Local stories from the late 1990s describe unusual occurrences reported by staff at the Killarney Transport Museum, giving rise to a light-hearted reputation that the museum housed a “friendly” resident spirit. According to these accounts, the disturbances were playful rather than threatening and included misplaced keys, car doors being found open after closing hours, and unexplained sounds within the exhibition area.

One of the most frequently repeated incidents concerns a vintage 1910 Wolseley motorcar, sometimes said to have connections with Countess Markievicz. Staff recalled an occasion when the vehicle’s engine reportedly turned over briefly despite no one being near it—an event that surprised employees because antique vehicles of this type normally require significant preparation before starting. The unexplained episode led some workers to jokingly suggest that the unseen presence had chosen a favourite exhibit.

Additional folklore surrounding the museum links the alleged haunting to earlier nineteenth-century institutions once located in parts of the wider Killarney area, including famine-era workhouse buildings. Some storytellers speculated that the playful spirit might represent a former labourer or resident connected with those difficult historical years, though this interpretation remains purely speculative and part of local storytelling tradition rather than documented fact.