The Werewolves of Ossory

The Werewolves of Ossory
Paul Dale Roberts, HPI’s Esoteric Detective
Halo Paranormal Investigations
jazmaonline.boards.net/
Email: jazmaonline@gmail.com
Sacramento Paranormal Haunted Hotline: 916 203 7503

THE WAITING ROOM PODCAST:
www.youtube.com/@thewaitingroom-cl1uf

MY BOOKS:
www.lulu.com/spotlight/httpswwwlulucomspotlightjazmapika1

MY BIO:
jazmaonline.boards.net/thread/2495/paul-dale-roberts-biography-revised

MY MINI-BIO:
jazmaonline.boards.net/thread/3009/new-bio

PAUL’S EBOOKS:
jazmaonline.boards.net/thread/3222/pauls-books

I went to Ireland with my son Jason and ex-wife Patricia. We did everything tourists would do, like kissing the Blarney Stone, visiting Dublin Castle and taking a tour of the Guinness Storehouse. On one of our days in Ireland, we took a train to Newry, Northern Ireland just to relax and have some Irish coffee and a scone. There was one day we had marked out. A visit to Kilkenny, so we could investigate the “werewolves of Ossory”. We took a direct train to Kilkenny from Dublin. We departed from Dublin Heuston Station and arrived at Kilkenny MacDonagh Station. From the station it was a 14-minute walk to Kilkenny Castle. The castle tour guide said that the werewolves of Ossory have been seen many times by locals, tourists, hikers, etc.

The story of the werewolves of Ossory originated from medieval Irish, English, and Norse legends. Locals say that the werewolves descended from the legendary warrior Laignech Fáelad. Laignech was able to transform into a wolf. A well-known story by Gerald of Wales tells of a noble Ossory family that was cursed. The family would transform into wolves every seven years. Legend has it that 2 family members transformed into werewolves and slaughtered a traveling priest and a newlywed couple. Some of the people we talked to, said that the story is hogwash and believe that the legends may stem from the military practices of ancient Irish warriors who adopted wolf-like characteristics.

The Werewolves of Ossory may be connected to Laignech Fáelad. Locals believe there is a strong bloodline from Laignech to the werewolves. Laignech is an ancestor to the kings of Ossory. The legend of werewolves might have been inspired by ancient Irish warriors, known as luchthonn (wolf-skins), who would wear wolf pelts or adopt wolf-like hairstyles and go on raids, an activity known as “going wolfing”. What is interesting is that some locals claim that on certain nights, ghostly figures of men wearing wolf skins lurk through the bushes. Rylee Gallagher of Cork, Ireland encountered a ghostly figure wearing a wolf skin. The wolf skin wearing ghost stood in front of Rylee, smiled and then vanished.

A detailed account was written by the 12th-century royal clerk Gerald of Wales. It features a travelling priest encountering a speaking wolf in the forest of Ossory. The wolf, a man from Ossory, explains that he and his partner were cursed to transform into wolves every seven years. After the seven years, one pair would return home and be replaced by another. In Gerald’s account, the curse was a punishment from God or Satan for the wickedness of the people of Ossory. The priest gives the dying wolf-woman communion, revealing a human body underneath her skin, highlighting the inherent humanity within the wolf form. In the medieval period, being a werewolf was often seen as a curse from God or Satan and a sign of sin, with wolves representing greed, lust, and deception. Some versions of Irish folklore suggest werewolves were also protective of children, going to great lengths to keep them safe from harm. Ireland was once a densely wooded country with an abundant of wolves. Then there were bounties placed on them during the 1650s, until the last wolf was killed in County Carlow in 1786. Brayden Doherty of Belfast, Ireland says that there may not be any living wolves around, but there is definitely the spirits of wolves that haunt Ossory. Brayden says on certain nights, you can hear the wolf spirits howl into the night.