Ireland Diaries: Scenic ruins and haunted houses

Dramatic green landscapes, peaceful gardens and lovely coastal villages – is what Ireland’s Ancient East holds for its tourists.

HYDERABAD: During my tour of Ireland’s Ancient East, I delved deep into Ireland’s past and breezed through (though briefly) more than 5,000 years of history. Along the way I was blasted with sea air at lighthouses, walked through haunting houses, visited iconic monasteries and heard stories of the mighty Vikings as they swept through the island.

Tintern Abbey- Wexford

The chilly winds, biting cold and the rain nothing deterred me from making the journey, to see such a historic place. Covered in woollens I struggled with an upturned umbrella, heavy camera, notebook and my bulky handbag, but it didn’t matter. Because, Tintern Abbey played a significant role in my education during my growing up years: my compulsory topic British Constitutional History often clashed with my love for English poetry. The flamboyant King Henry VIII and his six queens intrigued my young mind. I tried to visualise Wordsworth glancing at ten thousand daffodils in the Lake District and my heart too danced along with his.

As I entered the ruins of Tintern Abbey, soon scenes started enacting in my mind “Dissolution of Monasteries”- played by King Henry VIII while the poet Wordsworth whispered in my ears, “ Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey”. It was written after a walking tour with his sister in this section of the Welsh Borders. The description of his encounters with the countryside on the banks of the River Wye grows into an outline of his general philosophy.

Meanwhile, the young and pretty guide Brid went on with her singsong narration thus: The remarkable remains of Tintern Abbey date back to 1203, when Norman leader William Marshall founded the Cistercian monastery in thanksgiving after surviving stormy sea passage to Ireland. The remains consist of nave, chancel, tower, chapel and cloister. It was partly converted into living quarters after 1541 and further adapted over the centuries.

After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the abbey and its grounds were granted firstly to Sir James Croft, and then in 1575 to Anthony Colclough of Staffordshire, a soldier of Henry VIII. His descendants, the Colclough Baronets occupied the Abbey until 1960’s. The final member of the family Lucey Marie B Colclough donated the abbey to the nation. Going through the lofty ruins was like walking in a dream.

Colclough Gardens

Situated in a verdant vale with beautiful wooded scenery filled with songbirds, the dark and deep woods (with some of the trees as old as 200 years) were quite fascinating. Alan Ryan, with a visible passion for gardening took us around, explaining about each plant and the garden produce. Bluebells and wild garlic were in full bloom. But what captivated me most, were the white rose bowers. It was as though I was standing in a film set. Their beauty coupled with a mild fragrance almost had me in a daze. I was reluctant to leave the place but for the Irish rain…

The Georgian walled garden of the early nineteenth century was restored in 2010 and the original layout of the garden has been reinstated as it was in the 1838. A brick wall with distinctive intra mural structures separates ornamental and kitchen gardens: a river, crossed by five bridges, flows through the length of the garden. This traditional garden with modern horticultural expertise sells its produce to the visitors and sustains through the donations.

Loftus Hall 

This ghoulish looking mansion, standing on lonely plains reminded me of Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights”, the way I imagined it in my teens. Loftus Hall, a large mansion house on the Hook peninsula, is believed to be haunted by the devil and the ghost of a young woman: thus the sinister elements too matched to a great deal. 

On an interactive tour in the broad daylight, the guide tried to scare us (with little consequence), directing us through the ground floor of the house, while recounting the grim and gruesome history behind Loftus Hall- Charles Tottenham, his daughter Anne, the notorious stranger, the infamous card game when his cloven feet were revealed, the unhappy Anne dying in a crouched position etc. This haunted house was also run as a convent and school for girls, later a hotel was opened and closed (I am sure, no guest ever slept in peace!). Now it is open to the public with dramatized tours.

A documentary film, “The Legend of Loftus Hall, speaks of the frequent appearances of the ghost (that of Anne Tottenham) many years later after the last owners had gone: the staff that had previously worked at the mansion reported that they have seen Anne’s ghost walk down the stairs, and that horses can be heard around the building. In August 2014, Loftus Hall was investigated by the hit US paranormal TV show, Ghost Adventures.

 I left the macabre Loftus Hall, the eerie wind of the plains; the dark sky and the cold wind behind, before Anne Tottenham could make a ghostly appearance and scare me out of my wits!

(The author is a travel writer and a documentary filmmaker focusing on art, culture and history)

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com