Is it a ghost, or just Elvis back for one last song?

Is it a ghost, or just Elvis back for one last song?
February 17, 2009
Fermanagh Herald

The story of the Cleenish island ghost which we reported in the 'Fermanagh Herald' recently has taken on a life of its' own.

We told the story of Tony and Doreen Galbraith from England who claimed to have witnessed two figures in the area while they were over on holiday at the start of the year. They described seeing two ghosts, one male figure at a deserted house on the island, and a female apparition standing amongst the graveyard ruins.

Since publication, Mr Galbraith's story has sparked a flood of reaction from people in the county, some more outlandish than others!

First came Trevor Coalter, who dismissed the claims as 'nonsense'. Mr Coalter explained he has a good knowledge of all parts of the island, having covered most of it on foot and has never witnessed any strange goings-on.

And Mr Coalter added: "My uncle, Samuel Balfour, is 78 years of age he has lived on the island for his whole live and never seen anything. And his father before him lived to be 102 years-old and he never told us about seeing anything strange."

However, Mr Galbraith's sighting has been backed up by Roseleen Morton, from Derrin Road in Enniskillen. She explained her recollections of living on Cleenish Island when she was younger: "I lived on the island when I was aged seven to eight. My brother and I used to go fishing and every night we were there, this figure of a woman passed in front of us.

"Then one night my brother said to her (the 'ghost') 'you'd think you would talk to me, I'm here every night'. But she made no reply to us."

Mrs Morton recalls: "We saw her every night we were down there. She was always dressed in a long black coat, with a black hat or a hood. She never spoke to us in all those years."

She insisted that the story of the ghost is well-known in the area, and how it is believed a young girl saw her father drowning her mother in the lake. The girl is supposed to have died when she was in her 20's and is believed to have been haunting the area ever since looking for her mother.

However, some of tales which have been recounted have more of a Las Vegas atmosphere to them. Two men contacted the Herald to say they believe they had seen Elvis on Cleenish Island.

Phil Franco from Ballinamallard said: "There have been rumours of Elvis been spotted there, I went out and definitely felt a presence. I believe if Elvis was going to come back, he would come somewhere inspiring like this."

While Liam Henry told us: "I recently read an article in your paper about a ghost on Cleenish Island. I went up to the island this morning for a walk and I believe I saw Elvis Presley. He was peering out through one of the old house doors. Intrigued, I went up and had a closer look and he ran off. He literally ran across an entire field to get away from me."