Greyhounds, ghosts, and things that go bump in the night

Fabulous photo - Great context. 

I saw this photo on the Facebook page 'Mount Talbot - A Journey through the ages'. It totally piqued my interest for one reason... Ghosts!

'This is and extraordinary photo of Matthew Dolan of Cloonlaughlin, Mount Talbot who was born in 1842. It is not everyday one can see a photo of a person who lived through and survived the Famine in Ireland, the population of Cloonlaughlin was halved as a consequence of the great hunger, the largest drop of any of the townlands in our parish. This photo dates to the 1st or possibly second decade of the 20th century, the dress of Matthew is very different to what was worn even a few years after this time, the suit jacket is longer and a very unique shape, made no doubt by Tailor Kelly of Corrocot. He stands tall and proud, his white beard and large hat hiding a face that had witnessed enormous changes in the country. He lived through the famine, land war, Boer war, the rise and fall of Parnell, the lesser famine of 1892, the Plan of Campaign, the passing of the final Home Rule Bill, World War 1, 1916 Rising and possibly the War of independence and Civil War too. (special thanks to Matthews great grandson John for photo).'

His living memory of the Famine era and the Land League agitation would have been extraordinary. He looked quite the dandy in that three-piece suit. The waist-coat looks quite contrasting. The long swallow-tail coat style is unusual. Ironically, just such a coat was described to me by my father in a story he told me about the time a ghost terrorised his greyhound in a stable beside a ruined estate house near Killimor. Turned out that a man had hanged or shot himself, (I disremember which) in that very same stable in the 1880's and his ghost had been seen there many times, ensuring the locals gave it a wide berth. 
My father was teaching in Raheen, between Killimor and Lawrencetown in 1938, staying in 'digs' in Killimor and had just started kennelling his greyhound (which he raced in Galway) in the old two-storey stable, at very little cost!. He couldn't understand why the dog was off form and one winter's evening he went down to walk and feed the dog after teaching school. He described how after galloping the dog on a misty evening, in the fading light, he was drying and brushing the dog before locking him up for the night. 
He was just brushing the dog's hind-quarters, when the dog became terrified, backing into a corner whimpering. He looked around to see an old man, 'dressed in an old-fashioned swallow-tailed, frock-coat, hat and breeches' raising a stick and coming down the stairs towards him. Needless to say, he wasted no time running for the door, followed by the dog, and no doubt the ghost. He never went back there, but he told me that story maybe twice over fifty years. Until now I was picturing a gentleman, in a dress suit, with swallow-tail dinner jacket, but now I see that it was the style for the country folk. 
You see, even in folk-memory there are little telling details that substantiate or anchor a tale, a minute observation or aside, without which the story could be dismissed as just another story to pass the winter evening around the turf-fire.
And who said there's no such thing as ghosts!

#Ghosts #Ghosttales #Ghosttours #Haunted

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