It is said a cross shows up in the window of the Iveagh House in Dublin, the former home of the powerful Guinness family. Legend has it’s a haunting that happened after a maid was denied her last rites in the house. 

Along St. Stephen’s Green in Dublin, a garden square and public park in the city, Iveagh House at 80-81 in that bustling street, is a gleaming Georgian mansion that holds centuries of secrets behind its refined white façade. There is also a ghostly mystery said to occur there, seen through the windows every Holy Thursday. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Ireland

Built in 1736, it was once two separate houses before Benjamin Guinness, grandson of the famed Arthur Guinness, merged them into one grand residence in 1862. Today, the stately home serves as the headquarters of Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs.

Iveagh House: Image/Jnestorius

The Legend of the Dying Catholic Maid

The legend tells of a young servant girl who once worked for the Guinness family. When illness struck her, she lay dying in her room upstairs, pleading for a priest to administer her last rites as she was a devout catholic. 

The household, devout Protestants themselves, refused her this last request. Desperate and feverish, the girl clung to her rosary beads, but the story says they were torn from her hands and thrown from the window into the garden below. Her cries faded, and by morning she was gone.

The Cross on Holy Thursday

Not long after her death, the house began to draw attention from the city. On every Holy Thursday from then, a faint yet unmistakable cross appeared on one of the panes of glass in the girl’s room. Crowds were said to have gathered in the street below to witness it, murmuring prayers and tracing the sign with trembling fingers. No matter how many times the window was cleaned or replaced, the cross was said to reappear, glowing faintly against the light.

There are also those claiming it is the spirit of Dermot O’Hurley, the Archbishop of Cashel, who was hanged nearby on the 20th of June, 1584.

To this day, staff working late in Iveagh House sometimes speak of a quiet unease that settles in the upper rooms, as though someone still lingers there in restless faith. The cross may have faded into legend, but the sorrow of the servant girl seems etched into the air of the old Guinness mansion.

Newest Posts

• 

  Iveagh House: The Dying Servant and the Cross in the Window6. March 2026

  It is said a cross shows up in the window of the Iveagh House in Dublin, the former home of the powerful Guinness family. Legend has it’s a haunting that happened after a maid was denied her last rites in the house. 

• 

  The Haunted Legends of Pennard Castle5. March 2026

  Said to have been conjured up by a sorcerer or even the fairy folk themselves, Pennard Castles history is both mysterious and haunted by the sound of the howling witch left in the sandy ruins of the abandoned castle in Wales.

• 

  Haunted Family Tragedies at Larnach Castle, New Zealand’s 4. March 2026

  For a long time, Larnach Castle was New Zealand’s only castle, and for a long time, also one of the more haunted places in the country. Built by a rich banker to live with his family, his dream of a lasting dynasty ended when personal tragedies as well as failed political and business ventures started to turn the family against each other. 

• 

  The Ghosts of St Donat’s Castle – The Wailing Lady and the Watchful Eye2. March 2026

  Crammed into the ancient towers and dark corner of St Donat’s Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, the ghosts lingering within these walls are old and persistent. 

• 

  The Hleiðrargarðs-Skotta and the Ghostly Plague27. February 2026

  After a common feud between two men, a ghost was created to torment the people on Hleiðrargarðs farm. Thus, the Hleiðrargarðs-Skotta and her legendary haunting started, some say it even escalated in her starting a plague, killing both cattle and men. 

• 

  The Ghosts of the Britannia Adelphi Hotel: Shadows in Liverpool26. February 2026

  The current Britannia Adelphi Hotel is the third building here used as a hotel, and filled with ghosts according to rumours. From the dark basement to the haunted suites in the upper floors, this Liverpool hotel is often dubbed Britain’s most haunted one. 

• 

  The Skotta of Ábær From the Bone25. February 2026

  Hidden away in a bone for years, the ghost and Skotta of Ábær was sent on a mission to harass a farmer in northern Iceland. However, they lost control of her, and have since been haunting them all. 

• 

  Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen Haunting the Old Town in Bern24. February 2026

  Said to be unhappy with the fate of the city he once led, the ghost of Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen is said to be haunting the old city in Bern, around the Nydegg Church where his monument is placed. 

• 

  Munkholmen: Trondheim’s Island of Chains, Prayers, and Restless Dead23. February 2026

  The little island Munkholmen outside of Trondheim in Norway has had many haunted rumors for a long time. From an old Viking execution place to a state prison, who is still lingering there in their afterlife?

• 

  The Curse of the Hítardals-Skotta20. February 2026

  After old friends clash after falling out, a curse is put upon the other. For generations, the Hítardals-Skotta is said to have haunted their family and village, sometimes even said to be behind their deaths. 

• 

  The Haunted Underground of Bern19. February 2026

  Have you ever noticed the underground world of the old town in Bern? Now fancy cafes and shops, there are also tales of secret passageways, hideouts and ghosts beneath the cobbled stoned city. 

• The Ghost From the Mounds of Finnbogastaðir18. February 2026

  Buried in the mounds of the Icelandic landscape, a murdered shepherd came back from the dead as a Draugr or perhaps a Haugbúi ghost to haunt the people living at Finnbogastaðir farm.

References:

Iveagh House – Wikipedia