The Tallanstown entry is a good example of a small archive record that would normally disappear beneath more famous haunted-house stories. It describes about four lights associated with Lissrenny, one apparently travelling from Louth Hall to Lissrenny and then towards Glyde Farm. [1]
Two different traditions on one page
The page also says that two people coming home from shopping saw a white lady. The wording does not state that the white lady and the lights were the same phenomenon. FI-X keeps them separate: one is a moving-light tradition and the other is an apparition account.
The record identifies Tallanstown, County Louth, and names Kevin Morgan as collector and Mrs Morgan as informant. It does not provide a date for a particular sighting, a weather report, a measured direction or an independent contemporary report. The routes between named estates are useful for historical mapping, but they do not establish that a light physically travelled between them.
Possible explanations
Distant lamps, vehicle lights, lanterns, reflections and changing viewpoints could produce apparent movement. A white figure at night could be a person, clothing, a tree or an inherited story attached to a road. Because the source is retrospective folklore, the evidence does not allow FI-X to select one explanation.
FI-X assessment
The case is a Folkloric or cultural record. Its value is its precise local vocabulary and named routes. The next research step would compare the story with historical maps, estate boundaries, roads and lighting, while preserving the original account as a cultural record rather than presenting it as a verified paranormal event.
What remains unresolved
General Tallanstown and Lissrenny area. FI-X does not publish exact private-property coordinates. FI-X has not independently verified every claim in this file. The classification will change only when better evidence supports a change.
Timeline
- A Tallanstown record describes lights moving around Lissrenny and between Louth Hall and Glyde Farm. [1]
- The same page records a separate account of a white lady seen by two people returning from shopping. [1]
- FI-X separates the moving-light account from the apparition story instead of treating them as one event.
Sources and references
- [1] Kevin Morgan / National Folklore Collection. Lights and Lone Bushes, Tallanstown. Dúchas.ie, Schools' Collection, Volume 0667 Page 228, 1930s collection. Folklore record. Open source
- [2] National Folklore Collection / UCD. The Schools' Collection. Dúchas.ie, Current archive collection. Archive guide. Open source
Update history
- 3 August 2026 - Initial FI-X case study published; classification and source coverage marked for continued review.
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