Dublin Halloween Folk Tales- We thought we’d start getting you in the mood
Legends of the Hellfire Club
With stories of devil worship and black masses being told about the activities of the Hellfire Club on Montpellier Hill, it is not surprising that there are also many tales of supernatural events associated with the people and sites associated with the Hellfire Club.
Perhaps the most famous legend of the Hellfire Club’s activities on Montpellier Hill concerns a stranger who knocked at the door of the house during a stormy night and was allowed to enter where he joined a game of cards with the other members. As the stranger won game after game of cards, a member dropped one of his cards and as he stooped to pick it up, he saw that the man had cloven feet. Realizing that he had been recognized as the devil, the stranger disappeared with a thunderclap and a puff of smoke.
The Killakee House Hauntings
The Hellfire Club is also reported to have met at the Killakee House after William Conolly’s son refused to renew the lease at Montpellier Hill and the lodge was burnt down. Perhaps that refers to tales of ‘Burn Chapel’ Whaley’s murder of a servant at the lodge when he is said to have doused the unfortunate man with brandy and set him alight, reputedly burning down the lodge and killing a number of the club’s members in the ensuing fire.
At Killakee House, the members reputedly drank scaltheen and toasted the Devil. It was even rumoured that they carried out mock crucifixions there and that their meetings were chaired by a black cat, perhaps the devil himself appearing in feline form. The notions of black cats being associated with black magic and the devil partly hark back to medieval times when cats, especially black ones, were believed to be witches’ ‘familiars’ (i.e. messengers between the devil and witches). The nocturnal nature of cats, their preference for hunting and wandering at night and also the sacred part they played in ancient Egyptian religion may all have been reasons why they were associated with the world of the occult.
In 1968, the new owner of Killakee House, Mrs. Margaret O’Brien embarked on renovating the house. Workmen reported that they had seen an apparition of a black cat, as large as a big dog, with amber coloured eyes, which came and went through locked doors. It was also reported to have been witnessed by Tom McCassey, an artist, who painted a portrait of the cat afterwards.
Other apparitions at Killakee include reported sightings of two nuns. These were said to be two of the ‘pseudo-nuns’ who had been involved in black masses on Montpellier Hill. They were called Blessed Margaret and Holy Mary. Women were generally not admitted to full membership of the Hellfire Clubs, but they were rumoured to attend as orgy partners and for the roles they played in satanic rites.
In 1970 a small skeleton with a deformed skull was unearthed along with a brass figurine of a demon, which had been presumably buried with the body, from under the kitchen floor of the house. This may substantiate folklore from the environs of Killakee House and Montpellier Hill which spoke of members of the club who had murdered a deformed man there.
Darkie Kelly. A.K.A. ‘The Green Lady’
Many Dubliners will be familiar with the story of Dorcas ‘Darkey’ Kelly, so-called because of her black hair and dark eyes. Her story is also connected to the Hellfire Club founded in the Eagle Tavern in 1735 because of her association with Hellfire Club member Simon Luttrell, who was also once Sherriff of Dublin.
Kelly’s ghost, which is referred to as ’The Green Lady’, is said to haunt the area around Saint Audoen’s Church, which is Dublin’s oldest still in use church. The Green Lady is said to appear at the bottom of ‘The Forty Steps’, which lead from Saint Audoen’s Church down to the only remaining gatehouse of the original medieval wall of Dublin.
Kelly was reportedly madam of the Maidenhead Brothel on Copper Alley in Temple Bar. Various versions of Darkey Kelly’s story have been told through the centuries. One story goes that she became pregnant for Simon Luttrell and demanded maintenance for the child. To cover up his role, Luttrell accused Kelly of murdering her child and, in some versions, of doing so during a satanic ritual and Luttrell had Darkey Kelly sentenced to death.
However, there is another version of the Darkey Kelly story which has come to light through the research of Eamon McLoughlin and Phil O’Grady of Dublin South 93.9 FM radio station. According to them, contemporary newspaper accounts, which were located in the National Archives, revealed that Dorcas ‘Darkie’Kelly was executed on January 7th 1761 for the murder of shoemaker John Dowling on Saint Patrick’s day 1760. They also found that after the execution, the bodies of four other men were reportedly found in the vaults of her brothel.
The manner of Darkey Kelly’s execution, which took place in public on Baggot Street, then called Gallows Road, was particularly brutal. She was first partially hanged but while still alive, was burnt at the stake. This form of execution, which involved burning, was reserved for women convicted of such crimes as murder. Executions were commonplace at the time and large crowds would gather to witness them. Following her execution, women of Darkey’s circle took her body to Copper Alley, where a wake was held and thirteen women were arrested during ensuing riots.
The full podcast of the Darkey Kelly’ story, which was broadcast on the No Smoke Without Fire show, a community radio show, on the 250th anniversary of her execution in January 2011 can be found at the link below.
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