# Haunted Barracks: Ghost Stories from the Irish Policing Archive

An episode of [The Póilíní Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/6809845024), 29 Oct 2026, 38 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6a82c4496e5b5bfda6633d7e/e/6ae224ef092a0dff195cc1ef/media.mp3

In this Halloween special, we open the policeman's notebook on the unexplained, from the ghosts said to haunt the Garda College at Templemore, to a 1955 Garda Review account of a coal-shovelling spirit at Dublin Castle. We investigate the 1892 Kingsworth poltergeist in Waterford, which police and clergy watched for themselves, along with haunted barracks from Cappoquin to Cork, Mountrath, and a Fermanagh station where the footsteps answered back. Why were barracks such fertile ground for the paranormal, when police and their families lived, and sometimes died, under the same roof? Hosted by writer Helen Moorhouse and retired Garda Sergeant Dr John Reynolds, this is a conversation between a believer in keeping an open mind and a self-confessed sceptic. Drawing on newspaper reports and John's own years at Templemore, this episode is a story of spooky tales and the serving officers who swore by them. Presenters - Dr John Reynolds, Helen Moorhouse Producer - Daryl Moorhouse Sound Record and Mix - Sean Byrne Recorded at Tinpot Productions Studios Find out more or get in touch here Póilíní, commonly misspelled as 'polini' or 'paolini' or even 'poleini', is the Irish word for 'police'. The Póilíní Podcast covers stories from over 200 years of Irish policing history, from the Royal Irish Constabulary, to the Dublin Metropolitan Police, to An Garda Síochána. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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