In the ancient St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, there are said to be restless spirits still lingering. One of the more well known is said to be the ghost of Jonathan Swift, perhaps best known as the author of Gulliver’s Travels. 

In the shadow of its towering spire, the national St. Patrick’s Cathedral stands as one of Dublin’s oldest and most sacred landmarks from 1191. Its ancient stones have witnessed centuries of worship, music, mourning, and the silent passage of the dead. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Ireland

Beneath its echoing arches lie hundreds of bodies, their names carved into time and dust. Among them, one spirit is said to stir still and haunt the cathedral. And it is said that the ghost wandering here is that of Jonathan Swift, the great satirist, clergyman, and author of Gulliver’s Travels.

The Ghost of Jonathan Swift

Swift served as Dean of St. Patrick’s from 1713 until his death in 1745, and in life, he was both revered and feared in life as in death. 

He was buried in St. Patrick’s Cathedral beside Esther Johnson, known as “Stella,” the woman whose love haunted his life as much as his own mind did. After she died in 1728, he made a death mask of her and him and asked to be buried next to her.

But death did not bring him peace. When his tomb was opened nearly a century later, his remains were exhumed for study, his skull handled, measured, and displayed. William Wilde who was the father of poet Oscar Wilde joined a team to exhume the bodies for examination in 1835. Perhaps that disturbance was enough to tether him forever to the place he once called home.

Visitors and clergy have long spoken of strange happenings within the cathedral walls after dusk. Footsteps echo through the empty nave, the steady tread of boots that pause near the Dean’s chair before fading away. Shadows flit across the marble floors when no one is there to cast them. Some have felt the faint brush of cold air along the pews, as if someone unseen had just passed by.

He has been seen standing near his memorial, a tall figure in clerical robes, his face pale and grave beneath the flicker of candlelight. One tale comes from Reverend Victor Griffin who was the Dean of the Cathedral from 1969-1991. A few times he claimed to have seen a figure wandering in the Deanery and going up and down the stairs. Although Swift is said to be the one haunting the cathedral, this Dean believed that the ghost could actually be one of the staff members who cared for Swift in his later years and is still doing his duty in his afterlife. 

Swift Haunting Marsh’s Library as Well

He is also said to be haunting the Marsh’s library that is right next door. They made casts of both Swift’s and Stella’s skulls as part of the study. Although it was seen as a very unchristian thing to do, the library preserved the skull and the one belonging to Stella is in one of the cages at the back of the library. It is said that Swift comes to visit the Marsh’s Library to see Stella, as his skull is still in the cathedral. 

Read More: Check out the Haunted Marsh’s Library in Dublin for more about the other ghosts said to linger there. 

In addition to the library, the ghost of Jonathan Switf has also been reported in The Phoenix Park as well for some reason. 

The Ghost of Glasnevin Cemetery

Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin, Ireland’s largest burial ground, is a place where history and haunting intertwine beneath the watchful gaze of angels and crosses. Spanning over 124 acres with more than 1.5 million burials, it is home to both the nation’s heroes and its restless dead. Among its most famous legends is that of a Newfoundland dog who refused to abandon his master, Captain John McNeill Boyd, after the sailor’s death in 1861. 

Read the whole story: Glasnevin Cemetery and the Faithful Ghost Dog still Waiting for his Master 

The loyal creature is said to have starved to death by his grave, and even now, witnesses claim to see his ghost wandering the pathways or hear the soft padding of phantom paws in the dark. It is also said that the faithful dog has been seen around the cathedral by the statue of Boyd, as well as around the cemetery. 

If you ever visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral when the crowds have gone and the last hymn has faded, listen closely. You may hear the faint murmur of a sermon whispered through the stone, or feel the weight of eyes that no longer belong to the living. Jonathan Swift, it seems, still keeps watch over his cathedral as well as his beloved secret wife. 

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References:

Dublin: 30 Most Haunted Places To Visit 

St. Patrick’s Cathedral | Explore Haunted Ireland

St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin – Wikipedia