Kildare ghost story features in new book

A tale about a Kildare ghost features in a new book.

As a follow-up to last year’s bestselling Haunted Ireland, author Kieran Fanning has just released Enchanted Ireland – An Atlas of Magical Stories from Every County.

This beautifully produced hardback, published by Gill Books, features enchanting illustrations by Canadian artist Julia Iredale, as well as a map guiding readers to each of the 32 locations featured.

For County Kildare, Fanning retells the tale of the Rathcoffey Pooka, set in Rathcoffey Castle near Clane during the time of Archibald Hamilton Rowan. When Rowan was arrested for his role in the United Irishmen, the castle’s servants neglected their duties, preferring to spend their evenings drinking and telling stories. Strangely, every morning they found the dirty dishes washed and put away—though none admitted to the work.

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One night, a servant boy who had fallen asleep by the fire awoke to find a talking donkey stoking the flames. Realising it was no ordinary donkey but a pooka (or púca)—a mischievous shapeshifter of Irish folklore—the boy followed it to the kitchen and witnessed it washing the dishes. Over time, the pooka also ironed clothes, spun wool, and made candles for the lazy servants.

Eventually, the boy gave the pooka a coat as a gift, unknowingly breaking the spell that had bound the creature to the castle. The pooka laughed, vanished, and never returned—leaving the boy to face all the chores alone.

Fanning’s version is adapted from Padraic O’Farrell’s The Rathcoffey Pooka (1997), itself based on Patrick Kennedy’s The Kildare Pooka (1866).

The collection spans Ireland’s storytelling tradition—from ancient myths of the Tuatha Dé Danann to more recent folklore—featuring legends such as The Children of Lir, Fionn Mac Cumhaill, and Cúchulainn.

A teacher in Co. Meath, Fanning says the project took a year to research:

“It was great fun trawling through old books and the dusty corners of the internet, hoping to uncover lost stories.”

Enchanted Ireland is published by Gill Books and is available in all good bookstores from October 9th.