I turned out to be a lot of fun. We learned about Bram Stoker and his inspiration for Dracula. We heard about the whispers and rumors surrounding the Hellfire Club and their acts of moral depravity. We stopped at the bottom of the forty steps that lead to St Audeon's Church where an apparition is known to appear and while we didn’t see any signs of ghosts there was a definite spooky feeling about the place.

We then stopped by a small cemetery. The gates were locked and our guide presented the key. He led us in and explained all of the purported supernatural events that had occurred here. It was dark and cold outside with a steady wind making the entire experience seem like the set up for teen slasher film. The guide then explained about the grave robbers and how they snuck into cemeteries to steal bodies. Not to steal any valuables that may have been buried with the deceased but rather to sell the bodies to the medical school. The guide asked for a volunteer to demonstrate how it was done. My friend pushed me forward and said, “she’ll do it!” I most certainly didn’t want to do it but I had been kind of jumpy during the entire tour and I didn’t want our fellow participants to think I was total wimp so I went along and laid down on the cold ground while the guide showed how the grave robber would use a metal hook to punch through the wooden coffin, hook up between the rib cage and pull the body out. How totally disturbing. After the demonstration my friend helped me up and brushed the dead leave from my back as we head to the relative warmth of the bus.

All things considered we ended up having a blast that night on a big bus with curtains covering the windows and only a handful of other tourists. The whole trip was memorable. It kind of reminded me of when I was young and girls would have slumber parties. We would stay up late, tell ghost stories, play pranks and try to scare each other. Sometimes its fun to be a little weirded out. And there is something about Dublin, about how it feels like home to me that I felt comfortable in allowing myself to be a little vulnerable and explore those things that I ordinarily wouldn't.