'Haunted Westmeath' podcast explores tales of supernatural and unexplained
Síofra Grant
Westmeath has is known for its rich mythology and magical history, but many may not know that those supernatural elements remain to this day – and so Olga Aughey has resolved to fix that in her podcast, Haunted Westmeath.
Published through the Halloween season, the episodes delve into local stories of hauntings, and paranormal encounters.
Olga has always been drawn to that kinds of tale, and often listens to podcasts of the same vein. That inspired her to team up with Westmeath and Longford County Councils for ‘Samhain in the Heartlands’ to produce a Westmeath focused show.
“I listen to a lot of podcasts and I came across one called Uncanny, presented by Danny Robins. It’s a BBC podcast and it’s people discussing their real life paranormal experiences or hauntings.
“I just found it really interesting the way he did it.”
Olga says it made her think Ireland’s history of great storytelling would provide a good foundation for her own series.
“Stories have been passed down for generations and told around the fire, and I thought this could be a new way of documenting the folklore and the old tales, and bringing them to a new audience.”
Olga grew up hearing many of the stories she discusses on the podcast. “I heard about the woman in the window on Mount Street and Bobby Bawn, who’s connected out there with Gainstown – all of these legends.”
For those who don’t know the story of the woman in the window, Olga explains. “The image is at the window above the Golden Hill Takeaway on Mount Street. She’s supposed to appear and look out towards the courthouse there.
“Apparently she’s the lover of a man that was hanged outside it, so you can sometimes see her appear there.
“So I grew up hearing stories like that, I always wondered would I ever get to see her… I never did.”
Another chilling tale that episode two of Haunted Westmeath covers is the story of Bobby Bawn, the apparent ghost of Robert Rochfort, who terrorised locals for 30 years, a terror that culminated in a fearsome exorcism.
After Rochfort instigated the arrest of a man named Peter Dalton, Robert was cursed; according to contemporary reports, Dalton turned to Rochfort and gave a chilling prophecy, ‘It’s me today, but it will be you tomorrow’.
A month later Rochfort was murdered after a stranger went to his home and asked to speak to him. Rochfort came out and the next thing witnesses heard was a scream. When they stepped outside the sheriff was dead, his throat cut, and his killer was gone.
Many believed his attacker to be the vengeful ghost of Peter Dalton but it wasn’t long before the story got even spookier.
Sightings of Robert Rochfort were reported soon following his death – a man with white hair lingering around a whitethorn tree on the Carrick Kilbride road. According to some versions of the story, crops nearby would die and animals would be found mutilated.
His haunting reportedly came to an end when Fr Timothy Shanley was walking home from delivering last rites to a local man and encountered the terrifying Bobby Bawn.
He returned to the house he had just left from frantically saying he had encountered the devil. Following that, he and the head of the Fahy family set out to rid the land of Bobby Bawn. After an epic battle, the spirit of Bobby Bawn allegedly transformed into a ball of fire, burning a path through the trees until it reached Lough Ennell. The spirit was laid to rest at Rinn Point, where the water has remained rough till this day.
In episode 2 of Haunted Westmeath, Olga sits down with locals who have reportedly encountered Bobby Bawn’s spirit in recent years; all sightings are within the grounds of Bobby’s old house.
The series continues into November, and feature two live podcasts. One in Longford, and one on Thursday, October 29 upstairs at Canton Casey’s in Mullingar, where Olga and historian Ruth Illingworth will discuss Westmeath’s haunted underbelly. Tickets (free, but required) are available on Eventbrite.
Listen to Haunted Westmeath here and here.