Just beyond the edge of Killarney, surrounded by parkland and ancient trees, stands Coolclogher House — a graceful country residence with centuries of history etched into its walls. The house was built in 1742 on land that once formed part of the Herbert Estate, a lineage deeply rooted in the story of Killarney’s great houses.

Although built in the mid-18th century, Coolclogher reflects a blend of Georgian elegance and later Italianate influences, making it a fine example of Ireland’s evolving architectural tastes through the Georgian and Victorian eras.

In the 1950s, the property was purchased by the Smith family, who initially intended to run it as a working farm. Those plans soon changed, however, and the family decided to open the house to visitors, offering accommodation to tourists eager to experience the charm of a traditional Kerry country home.

It was during the Smiths’ time that Coolclogher earned a quieter — and more mysterious — reputation. Locals and guests alike whispered of a ghostly presence said to appear and vanish along the back staircase. Footsteps were sometimes heard when no one was there, and doors were known to creak open on their own.

On one particularly unsettling night, Ellen Smith, alone in the house, reportedly encountered the spirit face-to-face. So shaken was she by the experience that she waited outside in the cold until her husband, Jack, returned home.

Determined to bring peace to both the household and the apparition, the couple — along with their young daughter Máire — held a special Mass within the house, praying for the restless soul to move on. Afterward, it was said that the strange disturbances ceased, and calm once again settled over Coolclogher.