Map, location, contact details, directions to Leap Castle , Roscrea,
Co. Offaly. Add to your smart phone, Garmin or TomTom GPS. Find other nearby Go Ireland - Haunted Castles.
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Leap Castle
Roscrea
Co. Offaly
t: +353 57 9131115
(431 views)
About Leap Castle
Leap Castle in Roscrea
, Co. Offaly.
Reputed to be the most haunted castle in Ireland, this former bastion of the powerful O'Carroll dynasty harbours many dark secrets.
A deadly power struggle in the 1600s resulted in one of the clan, a priest, being run through and fatally wounded by his brother as he said Mass in what is now known as the Bloody Chapel.
Many poor souls were imprisoned and executed in the castle. In 1900 workers discovered an oubliette, or hidden dungeon, next to the chapel, its floor replete with treacherous spikes. Three cartloads of human bones were finally removed from this hellhole. Little wonder that the castle is said to be haunted by several spectres, the most terrifying of which is a tiny hunched creature whose apparition coincides with the stench of rotting flesh. Locals steer clear and are adamant that in the dead of night the windows at the top of the castle 'light up for a few seconds, as if many candles were brought into the room'. Gutted by fire during the Civil War, the castle lay ruined and abandoned for decades, until it was acquired, in 1991, by Sean Ryan, who is undertaking restoration work.
A deadly power struggle in the 1600s resulted in one of the clan, a priest, being run through and fatally wounded by his brother as he said Mass in what is now known as the Bloody Chapel.
Many poor souls were imprisoned and executed in the castle. In 1900 workers discovered an oubliette, or hidden dungeon, next to the chapel, its floor replete with treacherous spikes. Three cartloads of human bones were finally removed from this hellhole. Little wonder that the castle is said to be haunted by several spectres, the most terrifying of which is a tiny hunched creature whose apparition coincides with the stench of rotting flesh. Locals steer clear and are adamant that in the dead of night the windows at the top of the castle 'light up for a few seconds, as if many candles were brought into the room'. Gutted by fire during the Civil War, the castle lay ruined and abandoned for decades, until it was acquired, in 1991, by Sean Ryan, who is undertaking restoration work.
