The Coughing Woman of Vicarage Street

Vicarage Street in East Belfast has a curious local reputation. Passers-by have reported the figure of a weary, restless woman moving up and down the road, holding a packet of cigarettes in one hand and a cup in the other. A harsh, rasping cough that never ends often goes with her. Some say it shows the illness that killed her; others take it as a reminder of the habits that hastened her death. She has become a fixture of Vicarage Street folklore.