Woodvale Park, situated just off the Shankill Road in West Belfast, has long been a familiar green space for the surrounding community. Opened in the late 19th century, it has served generations as a place for walking, recreation, and daily routine. Like many such places with deep local roots, it has also become the setting for stories that blur the line between memory and folklore.

One of the most enduring local tales associated with the park concerns the reported appearance of a small dog – seen, according to tradition, long after its death.

The story is typically set in the early 20th century, during the era when Belfast’s tramlines still ran through the city. It tells of an elderly man who would visit the park each day with his small dog. The animal, energetic and difficult to control, had a habit of chasing passing trams whenever it was let off the lead. Embarrassed by the spectacle, the man would often continue walking as though the dog were not his, allowing it to fall behind before eventually rejoining him outside the park.

This routine, it is said, continued until one day when the dog chased a tram once too often.

According to the story, the animal was struck and killed, the incident going unnoticed by its owner as he continued his walk. The tram conductor, recognising what had happened, is said to have placed the dog’s remains near the park entrance so that the man would find them. When he eventually did, he carried the dog home, reportedly devastated by the loss.

What followed is where the story passes firmly into folklore.

In the days after the incident, people claimed to see the small dog waiting outside the park, just as it had done in life – yet there was no sign of the elderly man. Concerned by his absence, neighbours are said to have forced entry to his home, where they discovered him dead, seated with the body of the dog resting on his knee.

After this, the sightings of the dog reportedly ceased.