Originally constructed in 1854, the building was designed in a refined Italianate style to serve as the headquarters of the Royal Cork Yacht Club — widely regarded as the oldest yacht club in the world. For more than a century, it remained the social and administrative home of the organisation until the club relocated in 1969. After that, the building stood largely unused for several decades before being brought back to life in the mid-2000s as the Sirius Arts Centre, now a vibrant cultural and exhibition space overlooking the harbour.

Yet despite its elegant architecture and artistic transformation, the building has long been associated with strange, unexplained activity. Staff and visitors have reported unusual sounds, sudden cold spots, and the sense of a presence moving through the old rooms. In 2011, the group Cobh Supernatural Investigators conducted a paranormal investigation on site, further cementing its reputation as one of Cobh’s more quietly haunted historic buildings.