On the outskirts of Mountmellick lies a quiet, timeworn burial ground known as Graigue Cemetery — a small rural graveyard containing memorials that span from the 18th to the 20th century. Though peaceful by day, Graigue has long carried a reputation for ghostly encounters and unexplained apparitions witnessed along the adjoining road.

Many years ago, when the cemetery had become overgrown and neglected, a local parish priest was driving toward Mountmellick one evening when something caught his eye. As he passed the cemetery gates, he saw the apparition of a young woman standing among the tangled grass and fallen stones.

The vision unsettled him deeply — not out of fear, but sorrow. Interpreting it as a sign of the forgotten dead, he resolved to have the cemetery cleared and restored. His efforts led to the revival of Cemetery Sunday ceremonies at Graigue, ensuring that prayers would once again be offered for those buried there.

Decades later, in the 1980s, another story added to Graigue’s haunted reputation. A local jewellery shop owner was driving home after nightfall when, as he approached the cemetery, he suddenly saw a woman and two small children step into the road ahead of him.

Unable to stop in time, he braced for impact — but when his car came to a halt, no one was there. Shaken, he searched the roadside and surrounding field but found no trace of the figures he was certain he had struck.