When St Comgall’s Primary School on Divis Street finally closed its doors and slipped into a long period of abandonment, the empty corridors and classrooms quickly became the subject of unsettling stories. Urban explorers and local youths who entered the building during its derelict years claimed to have heard the sound of young boys crying in empty rooms. Others spoke of a tall, black shadow moving steadily along the hallways, appearing just long enough to be noticed before dissolving into the darkness.

The building’s silence was often broken by loud bangs and unexplained footsteps, and some visitors left convinced they were being watched. The atmosphere was made all the more intense by the knowledge that parts of the school had been damaged during the Troubles, and that during its abandonment the building was largely sealed, dark and crumbling.

St Comgall’s has since been restored and now serves as a modern community facility, but memories of its derelict years continue to circulate in local conversation. Whether these experiences were the product of suggestion, the acoustics of a ruined building, or something more, they remain part of the folklore attached to one of West Belfast’s most atmospheric former schools.