The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
One of North Clare’s most famous, or perhaps infamous, women will feature in a new book of ghost stories soon to be published by Irish author, Kieran Fanning. The book, which is entitled ‘Haunted Ireland: An Atlas of Ghost Stories from Every County’, features one story from each of the 32 counties in Ireland, including the story of Clare’s Máire Rua. “There is a notion that almost every castle in Ireland is haunted but often times there isn’t a story behind that but Leamaneh Castle does have a serious story behind it,” said Kieran. That is the story of Mary McMahon who was nicknamed Máire Rua or Red Mary. Some say she got that nickname because of her temper or her red hair. “She was married to Daniel Niland who died, and some say that he died under mysterious circumstances. She inherited his wealth and after that she married Conor O’Brien and she built Leamaneh Castle. “That was during Cromwellians …
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