An 18th Century dwarf; Killakee Housee Restaurant, Rathfarnham, County Dublin

REVEALED!

The secret of a very small sacrifice in the Dublin mountains.

Paddy asked:

There is a story, and it could be just that, that a plumber found skeletal remains in the Hellfire Club in 1970. It is said that they were “dwarf-like” and it is believed a dwarf may have been sacrificed there in the 18th century. There seem to be no official reports from the time of a skeleton being found there. It’s probably just an urban myth but the accounts that a plumber found the remains is quite specific.”

Historical contributor Sibling of Daedalus reports:-

There was indeed a skeleton found in 1970. It was not found at the original Hellfire Club at the top of Montpelier Hill but at a building nearby to which the Club relocated following the famous fire of 1740.

The premises in question is now the Killakee House Restaurant at 12 Kilakee Road, Rathfarnham (see above).

There are numerous reports of hauntings associated with the house, which is widely reputed to be haunted by a large black cat with poltergeist tendencies, a portrait of which, by artist Tom McAssey, hangs in the house to this day.

However it was only in 1970 that a plumber carrying out work to the house discovered a tiny skeleton under the kitchen floor. First thought to be that of a child, the size of the skeleton’s head led to the conclusion that it was more likely the remains of a dwarf.

No dating was carried out on the bones of the skeleton before it was buried; however the presence of a statuette of a miniature devil found under the same floor raises the possibility that its remains could well have been associated with Hellfire Club activity.

There have been no recent reports of ghosts in Killakee House. Perhaps the second exorcism, carried out after the skeleton’s discovery, laid them to rest?

Sibling of Daedalus

Pics: Huntsearch/ South Dublin Libraries