Linenhall Square in Newry was once a busy complex of old houses, a fire station, and the local GAA club. Although the entire area has been redeveloped in recent years, older residents still recall a number of strange and unsettling experiences linked to the site’s past. Part of the reason may lie in its history: the area once housed Linenhall Barracks, and traces of military occupation lingered long after the soldiers were gone.

One of the most memorable stories centres on Number 74, a small single-storey house located between the old fire station and the Bosco club. During renovations, the family living there discovered a hidden basement beneath the property — something that immediately added to the building’s sense of mystery. The mother later claimed the house was undeniably haunted. She regularly spoke of seeing a small woman who would walk straight through the exterior wall, cross the living room in silence, and vanish through the bedroom door on the opposite side.

Her son, David, also recalled a frightening encounter: he once saw the ghostly figure of a man standing in the front bedroom. The sight shocked him so intensely that he could barely speak about it for years afterward.

The hauntings weren’t confined to the house. The old fire station, which had previously served as the Officers’ Mess of Linenhall Barracks, also earned a reputation for strange activity. According to the Newry Fire Brigade’s centenary publication Newry Aflame 1877–1977, firefighters reported a distinctly cold, unsettling atmosphere in certain rooms. They also mentioned unexplained noises during the night—nothing dramatic, but persistent enough to make them uneasy. As the book puts it: “The atmosphere in some of the rooms was chilly to say the least. Then there were strange nocturnal noises: things happened there – nothing you could put your finger on, just small inexplicable and unexplained things.”