In 1757, Marshal Wogan-Browne was killed during the battle of Prague. On that fateful day, a group of servants at the old Clongowes Wood Mansion were shocked to see an officer in a white uniform and clutching a blooded wound, entering the hall and proceeding up the stairs to the upper gallery. The startled house staff, scrambled to inform the two women that had been staying in the house of what they had seen, but the ladies reported seeing nothing unusual.

On hearing the description of the strange visitor, they realised that the officer was in fact their brother who was serving overseas at that time. They concluded, that he must have died during battle and made appropriate preparations. Two weeks later, they received formal notification that their brother, an Austrian Marshal, had indeed perished and that the date of his death coincided with the date of the unexpected guest. While some scoffed at the servant’s testimonies, nobody could explain how, at that time, a group of poor Irish workers could describe in minute detail, the uniform the officer would have been wearing.

In 1814, Clongowes Wood has purchased by a religious order and it has served as private boys school ever since.

Since making the video, I have been informed of two other strange stories attached to the castle and its environs. The ghost of a hanged woman, possibly a nun, has reportedly been spotted in the trees along the driveway. In a nearby graveyard, a pair of glowing red eyes has been spotted on occasion – possibly linked to talk of a ghostly hound that has been spoken of over the years. If you have any further details on either, do Add Your Experience!