Mullingar Arts Centre officially opened in November 1998, in a building that dates from 1913, on a site with a long and sometimes bloody history.

Mullingar was established as a Norman settlement by William le Petit at the beginning of the 13th century. At its heart was a large, raised mound, known as a motte, with a castle and defensive structures surrounding it. The mound became known as the Mount.

In 1787, part of the site was cleared and work began on the construction of the county gaol. During the 1798 Rebellion, the prison was used to hold and execute Irish rebels. Local records indicate that the heads of executed men were placed on spikes outside the prison walls to deter other would-be dissenters.

In the 1820s, the prison complex was enlarged, and the remaining castle structures were finally demolished. The governor’s house and the courthouse across the road were also built around this time, and both buildings still remain. A subterranean tunnel connected the courthouse to the gaol and was used to transfer prisoners. Although it no longer connects the two sites, sections of the tunnel remain.

Public executions took place at the gaol gate and attracted large, baying crowds. At one point, ten men were hanged over just seven days. Executions were moved inside the gaol in 1868, but they continued at the site until 1885. The gaol finally closed in 1900, and thirteen years later, the County Hall opened on the site. It is this building that is now home to the popular arts centre.

Most of the ghost stories connected to the venue relate to the area beneath the stage, where the dressing rooms are located.

During an event held at the County Hall, two women claimed to have seen men walking past them in the area beneath the stage, despite knowing that they were alone at the time. Believing the men they had seen were ghosts, they reported the matter to a priest. The following week, Mass was celebrated at the venue, and the two serving priests were joined by an exorcist from Maynooth College, who stayed behind to investigate. It is unclear what, if anything, happened during the exorcist’s visit, but a later visit by a paranormal investigation group suggested that at least one entity was still present, and that it was mocking the priest’s earlier efforts. The investigators sensed what they described as a malevolent presence and told a shocked staff member that it had a message:

“Men of the cloth have tried and failed; you won’t succeed.”

In 2019, another investigation team visited the site. They remarked that they felt as if they were being watched and that they felt uncomfortable while exploring some of the rooms. Three team members also reported seeing a figure moving, and when they attempted to address it, one of them reported being shoved by unseen hands.

It is not just paranormal investigators who have reported strange activity in the basement area. Staff, performers, and patrons have described doors opening and closing by themselves, figures moving through spaces, unexplained footsteps, and objects moving of their own accord.

The ghost of a man has also been reported in the auditorium. One patron arrived for a performance only to find a stranger sitting in his seat. Rather than cause a fuss, he decided to sit elsewhere and wait until the interval. When the interval arrived, he chatted to his friend, who had been waiting for him in the next seat. When he remarked that there had been a man sitting in his seat when he arrived, his friend looked confused. The seat where the figure had been sitting was empty. When they got chatting to other audience members, they confirmed that they too had seen another man sitting there.

It could, of course, have been a living person taking the seat in error. However, during a paranormal investigation, a motion-activated camera reportedly detected what looked like a figure sitting alone in the auditorium. All team members had been accounted for, and the figure was not visible to the naked eye.

Music has also reportedly been heard playing through the sound system when the equipment had been switched off. Following a CD launch at the venue, music began to play despite all the equipment having been turned off. Several witnesses were present, including a priest.