Arrival
Noah, Tony, and Randy arrived at the Irish Cultural Center at 6:45 pm and met Karen who was showing the group around. After Karen gave a tour and showed the group how to lock up, she left around 7:30 pm.
The group started to set up their equipment. Chris took outside weather conditions while Tony and Randy went around and took EMF and temperature baseline readings. The groups finished setting up equipment at 9:00 pm and took a short break before beginning the investigation.
Claims of Activity
- There were no reported activities for this location. PIM was offered the opportunity to investigate the Irish Cultural Center based on the history of the building. Even though there were no claims, no one had investigated the building before, so there could have been activity that was not noticed. Either way, PIM is planning on using the building as a training ground for new investigators and testing new equipment.
- After the break, the group decided to head to the church to start the investigation.
Investigation
Church – 9:51 pm
The group spread out in the church with Randy in the right balcony, Tony in the left balcony and Noah and Chris on the right and left side of the seating on the main floor. The group started with 5 minutes of control silence to listen to the normal sounds of the building and any outside noises that can be heard.
A geophone was placed on the table on the stage and it was noted that when large trucks or buses went by the center it set the geophone off. After the control silence the group started an EVP session.
At 10:09 pm Tony heard a male voice say “You go” up in the Left Balcony. Unfortunately that was not captured on any of the audio recorders. A short time later, Tony heard the pew a few rows behind him creak like someone had sat down in it. Nothing was observed, but it is possible that the wood was just expanding or contracting which would cause the sound.
Noah then took a rosary and a touch flashlight up to the table that the geophone was sitting on to use as a trigger object. Questions were asked regarding the rosary but no responses were received. A short time later Noah, Randy, and Tony saw a bluish white light behind the lectern. Noah then discovered that when a car turned onto Wisconsin Ave from 24th St, the car headlight would show for a second in the sanctuary.
No other events occurred during this session and the group decided to end and take a short break.
END TIME: 10:26 pm
The group headed outside to cool off briefly before heading to the basement to continue the investigation.
Basement – Dirt Floor Room – 10:43 pm
The group spread out in the Basement with Noah and Tony in the back portion and Chris and Randy sitting near the main aisle the leads to the door. After a few minutes of silence the group started and EVP session.
It was noted that the Basement was very quiet, with only occasional street noise coming through. At 10:52 pm, Chris thought he heard steps behind him coming from the direction of the doorway. Although the noise was captured on our recorders, it could not be discerned what the noise was. Since there were many items in the Basement that could have shifted, we decided to throw it out.
No other activities occurred during this session and the group decided to move to another part of the Basement to continue the investigation.
END TIME: 11:06 pm
The group moved into the hallway that leads to the doorway to the dirt floor section of the Basement.
Basement Hallway/Basement Bar – 11:10 pm
Chris moved into the Basement Bar while Noah sat in the doorway from the Basement Bar into the back Basement area. Tony and Randy sat on either side of the entryway to the Basement Bar.
The group allowed a few minutes of control silence and during this time it was noted there were a few building noises that we could not hear in the other section of the Basement. First, there was a compressor that periodically kicked on and off in the Boiler Room. Also, there was a timer that was constantly ticking near where Randy was sitting.
After the control silence, the group started another EVP session. At 11:14 pm, Tony heard what he thought were two bumps and a foot step on the 1st Floor above where he was sitting. This was not captured on the groups recording devices. Then at 11:17 pm both Noah and Tony heard what sounded like a woman’s voice. This was heard again at 11:20 pm.
At 11:24 pm, Tony heard three bangs near him. This did not occur in response to a request for knocks nor was a source for the bangs located. Then at 11:28 pm, the group heard a loud thump that sounded like it could have come from the 1st Floor, but it was possible that it came from outside as well.
No other activities occurred and the group decided to head back to the 1st Floor and take a break.
END TIME: 11:31 pm
When the group reached the 1st Floor, they looked for a possible source of the voices and thumps they had heard while in the Basement. They found that a car that had been parked next to the center was no longer there. It was determined that the voices and thumps heard were most likely coming from outside when one or two women left via the car that was parked next to the center.
The group finished their break and decided to head to the 2nd Floor to continue the investigation.
2nd Floor Meeting Room – 12:13 am
The group spread out in the Meeting Room after first trying to cover some exit signs. Noah sat in a chair near the front stairs. Randy, Chris, and Tony all sat on the risers on the right side of the room. The group allowed a few minutes of control silence and then began an EVP session.
At 12:25 am, Tony asked if there was someone there to sit in the chairs on the left side of the room. On that side of the room were stacks of chairs. Immediately after Tony asked that question, a noise was heard that sounded like the chairs were shifting as if someone was sitting in them. Tony asked for the noise to be repeated and it was. However, after closer inspection it was determined that the windows above where the chairs were stacked had pieces of Plexiglas in them that was not secured and would bump against the frame when the wind blew. It was just a coincidence that the noise did not start until Tony asked for something to sit in the chairs.
No other events occurred during this session and it was decided to head back down to the Basement again.
END TIME: 12:31 am
When the group headed back to the 1st Floor and were checking their gear, Tony stated that he thought he saw a bat fly between himself and Noah while they were standing in the hallway leading to the Basement stairs. No one else saw anything, so this was brushed off as a trick of the eyes and everyone headed downstairs.
Basement Bar/Basement – Dirt Floor Room – 12:35 am
The group headed downstairs past the rest rooms and into the Basement Bar. Noah was following Chris into the Basement Bar when he saw a bat fly between himself and Chris. Everyone backed up in the hallway at which point the bat flew directly at the group. Thinking that the bat was trying to fly back up the stairs, the group moved into the Men’s Restroom and waited a few minutes to let the bat fly out.
After a few minutes the group carefully moved out of the rest room and into the Basement Bar. They then moved into the back portion of the Basement and into the dirt floor area of the Basement. At this point, Noah and Tony saw a bat in this area of the Basement as well.
After thinking about the circumstances that the group was not aware how many bats there were, nor where they were coming from, it was decided to wrap up the investigation at this point for safety reasons.
END TIME: 12:45 am
The group quickly gathered up their equipment and packed it up. They then loaded up the car and armed the building leaving at 12:55 am.
Conclusion
No evidence was captured during the investigation.
PIM had a great opportunity to investigate this historic building and took full advantage of it. Although we did not find any evidence of paranormal activity, one investigation is far from conclusive. There were several events that could not be explained that occurred during PIM’s investigation which may point to something going on at this location. At the very least PIM thinks that the Irish Cultural & Heritage Center is a great training location as it poses several investigation challenges that make it an ideal training ground. PIM will return to the Irish Cultural & Heritage Center as many times as it is allowed to continue studying this great location.
PIM would like to thank those who made this investigation possible, especially Karen Prendergast, and looks forward to its next investigation in the near future.
