Doyle’s Pub: The Hangman’s Shadow in Phibsborough

Said to be haunted by the people from the funeral home that used to be next door, the Doyle’s Pub in Dublin is said to have more than living patrons having a drink.

At the bustling corner of Phibsborough where the North Circular Road meets Doyle’s Corner stands Doyle’s Pub, a Victorian landmark with a chilling past and if we are to believe the drunken rumors, it is said the pub also houses a few ghosts.

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Ireland.

Once known as The Arthur Conan Doyle, this handsome old public house was built using stones from the nearby Saint Peter’s Church and is said to hold more than just whiskey and stories within its walls. Beneath the floorboards, a forgotten well lies in the cellar, and in the still hours after closing, the air grows heavy, as if something below is stirring.

Doyle’s Haunted Past

Over the years, Doyle’s has attracted its share of famous patrons. The celebrated Irish writer Brendan Behan often drank here, filling the pub with laughter, song, and poetry. But there was another regular whose presence was far darker. The infamous Albert Pierrepoint, one of the most prolific executioners in British history, made Doyle’s haunt whenever he was in Dublin for “work” at nearby Mountjoy Prison. After sending men to their deaths, he was known to stop by for a quiet whiskey or two, sitting in contemplation of his grim duty.

Some say that the ghosts could be one of Mr. Pierrepoint’s victims from Mountjouy who is looking for the man who hanged them.

The Ghosts from Lanigan’s Funeral Home

But what about the ghost said to haunt the pub? According to the stories, it is all because of the old funeral that was next to it for many years.

The pub once stood beside Lanigan’s Funeral Home, which may explain why restless spirits are said to wander here. Patrons have reported doors slamming, glasses shattering, and footsteps pacing the upper floor long after the bar has emptied. Some claim to have seen a pale figure appear at the top of the stairs before vanishing into thin air, while others swear they have felt a tap on the shoulder from unseen hands. The ghost, they say, may be one of Pierrepoint’s unfortunate “clients” from Mountjoy, still seeking out the hangman who drank here in life.

It is said the haunting reached its peak in the early 2000s, when Doyle’s was a thriving music venue and made the national news headlines when it was reported that a noisy ghost was living on the second floor of the pub. Today, it seems the old dancefloor on the second floor is no longer in use.

When the night grows quiet and the last patrons drift home, Doyle’s Corner becomes something else entirely. The laughter fades, the air chills, and from the darkened stairway above comes the creak of unseen feet. Perhaps it is only the old building settling. Or perhaps the condemned have finally come calling for the hangman.

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