Then turning to leave she cried "but that is the extend of my mercy, now go for I have finished with you!" It is worse for you to of asked it of me," replied Aoife, "for no friends and no power that you have will bring you out of these shapes until you have been three hundred years on Lough Devereaugh and, thereafter, another three hundred years on the stormy Sea of Moyle and yet a further three hundred in the chilly climes of Irros Domann, on the Western Sea. Only when you hear the sound of a Christian bell will your release be imminent." And, since the list of past customers is as diverse as Peter the Great of Russia, the composer Franz Liszt, former Beirut hostage Brian Keenan and pop diva Tina Turner, it's comforting to know that Grace's guiding spirit is still around to ensure that the staff adhere to the standards of hospitality she insisted upon - although a welcoming kiss (unless the circumstances are exceptional!) is no longer on offer. But they were no longer children. Their bodies were stooped and wizened, their hair was white, their skin was wrinkled and it was obvious that they were dying. Grace Neill's claims the distinction of being the oldest pub in Ireland. It first opened its doors for business in 1611 and was originally called The King's Arms.

In the reign of King James I, during the Plantation of Ulster, their house became a shelter for Catholic priests who would celebrate secret masses on the premises, and a "priest's jole", dating from those troubled times, is still visible in the hotel's reception. When he also began to suppress her ability to live by the sea, Granuaile decided that her only hope lay in going over his head and, thus it was that in 1593, she petitioned Queen Elizabeth 1st, outlining her grievances. Where can I stay nearby? Stop by on your journey south down or on your way to Wales, it's just off the M5 Before riding into battle at the head of a great host of warriors, he equipped himself with every magical weapon known to the world. The unfortunate Lavery was charged with murder and, despite his protestations of innocence, was found guilty and sentenced to death.His ghost, it is said, still drifts in a spectral boat across the glassy surface of the Lake in the dead of night. He has even been seen in the hotel’s "Devil’s Punchbowl" bar looking sadly across at the ruined castle, no doubt remembering long ago days of glory and bloodshed - although the pint of Guinness that he reputedly holds in his hand should perhaps be taken with a large pinch of salt! The second and third parts of the spell passed less comfortably, but finally nine hundred years had gone by and the swans flew ashore to return to their fathers’ palace.

One of the most enduring legends about her dates from this period and concerns Howth Castle, which still stands some ten miles from Dublin City. Thus it was that Christianity came to Ireland and the emblem of the nation was born. But it was this new faith that, ultimately, sounded Tara’s death knell. According to legend King Diarmaid, who ascended the throne in AD558, arrested and executed the murderer of a tax collector who had taken sanctuary with St Ruadhan. Granuaile stepped in to lead the O'Flaherties out of crisis and, by sheer force of personality, effectively made herself their chief, winning their loyalty and superseding her husband’s authority. The ghost of a small boy occasionally joins her and once, when he was around three years old, Bridget’s son went missing. Fearful of the steep stairs and precarious drops around the property, the family began an anxious search. They eventually found him at the bottom of the stairwell where he told how "the little boy and girl" had looked after him as he came down the stairs. Crossing the threshold, a portrait of Barbara St. Lege (1748-1820) hangs on one of the walls inside. She married into family and was, apparently, so taken with Huntingdon Castle, that her spirit still walks the corridors, jangling her keys as she goes.With such an eventful and often gruesome history, it is inevitable that Kilmainham Gaol should have several ghosts. No-one knows for certain who she is, nor what long ago event has caused her earthbound wraith to walk the corridors.

In 1210 the castle was taken over by King John who made it an administrative centre for English government, in which capacity it served for the next seven centuries. Several people have reported feeling a cold chill on entering the South-East Tower, as if some unseen presence has pushed past them. There is a deep, dark well in the castle, around which the ghostly apparition of a soldier is said to appear. Yet in a quiet moment in the early morning or late evening, when the tour busses have parked up for the night, it is possible to stand alone within this ancient structure, and listen to the Atlantic winds flinging themselves with demented fury against the stone walls.

10. Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk

But then the evil stepmother relented and granted one concession to the charges she had betrayed. "You may keep your human voices," she told the Children "and I will make them the sweetest voices in the whole of Ireland, sweeter even than those of the Fairy people, and anyone who hears them will be lulled into a gentle sleep." Over the centuries these houses came to be seen as symbols of subjugation and, with the rising tide of Irish nationalism that swept the country in the early 20th century, they became prime targets as the people rose up to free themselves from the yoke of English oppression. Stationed at the castle was another soldier called Timothy Lavery who bore an uncanny resemblance to Robert Rainey. Before Jennings died he was able to tell his brother what had happened, although he insisted that Lavery had been his assailant. Ages went by, generations of Kings were crowned over the Stone of Destiny, living and dying at Tara. Then, in the 19th century, a company was formed in Scotland to gather bones for fertiliser. Its ships raided the West coast of Ireland, plundering immense quantities of bones from the old abbeys and churchyards.

Relieved at the simplicity of the demand, St Lawrence agreed and returned to Howth with his grandson, where he faithfully kept his side of the arrangement and where, even today, the castle gates are always open and an extra place laid at the dinner table in commemoration of the family’s legendary encounter with the Pirate Queen. On waking the next morning she was startled to find that no door existed anywhere behind her bed. However, when she reported her experience to Charlotte Lenox-Conyngham, she was told that there was a door behind the bed but that it had been long since been papered over! Thereafter she often accompanied her father on his voyages, learning his cunning, studying his ways and, ultimately, inheriting his leadership qualities. A few years later his wife became pregnant again and the once embittered warrior sent word to his great friend, Bodb informing him of the glad tidings. Although the business has been whittled down, it is still run by his descendents, and those who stray into the hotel's time-worn interior can still enjoy drinking and dining in the only place I know where the management advertises their business as "Publican, Restaurant, Undertaker!"The air, however, is strangely warm and fresh, not in the least like the cold and clammy atmosphere you would expect to find in such a place. Then, as your nebulous escorts fall suddenly away, you find yourself confronted by an awesome vision of breathtaking splendour as unyielding walls, punctured by mullioned windows and crowned by towering turrets, loom gracefully over you. Consequently many of Ireland's once great houses are now little more than hollow shells that lie forgotten in peaceful seclusion. Abandoned, enigmatic ruins whose crumbling walls reflect bygone ages of grandeur and glory. Yet to discover them is a wonderful and awesome experience, and to stand amidst their tottering walls and contemplate their ghosts can elicit the coldest of shivers even on the brightest of summer days.