THE National Museum of Ireland is inviting people across Limerick City and County to share and help preserve ghost stories that have been passed down through oral tradition in their locality.
The Irish Community Archive Network (iCAN), a Museum initiative that supports communities to collect and share their local history and heritage online, has launched a new project called ‘Ghost Stories of Ireland – Seeking Tales of the Unexplained’.
“Ghost stories and encounters with otherworldly beings are a common theme in Irish folklore,” explained Lorna Elms, iCAN Development Officer, “so this Hallowe’en we are inviting the public to help us document those stories and help us find out which county in Ireland is the spookiest!
“Stories passed down through oral tradition give us a greater understanding of how our ancestors’ perceived and explained the world around them, which is why the Irish Folklore Commission was set up in 1935 to collect and study the folklore and traditions of Ireland.
“Much of this work continues to be carried out by local volunteer History and Heritage groups, such as those supported by the iCAN initiative,” she explained.
The project also wants to revisit the ghost stories gathered by schoolchildren for the Irish Folklore Commission in the 1930s. The Commission prepared a guidance booklet that listed 55 subject headings – topics that the children could explore with older people in the community.
“Despite ‘Ghost Stories’ not being on the headings list, the collection contains over 1,000 spooky tales, suggesting that a belief in the unexplained strongly persisted in the public consciousness at that time,” added Ms Elms.
“Going by the amount of ghost stories collected by county, Tipperary appears to have been the most ‘haunted’, with 95 accounts of frightful folklore.
There are 47 ghost stories listed from Limerick, so here is an opportunity to capture more stories from the county.
“As part of our ‘Ghost Stories of Ireland’ project, we would also like to revisit and highlight those tales gathered by the children 75 years ago, and bring them back to life.”
Submit a ghost story or choose your favourite story from the National Folklore Collection and tell the Museum why you like it here
