Ardnabannon House near Castlewellan was designed by Thomas Turner for Charles Murland, and in 1967 the Down County Education Committee bought it for use as an outdoor pursuits centre. According to local legend the haunting belongs to an earlier manor on the same grounds, owned by a wealthy family with a single son as heir.
The son fell in love with a nun from a nearby convent. Fearing disgrace, the family allegedly kidnapped her one bitter winter, bound her in chains and left her on the snow-covered grounds, where she died of cold. Her body was said to be blue, which gave her the name the Blue Nun. Her spirit is said to wander the west corridor of the house looking for the man she loved. People have reported chains clinking at night, and schoolchildren staying at the centre have said they saw her.
The listing notes that the property was sold in 2025 and closed, with a hotel and wedding venue under discussion. The story has no named people or dates and reads as a cautionary legend.
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