St. Audoen's Church & The Green Lady
Ghost/Paranormal
Friday 21st, January 2022
Built in 1190 by the Anglo Normans who arrived in Dublin, St. Audoen's Church, being named after a 7th century French saint by the name of St. Ouen (or St. Audoen). The church steps still lead down to the only remaining gatehouse of the original Dublin city wall, once known as the Gates of Hell.
There is a storied linked to St. Audeon's Church, the story is of a ghostly figure known as 'The Green Lady'. The ghostly figure known as 'The Green Lady' is thought to be the ghost of Dorcas 'Darkey' Kelly who lived in the area during the 18th Century. Depending on the account you read, Dorcas Kelly is thought to have worked as an inn keeper, a madam who ran her own brothel or a prostitute.
There is also a link to the Hellfire Club through Dorcas Kelly, she came in contact with the Sheriff at the time, Simon Luttrell who had links with members of the Hellfire Club, the Hellfire Club was a group of wealthy men interested in doing anything they wanted and also occultism. Unfortunately it wasn't to end well for Dorcas Kelly, it is believed that Dorcas Kelly became pregnant by Luttrell and found herself accused of killing the infant as well as witchcraft, other accounts state that Dorcas Kelly was a serial killer.
Dorcas Kelly was sentenced to death, and depending on the source you look at she was publicly burned at st. Stephen's Green in 1746 or partially hung and then burned on what is now Baggot Street (formerly the Gallows), since Dorcas Kelly's execution an apparition has been seen of 'The Green Lady' at the bottom of the forty steps leading up to St. Audoen's Church.
The above take on the account of Dorcas Kelly is said by some to be a legend that came about after Kelly was executed, it's believed by some that the story behind Dorcas Kelly is more along the lines of:
Dorcas Kelly was a madam who ran the Maiden Tower brothel on Copper Alley, off Fishamble Street in the southwest part of Dublin. Dorcas was convicted of killing shoemaker John Dowling on St. Patrick's Day in 1760, Kelly was then executed by partial hanging and burning at the stake on Gallows Road on the 7th of January 1761. After her execution she was waked by prostitutes on Copper Alley, thirteen of the prostitutes were arrested for disorder and sent to Newgate Prison, Dublin.
Further to this a 1788 account in the 'World' newspaper claims that Dorcas Kelly's brothel was investigated by the authorities and that investigators then found the corpses of five men hidden in the vaults, but this has never been verified.
It's possible a mix of stories of Dorcas Kelly and Luttrell's son occurred as it's believed by some that Luttrell's son Henry, who supposedly raped a girl in a brothel, and then had the girl and her family imprisoned under false charges.
There is a storied linked to St. Audeon's Church, the story is of a ghostly figure known as 'The Green Lady'. The ghostly figure known as 'The Green Lady' is thought to be the ghost of Dorcas 'Darkey' Kelly who lived in the area during the 18th Century. Depending on the account you read, Dorcas Kelly is thought to have worked as an inn keeper, a madam who ran her own brothel or a prostitute.
There is also a link to the Hellfire Club through Dorcas Kelly, she came in contact with the Sheriff at the time, Simon Luttrell who had links with members of the Hellfire Club, the Hellfire Club was a group of wealthy men interested in doing anything they wanted and also occultism. Unfortunately it wasn't to end well for Dorcas Kelly, it is believed that Dorcas Kelly became pregnant by Luttrell and found herself accused of killing the infant as well as witchcraft, other accounts state that Dorcas Kelly was a serial killer.
Dorcas Kelly was sentenced to death, and depending on the source you look at she was publicly burned at st. Stephen's Green in 1746 or partially hung and then burned on what is now Baggot Street (formerly the Gallows), since Dorcas Kelly's execution an apparition has been seen of 'The Green Lady' at the bottom of the forty steps leading up to St. Audoen's Church.
The above take on the account of Dorcas Kelly is said by some to be a legend that came about after Kelly was executed, it's believed by some that the story behind Dorcas Kelly is more along the lines of:
Dorcas Kelly was a madam who ran the Maiden Tower brothel on Copper Alley, off Fishamble Street in the southwest part of Dublin. Dorcas was convicted of killing shoemaker John Dowling on St. Patrick's Day in 1760, Kelly was then executed by partial hanging and burning at the stake on Gallows Road on the 7th of January 1761. After her execution she was waked by prostitutes on Copper Alley, thirteen of the prostitutes were arrested for disorder and sent to Newgate Prison, Dublin.
Further to this a 1788 account in the 'World' newspaper claims that Dorcas Kelly's brothel was investigated by the authorities and that investigators then found the corpses of five men hidden in the vaults, but this has never been verified.
It's possible a mix of stories of Dorcas Kelly and Luttrell's son occurred as it's believed by some that Luttrell's son Henry, who supposedly raped a girl in a brothel, and then had the girl and her family imprisoned under false charges.
