Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub, The Molony Building, & Their Haunted History

Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub is more than Charleston’s beloved gathering place for pints and live music — it sits atop layers of history that still fascinate, and sometimes spook, locals and visitors alike. To understand the ghosts associated with the pub and its neighboring structures, you have to understand how the original Molony Building once stood whole, what it was used for, and how its functions evolved over time.

THE MOLONY BUILDING: 19TH-CENTURY IRISH ROOTS

The structure at 158 Church Street was built around 1867 shortly after the Civil War on a site that had been cleared by Charleston’s great fire of 1861. It was constructed under the ownership of Ireland-native Mary Monaghan Molony. Her family lived upstairs while the ground floor was operated as a grocery store and saloon — documented as one of Charleston’s earliest Irish-owned establishments of its kind. Preservation Society of Charleston+1

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Molony family continued to serve the community as a grocery, saloon, and informal social space, often described in preservation records as engaging in clandestine liquor sales during times when restrictions made alcohol difficult to obtain. Preservation Society of Charleston

This early Irish social space laid the cultural groundwork for the pub spirit that would return decades later.

THE SITE AS A CANDY FACTORY AND TRAIN TRACKS

Historic paranormal guides note that the area around the building once housed industrial uses, including a candy factory, and that train tracks ran right where the deck of Tommy Condon’s now sits — tracks that served factories and warehousing in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Staff and longtime storytellers tie the ghost story of a young girl struck by a train near that route to the main room and deck area of Tommy Condon’s today. southernspiritguide.org

LEGEND: THE LITTLE GIRL GHOST NEAR THE TRACKS

According to local lore, the apparition of a Child — said to be that little girl who died while heading to the candy factory — is most often associated with the main room and deck area of Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub, the very areas that stand where tracks once ran. Some patrons and paranormal enthusiasts describe fleeting movements or sensations of presence that feel small and childlike rather than threatening. southernspiritguide.org

THE FIRE AND FAMILY TRAGEDY IN THE MOLONY BUILDING

Another haunting tradition connected to the original Molony Building involves a devastating fire that took place while family members were inside. Although official fire records and family histories are sparse in the public online record, local folklore connects this tragedy to the portions of the former Molony structure that later became Bocci’s and the Abbey of Tommy Condon’s — spaces where staff and visitors report heavy, emotional hauntings such as footsteps, voices, and unexplainable sensations. southernspiritguide.org

1980s: DIVIDED BUILDING, DIVIDED HAUNTINGS

In the 1980s the original Molony Building was physically divided:

• One section became Bocci’s.

• The other became Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub, including what is now called the Abbey adjacent to the main pub space.

Ghost stories are tied carefully to these physical divisions. The little girl ghost is associated with the space now occupied by the main Tommy Condon’s pub room and deck, whereas the family tragedy hauntings are tied to the remaining Molony building sections including the Abbey. southernspiritguide.org

TOMMY CONDON’S: IRISH MIRRORS AND SPIRIT TRADITIONS

When Tommy Condon opened his Irish pub in 1984, he filled it with authentic Irish memorabilia and antique mirrors brought back from Ireland after Hurricane Hugo. According to the restaurant’s own history, these mirrors “cast rich reflections” and aim to recreate a traditional Irish pub feel. Tommy Condon's

Irish folklore traditionally holds that mirrors can trap the souls of the newly dead if left uncovered during times of grief, a belief that locals reference when discussing the numerous mirrors throughout Tommy Condon’s. These legends help explain reports of people seeing fleeting figures in reflections that vanish when directly looked at — consistent with how mirrors are treated in traditional Irish spiritual lore. Tommy Condon's

DOCUMENTED PARANORMAL REPORTS

Paranormal writers and Charleston ghost tour sites collect eyewitness accounts of activity at Tommy Condon’s that include:

• Figures and reflections in mirrors that disappear

• Phantom footsteps or movement in quiet moments

• Uneasy atmosphere in specific parts of the pub

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These reports are common features of local haunted tours and storytelling, making Tommy Condon’s a popular stop on haunted pub outings in Charleston. Ghost City Tours+1

WHY THESE STORIES ENDURE

Charleston’s layered history — from industrial pasts and family businesses to Irish immigrant culture and Prohibition-era lore — creates fertile ground for ghost stories tied to specific places. The Molony Building, the candy factory site, and the train tracks all contribute specific spatial memories that continue to shape how people experience the pub today.

Spirits, or stories about spirits, persist where the living still gather. In Charleston, that often means over dinner, drinks, music, and a shared sense that the city’s past is never truly gone.

SOURCES

• Historic marker and Preservation Society of Charleston documentation on the Molony Building at 158 Church Street. Preservation Society of Charleston

• Local paranormal and ghost tour accounts of Tommy Condon’s Irish Pub hauntings. Ghost City Tours+1

• Historic Charleston Foundation architectural history archives referencing Molony family occupancy and saloon use. CatalogIt HUB

• Business history and imported Irish mirrors from the official Tommy Condon’s website. Tommy Condon's