‘Angry poltergeist’ brings terror to council house.
Bizarre events forcing family to leave.
By Brian Macdonald.
Things that go bump in the night have forced a family out of their Galway City home. A series of eerie and unexplained happenings at their home at 286 Corrib Park on the outskirts of the city have left the Fahy family terrified. Already a priest has said prayers at the house in which Jackie Fahy and his wife Esther have lived for the last 25 years and which they had planned to buy out from Galway Corporation. Last night neighbours gathered and recited the Rosary.
“We can’t take this any more. It’s just terrible – we’re not staying here any more,” a visibly shaken Jackie said last night. The family, comprising Jackie, Esther, son Michael (24), daughter Martha (21) and grand-daughter Sarah Louise (8 months) first noticed a strange smell in the house eight months ago. It was variously described as a smell of urine or rotting meat. Galway Corporation could discover nothing.
Then, about a month ago Michael was asleep when he noticed a light shining into his bedroom. Members of the family subsequently reported hearing footsteps upstairs when there was nobody there. The sound of a crying child was also heard. Framed pictures then mysteriously fell from where they hung and clothes in a child’s room were inexplicably arranged in a pile.
Two nights ago after a series of noises were heard in the house late at night, Michael and Martha packed up with baby Sarah Louise and drove to Waterford where their parents had been staying for the weekend. When they returned, they all slept in the sitting room. Unexplained noises continued through the night and even neighbours said they had also heard them.
Toys in the child’s room had been rearranged in a circle and the tops of shampoo bottles had been stacked one upon another in the bath as if a child was playing with building blocks.
Michael’s girlfriend was on her way upstairs when a delph jug smashed close to her head. She fell downstairs with the fright and cut her leg. Jackie Fahy said: “It seems to be some kind of poltergeist, but it’s angry and it seems to want to protect the baby. But I just don’t know why.”
The family said they would not stay in the house last night and did not know when they would return.
Michael Fahey in a bedroom with his niece’s toys which were mysteriously re-arranged.
Local priest Father Malachy Hallanan leaves the ‘haunted’ house in Galway’s Corrib Park after saying Mass and blessing the rooms. Pictures Andrew Downs / Green Graph.
Irish Independent, 8th May 1997.
Unexplained haunts family.
A family admitted today that they were at breaking point following weeks of unexplained happenings and noises at their home. A badly shaken Jackie Fahy said that he could not see his family remaining at 286 Corrib Park, Galway city unless there was an end to the eerie happenings. The family, including Jackie, wife Esther, son Michael (24), daughter Martha (21) , and grand-daughter Sarah Louise (8 mths), were accompanied by friends at their home last night after the strange noises and disturbances in their Corporation home became too much for them.
Local curate Fr Malachy Hallinan last night celebrated Mass at the house. Efforts to place a crucifix and a picture of Jesus in the bedroom of grand-daughter Sarah Louise had to be abandoned when clothes were inexplicably strewn around the room – even though nobody had gone near it.
Evening Herald (Dublin), 8th May 1997.
Herald reporter’s night of terror in haunted house.
I fled ghost house.
I fled in absolute terror from an ordinary looking Galway council home today. Like householders Jackie and Esther Fahy I could take no more. A series of bizarre incidents, which could not be explained, marked the night. A heavy china dog literally jumped from the hearth, smashing to smithereens on the floor. Religious pictures upended of their own accord. A television set appeared to move by itself. And a baby’s dress mysteriously moved from a locker to a bedroom floor.
The couple have lived in the house at 286 Corrib Park on the outskirts of Galway for 25 years and had been planning to buy the house from the Council.
More than a bump in the night.
Aideen Sheehan spent last night in Galway’s haunted house… she left trembling.
I arrived a sceptic and left shaking – an all night vigil in Galway’s haunted home was enough to rattle my atheistic bones to the core. Smashed china, religious pictures flung on their faces and baby clothes mysteriously tossed to the floor – whatever supernatural force was at work must have known it had a cynic to convert. As the dawn approached I found myself eyeing every lampshade and picture with suspicion – tensed to jump out of the path of any heavy object that decided to launch itself in my direction.
A massive smash from the empty living room was the final proof for me that the Fahy family’s “Poltergeist” is not a publicity seeking hoax as some have claimed. Racing back into the room we found the life sized ceramic dog which had stood securely on the hearth now lay smashed into smithereens. Its broken pieces lay scattered all around the room, yet the force of the break couldn’t be explained by simply toppling from its 2 inch high perch and neither had anything fallen onto it.
Nearby the large screen TV had been inexplicably pushed over a foot backwards while a picture of the Holy Family lay spookily face down on top of it. A coating of fine dust had now appeared on top of the TV and above it a framed certificate was suddenly hanging at a mysterious tilt. By this stage, 4.0am, most of the family had already abandoned ship – gratefully accepting the refuge offered by their neighbours – and the others now following suit vowing never to spend another night in their home of 25 years. The night was really starting to get to me. Even the most banal stuffed toy was beginning to assume a sinister aspect. Had that cute turtle on the sideboard really worn such a menacing leer earlier on?
Think haunted houses, and it’s usually crumbling castles awash with turrets and parapets that spring to mind, rather than the tidy terraced council abode that was the Fahy’s home until this morning. Inside the doors of No. 286 Corrib Park, the smart new fitted kitchen and hand stenciled poppies on the living room wall paint a picture of cosy suburban bliss. But the sunken eyes and tearstained cheeks of mother Esther Fahy tell a different story. “That’s it, we’re gone. I can’t live here any more with these things happening. I don’t care where we go, it’s driving me insane,” she said, even before the worst of the nights events had unfolded.
A baby’s cotton pinny lying in the centre of her grandchild’s bedroom was the immediate cause of her anguish. Moments earlier the garment had been lying neatly folded on a locker – but when I followed Martha Fahy (21) and her brother Michael (25) into the room it had mysteriously jumped yards away to the centre of the floor. As if on cue eight-month-old baby Sarah Louise who had been sleeping peacefully in her pram downstairs awoke with a piercing cry of distress. Like her grandmother the baby was inconsolable, and had to be brought next door to the neighbours who have thrown open their doors to the family. Every major incident in the house last week has been heralded by the baby’s uncharacteristic wails which stop abruptly as soon as she is brought away from the scene.
Following a Mass on Wednesday evening the family had hoped the eerie events would cease but all they got that night was a few hours fitful sleep huddled together in the living room for safety. Last night even that was denied them. The crucifixes, Mass cards and copious quantities of Holy Water which friends and wellwishers have lavished upon the family were lined up on the sideboard but were proving sadly ineffectual last night. “The priest blessed every cupboard, and every corner of the house, even the attic. We really hoped that would be the end of the whole saga,” said family head Jackie, who works as a driver for the Brothers of Charity.
The family are the first and only inhabitatns of the Corrib Park house – there is no previous owner on which to pin the blame for the possibly paranormal events. Jackie said they were desperately trying to investigate if any tragic deaths had occurred in the area before their estate was built. “There was a farm house behind where the house is now, and we think there could have been a sudden death around there of a child or a young mother that might explain what’s going on now. If we could find out we might be able to pray for that soul to be put to rest so this could end,” he said.
A psychic who had had a similar experience previously had been in touch with them and they are now hoping she might be able to tackle the problem. But given everything the family have experienced they didn’t think they will ever be able to sleep peacefully in the house again, Michael said. When I first arrived I was frankly disbelieving as family members claimed to hear footsteps from the bedroom upstairs. Over ripe imaginations seemed a more likely story – but a few nerve jangling hours later I could understand why they are firmly convinced a malevolent ghost is at work. I didn’t imagine that violently smashed ornament or displaced furniture – and I’m still trying to come up with any rational explanation.
Evening Herald (Dublin), 9th May 1997.
Bumps in the night win battle for home of family.
A Galway family fled their home yesterday morning for a second tiem this week after another bout of what they feel is poltergeist activity. And they now plan to leave the house for good.
The Fahy family had hoped that a Mass celebrated in their Corrib Park home on Wednesday evening would end the series of bizarre happenings. But late on Thursday night they say the clothes of an eight-month-old baby were thrown about her room – even though there was nobody there.
And at 3.30 a.m. yesterday a porcelain dog came crashing off the mantelpiece and smashed to pieces on the sitting room floor, forcing Jackie Fahy, his wife Esther, son Michael, 24, daughter Martha, 21, and her baby daughter Sarah Louise to leave.
The family had already left their home earlier this week but returned after a local priest celebrated a special Mass in the house. Michael Fahy said yesterday his parents had now decided to move out for good. “My mother says that this is the last straw and she made a decision last night that we were going to move out of the house for good. We cannot take any more of this,” he said.
A series of unexplained incidents that started some months ago came to a head this week, ranging from furniture upturning and crashing to the floor, to a child crying upstairs when there was nobody there, and footsteps, lights, and music going on automatically.
Irish Independent, 10th May 1997.
Haunted by an unseen force.
The Fahys are tired and don’t know which is worse – the poltergeist ruling their life or being a focus of national attention.
Judy Murphy.
“It’s been crazy. We even had two men coming up here yesterday in a Jaguar, asking where was the haunted house,” said Jackie Fahy of Corrib Park in Galway, whose house has been a focus of attention since the family stated this week on The Gerry Ryan Show that their lives were being destroyed by a poltergiest. The Fahys are tired and they don’t know which is worse – the public attention or the strange happenings in their home, which show no sign of letting up despite their having had a mass and a blessing in the house this week. Their next hope is that a medium, who recently appeared on The Late Late Show and comes highly recommended, will be able to deal with the unnatural happenings. But she has not yet arrived and the wait continues.
And so, on a wet and windy weekend night in Galway, while the streets are busy with revellers, Friday night was another one of tense anticipation for the Fahys. Their fear was worse now, because Thursday night was particularly bad, they explained. At about 3.30am they heard a loud noise from the sitting room. When they entered, a large ceramic dog – a present from Jackie’s nephew – which had been on the red tiles in front of the fire, was on the ground in smithereens.
Jackie insisted that it hadn’t fallen, nor had anything fallen on it. “It’s more like it exploded from within. Some people have been saying we are making all this up, but there was a reporter here when it happened and she couldn’t explain it either.” This ceramic dog was a favourite of Jackie’s grandchild, Sarah Louise, and the family is convinced that this is why it was broken. Everything started about eight months ago when Jackie’s daughter, Martha – who lives in the house with her parents and brother, Michael – gave birth to Sarah Louise. First there was a dreadful smell of urine which nobody could explain. Events continued in a small way for several months. Doors would close in people’s faces, there were noises and banging, but, although unusual, it was fairly low-key.
All that changed last Saturday, said Jackie. In the past week the coffee table has been levitated and overturned, a vase and ornaments have been broken, a photo of Sarah Louise has been thrown and the glass broken, her clothes have been scattered around the bedroom, toilets have flushed, there’s been the sound of a child crying, and room temperatures have dropped markedly, he said. There have also been less sinister manifestations – the caps of all the toiletry bottles in the bathroom having been removed and stacked in the bath like building blocks, for instance. “It’s like there are two presences: a baby and someone who is either threatening the baby or trying to protect it from something,” said Jackie’s son, Michael.
After a blessing and a mass in th ehouse, the family hoped it was over – and for one night things were calm. But then they started again, leaving the Fahys afraid in their own home. They sit in their cosy living room, decorated in warm pinks and lit by lamps, watching Star Trek on TV. It’s about 11 p.m. and all looks normal, but the drawn faces, the tension and the undercurrent of expectation tell a different story. So do the remains of the dog, left on the carpet for the RTE crew to film.
Sarah Louise’s upstairs bedroom is tidy except for a pile of clothes strewn in the middle of the floor, thrown by the same force, said Jackie. It is in this room that they hear a child – not Sarah Louise – crying. Sometimes they can hear lullabies being played on Sarah Louise’s music box. Yet when they check, there’s nothing happening.
Jackie said he had no idea why all this started but felt it may be related to events which took place many years ago. “Before this estate was built, 25 years ago, this place was a farm. I can remember horses in the fields and the farmyard buildings. We know of someone who used to live there and they are checking things out for us. There has to be a reason for this.”
Jackie is still willing to talk about the events and to try and make sense of them. “You should be hoarse from talking,” said his wife wearily. It’s obvious that she is sick of the attention.
“In my 45 years on this earth I’ve never been as terrified as I have been in the last week. I just hope that this medium works, because I’d give anything to have a normal life again,” said Jackie.
On Friday night there was no intrusion. All was calm and Jackie even managed to get two hours sleep.
Jackie Fahy with a vase which he claims was smashed by a poltergeist in his Galway home. (Joe O’Shaughnessy).
Exorcism an option only after rigorous analysis of apparently paranormal.
Charles Hogan.
The weird happenings at 286 Corrib Park, Galway, have focused attention on the issues of poltergeists, exorcisms and the spirit world. However, little is actually known about the extent of these phenomena in Ireland. Poltergeists, one of which appears to be persecuting the Fahy family in Galway, are manifest primarily through sound, according to Glasnevin priest Father Pat Collins, who has studied the phenomena. Incidents involving poltergeists are relatively commonplace and have been reported in most countries, he said. “A poltergeist is a type of mischievous spirit. They can manifest themselves in a number of ways. Drops in temperature, objects moving on their own, apparitions of other people. They can frequently be associated with the spirits of the dead,” said Fr Collins.
Dealing with poltergeists can be awkward. Fr Malachy Hallanan, a priest of the Galway Diocese, has said mass in the house in Corrib Park. However, Fr Collins emphasised that the method of dealing with the problem should be chosen with care. “It’s a bit like going to the doctor. If the cure isn’t targeted at the illness, then the cure is useless. You have to evaluate the problem and then devise a strategy to solve it,” he said.
Exorcisms are virtually unknown in Ireland. Records are not kept of their occurrence but the Dublin diocese confirmed that none had taken place in living memory. An exorcism takes place when there is reason to believe that an individual’s personality and psyche have been hijacked by an evil spirit and that the only way to release the person from this possession is through carrying out a religious rite of exorcism. This involves a complicated series of specially selected prayers which are intended to set the person free from the spirit’s possession.
“The church would approach the whole issue with a certain amount of caution. Discernment would always be required when dealing with such cases,” said Ronan Mullen of the diocese of Dublin. “Claims would be very carefully evaluated initially. Medical principles would be invoked to see if natural causes are at the root of the problem. The individual concerned may have certain psychological defects, which would explain their problem,” said Mullen.
A formal rite of exorcism can only be carried out with the agreement of the bishop of the diocese in which an incident is reported. Canon Law stipulates that a priest wishing to carry out an exorcism must “seek the permission of the local Ordinary.” The law also says that permission may be given “only to a priest endowed with piety, learning, prudence and integrity of life.”
“It’s very important that the rules be observed. If there is a failure to discern the problem correctly then the problem may, in fact, be compounded,” said Mullen. Different methods may be employed for separate situations. If the whole person is possessed then a solemn exorcism will be conducted. However, if an individual is not wholly affected then a priest may say prayers for deliverance to release the subject.
Fr Sean Conaty, from the Hexham and Newcastle diocese in the north of England has carried out a number of exorcisms. He appeared on television recently to speak about his experience, but is reluctant to go into the details of exorcism. “I regret having gone on television now because it’s a dangerous subject to publicise,” he told The Sunday Tribune. “People who are in certain mental conditions may suffer distress as a result of seeing material in the media which they feel might be relevant to their own condition.”
The danger of disturbing people of unsound mind was also emphasised by Fr Collins. “Unfortunately, many people attribute their mental condition or state of mind to evil spirits. Usually the problem is more to do with a religious obsession than any kind of spirits.” However, he pointed out that some people can leave themselves open to the threat of possession. “Those who dabble with the occult can be susceptible. Activities such as playing with Ouija boards or summoning up the spirits of the dead would be dangerous in that regard,” said Fr Collins.
Sunday Tribune, 11th May 1997.
Galway ghost does a runner.
A ghost which terrorised a Galway family has vanished. The restless poltergeist who smashed ornaments and moved pictures and clothes was driven from the house by Sandra Ramdhanie. Today, a delighted Michael Fahy (24), said the family slept peacefully in their own beds last night. “It was wonderful. The house felt really peaceful. I know it’s gone,” he said.
Parents Jackie and Esther returned home last night along with Michael’s sister Martha (21) and her baby daughter Sarah Louise after psychic Sandra completed her task. “She contacted the spirit that was in our house. It turned out it was a baby who was murdered,” said Michael. Sandra suspected the baby was born to a nun and smothered after birth.
Evening Herald (Dublin), 12th May 1997.
Irish ghostbuster to hit the screens.
By Elizabeth Hudson.
Ghostly goings on in a Galway council house could be about to make it on to the big screen. But first it’s to be featured in a TV special. The lives of Michael Fahy, his parents Jackie and Esther, his sister Martha and her young daughter Sarah Louise were turned upside down by the strange happenings which left them both baffled and terrified for eight long months. The disturbances all started with a smell of rotting flesh which couldn’t be traced, despite searches by the local corporation. Then the sound of footsteps and a baby crying could be heard.
Things got gradually worse and on one occasion, the toilet flushed by itself and a two foot high porcelain dog inexplicably smashed into tiny pieces, lights flashed on and off and pictures were moved in the house. The arrival of psychic Sandra Ramdhanie helped hasten the departure of the spirit, and the Fahys have been left in peace since last May.
But now the ghostly goings-on are hitting the small screen. The family will feature on ITV’s Strange But True presented by Michael Aspel next Friday night and will also be on TnaG on November 11 talking about their spooky terror.
The events have prompted Michael along with Sandra Ramdhanie to compile a book based not only on the Fahy’s experiences, but those of other people that contacted them, and a film may not be too far behind. “Our story seems to have struck a chord with people,” says Michael. “I think the fact that so many people from neighbours and friends to journalists saw what we saw had something to do with it.” Michael’s spirit was that of a murdered baby who had been buried on the land th ehouse was built on in the past 50 years. “We believe that the spirit was disturbed with the arrival of Sarah-Louise in the house,” he explains. “It was acting like a spoilt child because it wasn’t getting any attention. We were terrified and even considered moving house but although things have been quiet since Sandra released the spirit, it’s something we will never forget.”
Sunday World (Dublin) 2nd November 1997.
Anger as ghost story dropped from tv.
A top British television programme dropped an Irish family’s ghost story minutes before they were due on air. Galway’s Fahy family were led to believe nearly 17 million British viewers would learn about the spirit which haunted their home for eight months. But Michael Aspel’s ITV programme Strange But True cancelled the advertised show moments before broadcasting last month. Now droves of people across Ireland have been contacting Jackie and Esther Fahy in Comb Park, Galway. The couple have even received abusive calls as angry people claim there was no ghost, otherwise Michael Aspel would have run the TV programme.
Jackie Fahy says “I’m so embarrassed. Many people across Ireland have been phoning asking why it was not on. The TV people won’t give us a reason for dropping the show. I have a big phone bill from ringing London and Belfast but none of the TV people will return my calls or give me an answer. They won’t tell us why they dropped the show about our ghost. Two minutes before it was to go on air the continuity announcer said there was a change in the advertised programme. But the TV executives won’t tell us why they dropped the show. It was announced on Galway Bay FM, on TnaG and people across Ireland stayed in to see the story about our ghost. But nothing happened. We are really disappointed.”
A TV crew spent a week filming and researching in May after the Fahys had to leave their two storey house when the hauntings became too frightening. They moved next door to neighbours in the county council estate after a poltergeist wreaked havoc. The family first smelt rotting flesh which the local corporation couldn’t trace. Next they heard a mystery baby crying upstairs. Photos were damaged. A jug was thrown against the landing and smashed against a door. Toys moved without being touched. The lavatory flushed on its own. A picture flew off the mantelpiece and an ornamental porcelain dog exploded of its own accord.
The Bishop was contacted to arrange an exorcism ceremony and a Mass was said in the house. But Jackie claimed that after the priest’s visit the poltergeist “came back with a vengeance.” Finally top psychic Sandra Ramdhanie, who has ghost-busted for Gay Byrne and Gerry Ryan shows, was called in. She believed she removed the spirit in a cleansing ceremony where family members and friends held hands in the haunted room while visualising a baby rising to heaven. Sandra claimed the ghost was that of a baby born to a nun whose father was a priest over 100 years ago.
At the time an ITV spokesperson said “We are fascinated by this ghost story. It really grabbed Irish people. We filmed and carried out extensive interviews to verify this amazing ghost story.” A spokesperson for Strange But true could not be contacted this week.
Jackie Fahy with the jug that was flung across a room.
Sunday World (Dublin), 4th January 1998.
Under hammer house of horror.
A “haunted” house in Galway is to be put up for sale because its owners claim they cannot sleep soundly there any longer. John Fahy said his family are haunted by the memories of their ordeal last year when they claim a troubled ghost terrorised them.
Although psychic Sandra Ramdhanie successfully exorcised the spirit of an infant strangled at birth over 100 years ago, the Fahys said every noise and creak in the house reminded them of their ordeal.
John Fahy said he was trying to buy th ehouse from his county council landlord so he could sell it on, as otherwise his family would have to spend two years in a hostel waiting to be rehoused. He said some people would be glad to own a house with a history but his 22-year-old daughter wouldn’t stay there on her own at night and even his grandchild had trouble sleeping.
Mr Fahy said top Hollywood director Ron Howard, who made Far and Away, was being lined up to make a film about the spooky happenings in their home.
Evening Herald (Dublin), 24th August 1998.
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/GALWAY+PHANTOM+GETS+OWN+TV+SHOW.-a061098053
https://www.rte.ie/archives/2017/0508/873383-galway-poltergeist/
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/%27We+filled+the+ghost+baby+with+sunshine%27+SHOWBIZ+PSYCHIC+BIDS+TO+END…-a061124622
https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2055246593/fahey-family-ghost-in-galway
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=69WiAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA36&lpg=PA36&dq=%22strange+but+true%22+aspel+fahy&source=bl&ots=xm7l7uSxcn&sig=ACfU3U1L3MumevAn4T8j8Obkhu8t5rPJtA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNyvLN3Lf3AhXGX8AKHXMcAIUQ6AF6BAgCEAM#v=onepage&q=%22strange%20but%20true%22%20aspel%20fahy&f=false FAHEY???