The Dobbins Inn is a restored medieval tower house a short walk from Carrickfergus Castle. It has been a private house, a bakery and a barracks.
The ghost story says that in the early seventeenth century Elizabeth Dobyn, called Maud, wife of Hugh Dobbins, had an affair with a handsome young soldier from the castle. When Hugh found out he killed both of them with his sword. Romanticised versions say a secret tunnel behind the fireplace linked the inn to the castle, but no complete tunnel has been proved.
Maud's ghost is believed to haunt the inn. A figure has been seen walking through reception towards the big fireplace, and overnight guests have spoken of their faces being gently brushed by an unseen hand. The soldier has been seen in the halls. Staff report unease in room 21, which sits oddly against the gentle reputation of the female ghost, and a waiter was struck by a small object, possibly a coin, while setting a table in the empty restaurant. A chef reported apron strings being tugged and pots disturbed.
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