Irish Banshee Traditions: A Preliminary Survey

Author(s): Patricia Lysaght

Source: Béaloideas , 1974 - 1976, Iml. 42/44 (1974 - 1976), pp. 94-119
Published by: An Cumann Le Béaloideas Éireann/Folklore of Ireland Society

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/20521375

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS
A preliminary survey

Introductory
This preliminary survey of the Irish banshee traditions is based
on manuscript material in the archives of the Department of Irish
Folklore, University College, Dublin (IFC). I have gone through all
the material so far indexed in the main manuscripts and in the
schools' manuscripts and picked out what I have considered to be
typical examples to illustrate some of the more prominent aspects
of the banshee legends and beliefs. The material in the Main Manu
scripts was collected at different times from the 1930's onwards;
the Schools' Manuscripts stem from 1937-38.

AppellWions
Traditions associated with a supernatural woman believed to
manifest herself in connection with death are found all over Ireland.
The belief in such a being apparently played an important role in
the lives of the people.
The appellation used all over Ireland for this being is an bhean si,
anglicised as the banshee. There are, however, many other terms,
which have a limited distribution. In the counties of Carlow,
Waterford and Wicklow, for instance, the term badhbh, pronounced
and usually spelled bow, is used. In Co. Kilkenny, the terms badhbh
chaointe or badhbh chaointeachdin are found. The former term is
also found in Co. Tipperary as well as an bhean chaointe or an bhean
chdinte. In East Limerick we find bean an chaointe.
Certain supernatural women referred to as banshees have been
given personal names. Thus Aoibheall, the banshee of the O'Briens,
is residing in Co. Clare; Cliona, the banshee of the McCarthys, is
living in Carraig Chliona, near Fermoy in Co. Cork; and Aine, the
banshee of the Fitzgeralds, inhabits the hill of Knockainey, in Co.
Limerick. It is not quite clear, however, whether or not these named
beings are foreboders of death. In any event, they mainly appear in
other capacities in folk tradition.

Origin
It appears that the existence of the banshee was generaly taken
for granted. She was just there, and few people seem to have enquired

94

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 95

about her origin. The explanations of how the banshee came to be

are not only few; they also seem to have a limited distribution, or
even to be individual fabrications. It may be, however, that these
problems would to some extent appear in a different light if a richer
material were to hand.
According to one explanation, a woman who was a professional
keener in this life could become a banshee after her death.
Professional keeners, sometimes also referred to as 'criers' were
employed to cry at wakes and funerals up to this century in some
parts of Ireland. The following is an account from Co. Westmeath:

She (the banshee) was one of th' oul criers. She didn't
say who she was, but it was always given down be people,
then, that the banshee belonged to the criers. Anyone that
was at that in times gone by, it was left that they'd be
crying I suppose when they'd be dead. But they were called
the banshees, everyone of them ye'd hear crying.

The informant adds that his mother, who was a mourner, feared
that she herself would become a banshee after death:

'. . . the good criers were asked [to go to the wakes].

'Oh, many is the time,' she says, 'I had to go and used hate
to go of a fine day. But you couldn't refuse. So,' she said,
'it was the custom. But now,' she says, 'that's all done
away with. And God help me,' she says, 'if I'm turned into
a banshee when I die.'"

The following is a similar account from Co. Tipperary:

Long ago people used to pay women to moan in the

corpse house just when the corpse would be leaving for the
church. Just when the corpse would be leaving the house
these mourners would start off all together and they would
be like a lot of hoarse bawling. When this custom died out the

lIFC 1677, 660-562. From Ballinlassie, Kilcleagh, Clonlonan, Co.

Westmeath. Collected in September 1964 by James G. Delaney from Patrick
Johnston, farmer (82).

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96 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

ghosts of these mourners cry after certa

caled the banshee or bo-sheanter.2

In an account from Co. Waterford it is state

who did not carry out their task in the proper
banshees after death:

The banshee is the spirit of an old woman

it was while alive to caoin for the dead peo
her duty, however, and when she died it was
on her to go around and caoin when anyon

Another theory about the origin of the ban

an account from Co. Galway, which states
supposed to be a child who has died without be
An informant from Co. Wexford states th
woman who is damned and a relation of the p
cries, but gives no further particulars.5

The banshee in the form of a bird

The badhbh in the form of a bird is associate
Irish sources. It is sometimes implicit that th
who has assumed the form in question. In mode
badhbh is sometimes described as a bird, and th
said about the bean si. In view of the scanty i
be premature to state anything with certainty ab
distribution of this belief. The following exam

There is a bird called the bean si that cri

dies. He comes to the house in the night an
He does not come and cry but to a person

2 IFC S683, 210-211. Collected from Jack Flynn, B

Co. Tipperary, between 1937-38. Collector unknown.
8 IFC 655, 173-174. From Rathgormach, Upper Th
Collected 1937-38 by Christopher Burke from his m
and Michael Murrihy (65).
4 IFC 65, 65. From Monivea, Tiaquin, Co. Galway
Christina Concannon. Informant unknown.
5 IFC 460, 262. From Assagart, Kilgarvan, Shelmalie
Collected in January 1938 by Tom?s ? Ciardha from J
(68) who was born in Ballymitty, Co. Wexford.

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 97

or an 'O' before his surname. If he happens to come ar

the house when one person dies he will come at every d
that occurs in that house. If you want to hunt him a
from the house you should make the sign of the c
three times.6

Appearance
Though the banshee is more often heard than seen, there are
many descriptions of her size, clothing, colour of hair and behaviour.
These descriptions vary considerably. It is noteworthy, too, that the
banshee is seen at night in the majority of the records. Here follow
two stories in full, the first from Co. Clare, the second from Co.
Westmeath, which describe the physical appearance of the banshee
and her behaviour:

The old people say that the banshee is always heard

after the O'Briens. One night about twenty years ago two
men were coming home from a dance. It was late in the night.
The men's names were Patrick McMahon and Patrick Organ.
When they were coming up Ballagh Hill near O'Brien's gate
they heard the woman coming down the hill against them.
She was crying very bitterly. They stood on the road waiting
for her to come nearer. McMahon said he saw her right
plainly and he said she wore white clothes and had a pair of
wings. She did not come any nearer to them and when they
went to where they thought she was, there was no trace of
her there. After a while they heard her crying at the back of
Shannon's mountain and when they went there she was
below at Peter Kelleher's cross.The two men were frightened
but after a while they plucked up courage and started for
home, each of them thinking that something must be wrong
at home. Nothing was wrong at home but the next morning
they heard that one of the O'Briens was dead. They heard
also that she died the very same time the banshee was heard.
The O'Briens said that they saw a woman with white
clothes. sitting on top of the bush outside the kitchen

6 IFC S 127, 442. From Kilgellia, Attymass, Gallen, Co. Mayo. Collected
by Thomas Gaughan on the 14th December 1938 from Bridget O'Hara.

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 98 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

window crying all the time before the

after the woman was anointed the banshe
more.7
The banhsee is heard often in this district. It cried the
Mulligans of Moyelroe, Delvin. Before Mrs. Mulligan died the
banshee was seen by Bob Smyth, James Gilmore and Joe
Flynn, all of Moyleroe. The men ran after her. She dis
appeared and they could not know where she was. When
they went home she began to cry again. She was a little
woman about the size of a doll with long red hair, a lovely
red dress down to her toes, a red cape on her shoulders, a
handkerchief in her hand and she rubbing her eyes every
minute. The little woman could be heard in all the houses in
Moyleroe. Mrs. Gilmore said that you would think she was in
the house and that the cry was dancing on the walls.8

The following descriptions of the banshee are extracted from

various legends and statements from different parts of Ireland.

Co. Meath:
(a) She was dressed in a white cloak; she had red shoes
and long white hair and she was combing her hair with a
red comb.9
(b) ... a small woman with a beautiful face, long golden
hair and a little plaid shawl round her shoulders.10
(c) . . . a very small woman with a sort of shawl or
kerchief.1"
Co. Leitrim:
. . . she was a small woman all dressed in red.12
Co. Mayo:

7 IFC S 620. 361-362. From Ballagh, Kilfenora, Corcomroe, Co. Clare.

Collected 1937-38 by Terence Mac Mahon from Patrick Mac Mahon.
8 IFC S 724,121. From Moyleroe, Castletowndelvin, Delvin, Co. Westmeath.
Collected 1937-38 by Eileen O'Brien from Mrs. Gilmore.
IFC 714, 98. From Gernonstown, Upper Slane, Co. Meath. Collected
1937-38 by Thomas Martin from James McQuillan (76).
10 IFC 687,164, From Johnstown, Athlumney, Skreen, Co. Meath. Collected
1937-38 from Mrs. Reilly (c. 70). Collector unknown.
?IFC 687, 175. From Kilcarn, Skreen, Co. Meath. Collected 1937-38
from Garrett Reilly (73).
12 IFC S 204, 201. From Shivdillagh, Inishmagrath, Drumahaire, Co.
Leitrim. Collected 1937-38 by Annie Kelly from Mrs. E. Kelly (79).

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 99

(a) She was a beautiful lady with a white cloak and

golden flowing hair.'3
(b) She was a small woman clothed in straw, havi
shawl on her head.'4
Co. Waterford:
(a) ... deirtf go bhfeicti an bhadhbh i bhfoirm mn
dathfull, gruaig fhada de dhath an 6ir sios go s6la u
i ina suf ar an gcathaoir so agus i ag cioradh a cinn.
[. . . it was said that the badhbh was seen in the shape of
good-looking woman with long golden hair down
heels sitting on this chair and she combing her hair
(b) Bean ard is ea an bhean si agus tA gruaig bhMn ui
[The banshee is a tall woman with white hair.]'6
Co. Clare:
(a) The banshee is a fairy woman with long golden hair
and white clothes.'7
(b) ... sitting on a well and she had a white shawl hanging
behind her.'8
(c) ... a tall, thin woman ... .with long brown hair. She
wears a red dress with a red cloak covering her head.'9

The banshee is a solitary being par preference. The only exception

to that rule that I have come across is the following account from
Carna, Co. Galway. It must remain an open question, however,
whether the appearance of many banshees simultaneously is as
exceptional as it would seem from the material so far collected.

18 IFC S 118, 33. From Ballyglass, Kilconduff, Gallen, Co. Mayo. Collected
1937-38 by Brendan Grealy. Source unknown.
14 IFC S 153, 87. From Enniscoe, Crossmolina, Tirawley, Co. Mayo.
Collected 1937-38 by Teresa Dolan from Mrs. Dolan (75).
16 IFC S 644, 101. From Ballymaguilkee Lower, Seskinan, Decies without
Drum, Co. Waterford. Collected 1936 by Sean ? Conaire from his mother
and father.
18 IFC S 646, 70-71. From Dungarvan, Decies without Drum, Co.
Waterford. Collected 1937-38 by Seosaimhin de Paor, from her mother, Bean
de Paor (45).
17 IFC 589, 67. From Scarriff, Tomgraney, Tulla Upper, Co. Clare. Collected
1937-38 by Maura Cleary from K. McNamara.
18 IFC S 594, 66. From Durra, Inchicronan, Bunratty Upper, Co. Clare.
Collected 1937-38 from Mary Hogan. Collector unknown.
19 IFC S 590, 167. From Glandree, Tulla, Tulla Upper, Co. Clare. Collector
and informant unknown.

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100 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

Ta gleann in ait 6igin i gCwige Chonnacht a dt

Ath na gCeann, gleann uaigneach sl6ibhe 6. TA ti
leis agus baile beag i bhfoigseacht cu'pla mile d6
ins an abhainn bheag ata ag bun an ghleanna. Ro
tar eis an bhliain 1798 agus blianta ina dhiaidh s
catha mora fuilteacha a thabhairt ar fuaid na ti
hAirithe sa mbliain 1798. Tugadh cath m6r annsuid.
tar 6is an chatha agus an oiche roimhe bhi na gar
le cloisint ins an ngleann. Bhiodh na daoine thart
haite ag 6isteach leo agus ag d6anamh iontas c6ar
ag d6anamh an chaointeadh chriite. Cloiseadh ro
cupla uair 6, ach nuair a cuireadh duine ins an n
fios d'fhiil ceard a bhli ag d6anamh an chaoinea
th6inig an teachtaire lena sc6al f6in nA le sc6al d
An oiche tar 6is an chatha mh6ir seo bhi caoinea
ngleann agus go deimhin ba chaite 6. Ar mai
mhArach duiirt fear as an mbaile beag a bhi
ghleann le buachaill aimsire a bhi aige an ngabh
oiche sin go dti an ngleann agus fios d'fhail c6n s
bhi ag d6anamh an chaoineadh: 'Agus,' ar seisean
faidh m6 duais luachmhar duit nuair a thiocfas
Ni raibh fhios ag an st6cach nir thainiig aon duin
riamh. 'M'anam,' arsan buachaill, 'go ngabhfaidh
dti an ngleanna gan duais ar bith, agus 'tuige na
fainn, agus tiocfaidh m6 ar ais freisin le c'un
Chuaigh s6 go dti an ngleann, do shui sd sios
toime agus nuair a bhi an oiche ag titim chonai
mor mnA si ag teacht agus ag cruinniu cloigne n
bhi marbh agus thosnaigh siad ag d6anamh carn
agus annsu d. Bhi gach bean ag caoineadh 6s cion
tire. Nuair a bhi sealad caointeadh d6anta acu tha
acu anall insan Ait a raibh an bhuachaill agus
duiirt si leis: 'Murach gur chuir tui do mhuinin
gur gan duais a thainig tu' ann, bheadh cuimh
La an Luain ar do chuairt go n-Atha na gCean
s6 abhaile buioch beannachtach agus nior bacadh r
mh6 lena mnA si nA lena gcuid caoineadh.

[There is a glen somewhere in the Province of

called Ath na gCeann. It is a lonely mountain gl

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 101

are houses near it and a small town within a couple of mil

of it. There is a ford in the little river which is at the botto
of the glen. Before and after the year 1798 and years afte
wards there were big bloody battles being fought throughout
the country. But in the year 1798 a big battle was foug
there. The night after the battle and the night before, there
were cries of lamentation heard in the glen. The peop
about used to listen and they wondered what caused t
pityful lamentation. It was heard before that a few time
But when a person was sent into the glen to find out wh
was causing the keening, the messenger never returned
tell the tale. The night after this big battle there w
keening in the glen, and the keening was pityful, indee
The following morning a man in the village which was ne
the glen asked his servant boy if he would go on that nig
to the glen and find out what kind of people were doing the
keening. 'And,' said he, 'I will give you a valuable reward
when you come back.' The young man was not aware tha
nobody had ever returned from there. 'Upon my sou
said the young man, 'I will go to the glen for no reward
all. And why wouldn't I go, and I will come back too wit
the help of God.' He went to the glen, sat down under a
bush and when night was falling he saw a big crowd
banshees coming and gathering the skulls of the dead me
They were making heaps of them here and there and eve
woman was keening over her own people. When they ha
keened awhile one of the women come hither to where t
young man was and this is how she spoke to him: 'We
it not for the fact that you put your trust in God and th
you came without reward you would remember to Judg
ment Day your visit to Ath na gCeann. He went home ver
thankful and no heed was paid ever after to the banshees
their keening.]20

Sounds, lights and other phenomena accompanying the banshee

Irish folk tradition abounds with accounts of lights, sound
tappings, knocks etc. which are regarded as omens of impend

10 IFC 202, 145-149. From Carna, Moyrus, Ballynahinch, Co, Galw

Collected 1933 by Sarah Foley from her mother.

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 102 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

death. These phenomena, of course, frequently

association with the banshee. Several of the soun
ena accompanying the banshee are exemplifie
account:

She is to be seen when two people in one village are dead.

She usually has a light in her hand and is seen coming the
road from the dead person's house and she is always crying.
She is dressed in white and comes to the house where the
person is dead. She makes a great noise and sometimes
knocks at the door making a great rattle. When she is
heard the people put their backs to the door until the noise
is gone away. . . 21

The following three accounts are the personal experiences of a

Co. Cork woman who heard the banshee but did not see her:

(a) I heard the bean si three times and every time some
one died a bit after. The first time, 'twas about the month of
August. We were binding over at home. Yerra, 'tis
thirty years ago now. We were coming home after binding in
the 'forty field'. There was Jim and Tom and couple o'
more of us there and as plain as you are listening to me now
we heard the cry down in Riordan's glen.
We thought 'twas a dog first, but faith when we heard it
the second time we knew 'twas no dog. 'Twas a long lone
some cry. I never heard anything so lonesome before. We
only heard it twice but 'twas enough. We knew then that
someone was for the road. That very night again we heard
the latch of the room rattling. One of us got up. I don't
know which of us 'twas now, an' there was no one there.
'Twas about twelve o'clock at the time too. Then the news
came from America-'twas Lizzie Carey was after dying
and they found out 'twas the same time the same evening
an' all that we heard the cry.

81 IFC S 103, 360. From Inishmaine, Ballinchalla, Kilmaine, Co. Mayo.

Collected 1937-38 by Annie Browne from Miss Katie Browne (68).

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 103

(b) The other time I heard it was when Mrs. Bar

above here died. We were sitting there that evening. J
was pointing scollops there in the middle of the kitch
He's a bit deaf, but for that he'd hear it too that night
that was the plainest time I heard it.
'Twas coming the Quarry road I heard it first, the v
same as the other cry but louder and more distinct lik
came up along to our boreen and on up through the f
making straight for Barretts. We knew Mrs. Barrett
bad and when we heard the cry we knew she was finis
We heard it so long that night that we were trying to
out whether 'twas like the cry of a goat or a dog or w
'Twas like no cry of 'em an' when we heard it making
Barretts we knew 'twas the bean si. That very night M
Barrett died. May the Heavens be her bed!
(c) I heard it the third and last time a couple of mon
ago. We were sitting in the same place but 'twas later
the night a lot this time an' 'twas down the chimney the
came. 'Twas about eleven o'clock and it sounded very
at that time of the night. If I was here alone I don't
what I'd do. We went out and there 'twas going up acr
the fields. 'Twas the most lonesome and kind of sorro
thing I ever heard. It went on up over the hill and tha
all we heard of it that night. The next day we heard that
beanain as we used to call her was after dying that nig
the very same time as we heard the cry.22

Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of the ban

her crying. The following is a selection of the numerous descrip
of the banshee's wail or lament.

Co. Cavan:
A certain man and woman heard a lonesome unearthly
cry slant up over Ballycloghan chapel.3

88 IFC 128, 215-219. From Coolaneague (C?l-an-Fhiadh), Macroney,

Condons and Clangibbon, Co. Cork. Collected 15/8/35 by Liam O Floinn from
Mrs. O'Gorman (52), farmer's wife.
88 IFC 1022, 389. From Ballycloghan, Kilglass, Moydow, Co. Longford.
Collected by Philip Ledwith. Informant unknown.

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104 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

Co. Mayo:
(a) A very mournful cry.24
(b) It was the crying of a woman and loud enough to be
heard a long distance away ... I thought I never heard such
sad crying or lamentation and I was pretty well accustomed
at the time to crying and lamentation at wakes and funerals.
In this mysterious crying there was no word used by the
person crying but I thought there were regular inter
jections like a slight hiccough which seemed to accentuate
its sadness and poignancy. We both listend distinctly (sic!)
to it until it faded away in the distance.25
Co. Tipperary:
Sometimes the crying was loud, sometimes low.28
Co. Sligo:
A wailing piercing Cry.27
Co. Clare:
For the rest of the night the girl heard the screeching
outside the window. At first she thought it was the wind,
but after a while the wailing rose to screeching and then she
knew it was the banshee.28
Co. Waterford:
Guth truamheileach na mna' si ag glaoch tnr huaire.
[The pityful voice of the banshee calling out three
times.]29
Co. Wexford:
They (:the cries) were a wail, ye know, some kind of a
wail, the same-d'y'ever hear a fox wailin' in the night,
barkin' in the night? A vixen fox. Well, it's something
like that. A yowl d'ye'know. An' it went three times.30

14 IFC S 145, 16. From Newtownwhite, Ballysakeery, Tirawley, Co. Mayo.

Collected December 1937 by Margaret Gardiner from William Jacks.
26 IFC 1242, 63. From Rossport, Kilcommon, Erris, Co, Mayo. This personal
experience was recorded by Michael Corduff 1940-41.
28 IFC S 581, 204. From Glencoshabinna, Clonbeg, Clanwilliam, Co.
Tipperary. Collected 1938 by Michael Hughes from Patrick O'Brien.
27 IFC S 183, 512. From Knockminna, Kilmorgan, Corran, Co. Sligo.
Collector and informant unknown. 1937.
28 IFC S 620, 364. From Ballagh, Kilfenora, Corcomroe, Co. Clare. Collected
1937-38 by Terence McMahon from Patrick MacMahon.
29 IFC 645, 67. From Dungarvan, Decies without Drum, Co. Waterford.
Collected 1937-38 by Maire Ni Chrotaigh from Sean ? Clannca? (77).
80 IFC 1796, 435. From Gurrawn Lower, Rathnure, Co. Wexford. Collected
August-September 1973 by James G. Delaney from Patrick Leary (79).

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 101

Co. Leitrim:
The crying would go to your heart. That was the worst
banshee's crying ever I heard.31

Occasions on which the banshee appears

Alnost without exception the banshee in Irish folk tradit
warns of impending death. She is therefore regarded as an ome
death. The following is an example from County Wexford:

Shortly before my father died. He was dying at the time.

Well, he was on his deathbed, we'll say, an' meself an' th
woman above, me own woman was up, weren't gone to bed
d'ye know, or anything, an' she was tending to him, an'
he-well, he wasn't that bad. He'd live another few day
that kind of a way, d'ye know. But I was sittin' wud (: with)
me back to the winda-there's a big winda in them cottag
I'm livin' in.-[Here the narrator turns to the other old me
and ask them: 'An' d'ye remember where the forum was
there: The table is in it now.']-Well, I was sittin' on th
forum (: stool) with me back to the window an' did thre
cries come outside on the cement, on that cement walk,
an' I heard them as plain as I can hear meself talkin
now. An' she didn't hear it. An' I didn't say nothin' abou
it. But I asked 'er after. I didn't say nothin' at that p
ticular time ye know. But I asked 'er after did she he
anythin'? She said she didn't. But I heard three crie
outside on the cement. Well, he might live two or three
days after that. But that was all.32

In the above story the man for whom the banshee cried was
his deathbed and he was expected to live but a few days longe
However there are accounts of healthy persons hearing the ban

81 IFC 210, 519. From Jamestown, Kiltoghert, Leitrim, Co. Leitri

Collected 1937-38 by Mary Gorman from Mrs. Hunt.
88 IFC 1796, 434-435. From Gurrawn Lower, Rathnure, Co. Wexfor
Collected August-September 1973 by James G. Delaney from Patrick L
(79).

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 106 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

and dying soon afterwards. The following is a

Leitrim:

There was a man named Matt Gaffney who lived in

Carrick. He was in good health at this time. But the crying
started in the house at night. It would go up the stairs,
through the rooms, out on the windows, up on the roof, out
into the yard and all through the house from midnight on.
The family was terrified. They got masses said and every
thing done. It was no use. They had to get nephews and
men to stay in the house at night. We all knew that some
thing would happen. So it was no surprise to us when Matt
took sick and died. . .33

In most instances it is not clear whether or not the dying person

himself heard or saw the banshee. In the following example, however,
the dying person hears and identifies the banshee:

One night there was a woman dying in a house below

Dromahaire. At two o'clock a pityful cry was heard outside.
Some of the people who were staying in the house did not
know what it was, but the dying woman heard it too. She
told them not to be alarmed that it was the banshee.3

The banshee may be heard the night on which the death occurs
or the previous night or several nights in succession before the
death. She may also be heard for a few nights after the death. An
account from Co. Waterford states:

Deirtear go leanann an bhean si daoine a mbionn '0' n6

'Mac' roimh a n-ainmneacha. Fuair duine bis darbh ainm d6

88 IFC S 210, 415, 519. From Jamestown, Kiltoghert, Leitrim, Co. Leitrim.
Collected 1937-38 by Mary Gorman from Mrs. Hunt.
84 IFC S 204, 201. From Shivdillagh, Inishmagrath, Drumahaire, Co.
Leitrim. Collected 1937-38 by Annie Kelly from Mrs. E. Kelly (79).

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 107

O Briain i gCarraig na R6iste agus th6inig an bhean si. Do

sheas si ag bun an bh6thair ina raibh an tigh agus thosnaigh
si ag gol ar bharr a gutha. D'fhan si ann ar feadh na hoiche
agus ar feadh tri oiche eile ina dhiaidh sin.

[It is said that the banshee follows people who have got.
'O' or 'Mac' before their names. A man by the name of
O'Brian in Carrig na R6iste died and the banshee came. She
stood at the bottom of the road where the house was and she
started to cry at the top of her voice. She went on like that
all the night through and for three nights after that.]m

And another account from Co. Waterford says:

... Fuair an bhean bds timpeall a tri a chlog san oiche.

Duiirt an buachaill liom go raibh an bhean si ag dul timpeall
an ti an ofche go lir an fhad is a bhi an bhean ag fdil bhiis.
Agus gur leig si tri liui aisti.

... . The woman died about three o'clock in the moning.

The boy told me that the banshee was going around the
house all the night through while the woman was dying and
that she gave three cries.]36

Where and to whom the banshee appears

While the stories about where and to whom the banshee appears
vary a great deal, many of them state or imply that she is heading
towards the house of the dying person. She may then be seen sitting
on the window-sill or under the window in the garden, or her cry
may be heard near the house or moving around the house. There is
no mention of her ever actually having been seen in the dying
person's room. She appears to favour the family house even if the
dying person is not staying there at the time. The following account
is from Co. Galway:

85 IFC S 645,70-71. From Dungarvan, Decies without Drum, Co. Waterford.

Collected 1937-38 by Seosaimhin de Paor from her mother Bean de Paor (45).
88 IFC S 642, 237. From Ballynacourty, Ringagonagh, Decies within
Drum, Co. Waterford. Collected 1937-38 from P?draig Churraoin.

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108 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

Tamall do bhlianta o shoin bhios thoir ag

tireacha hoom sa Chillin ar chuairt, ag
Mhathuiin ar chuairt. Bhi Sea6n go han-don
na Gaillimhe agus fuaidh mise soir a cur
bhfeicfinn c6n bhail a bhi air.
Duiirt Cait liom-b'shin an bhean, ta a fh
si hoom go raibh s6 go han-dona agus n
spar6il aige ma thabharfadh s6 na cosa
scorach 6g ar aimsir acub an t-am sin-F
D'imigh an buachaill bocht go Merice 6 sho
ina bhuachaill bhrea aerach chrofuiil. Bhi
rnir sui cois na tine agus bhf muid ag c6mhr
t-am ar sceinn FeArdi isteach an doras
s6idedn agus sceite6g air.
'Dhera FeArdi, a dhiabhail cad ata in aon
'Nir airigh sibh 6? Nar airigh sibh 6?' d
gairid do bheith ag titim as a sheasamh.
'Ceard a airigh tui?' a duirt Cait. 'Cear
mhuirnfn?'
'Diabhal pioc ar bith,' duiirt s6, 'ar ffiad an tsl6ibhe anoir
ach an caoineachin agus an l6g6ireacht mar bheadh bean
4igin dA cri'
'Gaibh a chodladh bhulachaill,' diiirt si, 'agus na bac leis
an gcaoineachan.'
D'oscail muide an doras agus nir airigh muid an caoin
eachan ar fad ag g'6il anoir go dt6inig s6 chomh fada leis an
abhainn amuigh agus leanadh don chaoineachin taobh
amuigh dhon tigh tamall maith dhon oiche.
D'fhan mise insa tigh aici an oiche sin. Bhf iomarca
faitfos orm corrai as an 6it.
'A, ta SeAn bocht caillte,' duiirt si, 'ta SeAn bocht caillte
agus is maith athM fhios agam 6.'
An hi 'nar gceann thainig sc6ala aniar 6 ospiddal na
Gaillimhe A ri gur cailleadh SeAn i dtu's na hoiche ch6anna.

[A number of years ago I was over at relatives of mine in

Killeen on a visit at Se6n Mahon's house. Sein was very ill
in Galway Hospital, and I went over to ask for him and to
-find out how he was.

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 109

CUit-that was his wife, you know-said to me that he

was very ill and that he would be lucky if he came through
the illness. Well, they had a young servant lad, Feardaf 6
Luachra at that time. The poor lad went to America since
then, and he was a fine hearty lively fellow. Ciit and myself
were sitting by the fire and were talking together when
Feardaf came running in through the door to us and he
panting and shaking.
'Yerra, Feardaf, you devil, what's wrong with you at all?'
'Didn't you hear it, didn't you hear it?' said he, and he
close to falling out of his standing.
'What did you hear?' said C6it. 'What did you hear,
my dear.'
'Devil a bit,' said he, 'the whole length of the mount
over but the wailng and lamenting as if some woman was
in torment.'
'Go to bed, lad,' said she, 'and never mind the wailing.'
We opened the door and didn't we hear all the wailing
coniing east until it came as far as the river outside and the
wailing continued outside the house for a good part of the
night.
I stayed with her in the house that night. I was too
frightened to move from the place.
'Ah, poor Se6n is dead,' said she. 'Poor Se6n is dead, and
it's well I know it.'
The following day news came from Galway hospital that
Seain had died early that same night].37

The banshee has been heard crying around the old home when a
member of the household has died in another part of Ireland or even
in a foreign country. An account from Co. Tyrone states that a man
who lived in Glasgow heard the banshee there on the night the
brother was killed at home in Co. Tyrone. There are no accounts in
the material I have so far investigated of the appearance of a
banshee in a foreign country on the occasion of the death of an
Irishman there. The banshee is often seen by people outside the

87 IFC 389, 481-484. From Tonranny, Beagh, Kiltartan, Co. Galway.

Collected 22 September 1937 by Sean ? Flannag?in from Br?d Ni Mhura?,
farmer's wife (c. 85).

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110 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

immediate family circle of the dying person. These peop

neighbours. While several people may hear the bansh
occasion, it is not infrequent that some member or
bereaved household does not hear her at all.

Families followed by the banshee

As has appeared above, the banshee is said to fo
with 'O' or 'Mac' in their names. The essential truth o
out by the following list of families reputed to have
by the banshee, especially if we bear in mind that it
anglicised names, the Gaelic originals of which contai
in question:
Adamson, Ahemr, Barry, Bowe, Brady, Brennan,
Browne, Caldwell, Carrol, Cartwright, Casey, Cassidy,
Coady, Colohan, Conroy, Conway, Cooney, Coughlan, Cox,
Cullen, Culleton, Cuskelly, Daly, Dawson, Dempsey, Dewan,
Dillon, Doyle, Dowd, Duggan, Dwyer, English, Ennis,
Fallon, Faris, Flanagan, Flynn, Fogarty, Fox, Gaffney,
Gallagher, Galligan, Gannon, Gavigan, Geoghan, Geraghty,
Gill, Glennon, Griffin, Griffith, Halton, Hanley, Hannon,
Hayden, Hayes, Healy, Hegarty, Higgins, Holohan, Jennings,
Jordan, Keane, Keany, Keating, Keegan, Kehoe, Kenny,
Kirwan, Lacey, Laurence, Lee, Lonergan, Lynch, Lyster,
Madden, Malone, Manning, Martin, Meehan, Miller,
Monohan, Moran, Morrissey, Mullen, Mulligan, Murphy,
Murray, McBride, McCarthy, McCormack, McDermott,
McDonnell, McEntee, McGoldrick, McGovern, McGrath,
McGuinness, McGuire, McKenna, McMahon, McManamon,
McNally, McNamara, McNiff, McPartlan, McQuade,
Naughton, O'Brien, O'Byrne, O'Connor, O'Donnell,
O'Donovan, O'Gready, O'Hanlon, O'Keeffe, O'Leary,
O'Malley, O'Meary, O'Neill, O'Reilly, O'Rourke, O'Sullivan,
Peters, Potterton, Power, Quinn, Roche, Roe, Rehill, Ryan,
Rynne, Scally, Scott, Shanahey, Sherlock, Sinnot, Smith,
Stafford, Steward, Strong, Sullivan, Sutton, Sweeney,
Tully, Wall, Walsh.

Though the rule that the banshee follows only the old Irish
families is not entirely without exception, the ties between the

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 1ll

banshee and the Gaels are so strong that it causes surprise whenev
she appears at the death of somebody who is not considered to
a true Irishman:

The banshee follows a number of families in this district,

such as the Sheedys, who are humble working folk (carters),
and the wealthy Lyons family. The latter have a great deal
of English blood in their family and as far as an ordinary
observer can (could) see are very little in sympathy with
Irish people and customs, though kind and courteous enough
in a condescending way, to the people amongst whom they
lived. Indeed the last representative of the family let his
place to a tenant and lives entirely in England. So it is hard
to understand what interest a poor old Irish banshee could
have in them. However many people locally claim to have
heard the tradition[al] wailing around the Lyons property
on the death of some of its members.38

Families were proud to have a banshee follow them and, as on

informant put it, 'the relatives would not believe that the pers
would die until the banshee was heard'. The following account sho
that the banshee herself was selective and somewhat of an aristocrat.

Bhi dream dos na Husaig sa Daingean fad6 agus nfl aon

uair a cailltf duine acu na go gcloistf an bhean si ag gol agus
ag gabhMilt trid an nDaingean. Bhi duine acu ag f6ilt bh6is
an babhta so, agus lir na hoiche do brathadh an bhean si
ag gol. Bhi Sriid Eoin san am san Uin do thithe beaga, i
nuair a chualadar i do bhuail an t-eagla iad. Bhiodar
scannraithe. Nil aon tigh acu nA go rabhadar ag caint is ag
cur uatha-go raibh duine 6igint acu chun ba's a d'fhilt
agus bhi a fhios ag an mbean si conas a bhi acu. Do sta
an gol si agus do labhair si leo:

t:istig, 6istig, a cheannaithe an chn6saig!

Ni baol dibhse, ach is eaglach d6ibh siiuid.
Nior chaoin bean si riabh 'ur sortsa.

88 IFC S 607, 618. From Croom, Coshma, Co. Limerick. Collector an

informant unknown.

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 112 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

Thosnaigh an gol si arist, agus ar maidin

do chualadar go raibh duine uasal dos na H

[There was a tribe of the Husseys in Ding

every time one of them died the banshee w
and going through Dingle. On this occas
was dying and in the middle of the night
heard crying. At that time John Street w
houses, and when they heard her, they bec
In every house there was talking and disco
one of them was going to die; and the ban
they were at. The fairy crying stopped an
them:

Listen, listen, you hoarding traders,

You are not in danger, but they have need to fear,
A banshee never keened your kind.

The fairy crying began again and on the following

morning they heard that a gentleman of the Husseys was
dead.]39

The aristocratic character of the banshee is also illustrated in

the following account:

Fear gurbh ainm d6 Fionnu'chan. Seanstoc dob ea na

Fionnu'chanaig. Da dtitfeadh s6 amach go bhfaigheadh aon
duine don ainm b6s thiocfadh an bhadhbh agus dh6anfadh
[si] iad a chaoineadh. Thit amach gur rugadh mac do
mhnaoi 6ig 6n duiiche sin. Ni raibh an bhean ch6anna p6sta.
Baisteadh e do Fhionn('chan. Chuir an bhean air an leanbh
agus nior chuaigh s6 ar a sh6anadh. Nuair a bhi an mac
c6anna fiche blian d'aois fuair s6 b6s. Bhi na comharsain ag
coinne leis an mbadhbh an oiche sin, oiche a bhais. I ldr
na hoiche thainig an bhadhbh go dti an fhuinneoig agus

^B?aloideas 9, (1940), 276-277. These lines are found in a poem attributed

to Haras Feirit?ar. See An tAthair P?draig Ua Duinn?n, Danta Phiarais
Feirit?ir (Baile ?tha Cliath 1903), 2.

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 113

labhair isteach chun na daoine a bhi ag an dtorramh ag

duiirt d'ard a gutha:

Nach beag bheadh le d6anamh ag bean si a

tSldibh' Ghairbh
Ag teacht ag caoineadh mac mhic Ui Bhodr6in ar
ArlAr a charad!

[There was a man by the name of Finnucane. Th

Finnucanes were old stock. If it happened that any per
of that name died, the badhbh would come and keen th
It happened that a son was born to a young woman in t
locality. The woman was not married. He was bapti
Finnucane. The woman said the child was his and he did
go about denying it. When the son was twenty years o
he died. The neighbours were waiting for the badhbh
night-the night he died. In the middle of the night
badhbh came to the window and she spoke in to the peo
who were at the wake and said at the top of her voice:

The banshee of Sliabh Garbh wouldn't bother

extend
A keening to (5 Bodhrain's grandson on the floor
of his friend.]40

Some other activities of the banshee

Only rarely does the banshee appear on occasions other than
deaths. In the following story from Co. Clare, however, a super
natural woman, who is giving a warning of a conflagration, has
many of the characteristics of the banshee, though she is not
expressly said to have been a banshee:

There are many stories told about the bean si appearing

in lonely districts to warn the people of coming troubles.
I heard a story of a man and his son who returned home
from a fair late one night. While preparing their supper they

49 IFC 84, 4<MU.

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114 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

heard a wailing cry coming towards t

nearer and nearer. Then they heard a vo
beware'. On opening the door they saw a
going down the pathway tearing her ha
and disappeared in the darkness. They co
the cause of her visit but on the followi
horror they found their house bumed.4'

I have also found an isolated legend about

to abduct a child:

About three miles from my house there

Rynnes. Their house was three storeys h
newly married couple lived there and aft
born to them. They hired a nurse to tak
while they were visiting. The nurse tho
fear of her because they kept two great
the house at night. Two nights, one aft
heard the banshee crying outside the doo
her very much and the third night she
baby to the bedroom on the top storey.
there when she heard the crying as usual, b
took no notice of it. The two dogs almost
barking and it was not long until the d
It was the banshee and she having the d
necks and pushing them up the stairs b
went to the nurse's room and caught hol
the nurse was very brave and she kept h
as long as she could. At last she caught a
that was beside the bed and threw it at
she departed and the baby was saved.'2

There are many stories of a similar type a

attempted abductions of children by superna
the fairies-cf. for instance the numerous ch

41 IFC S 630, 31. From Kilrush, Moyasta, Co. Cla

Mary Nolan from her father.
42 IFC S 620, 350-351. From Clouna, Clooney, C
Collected 1937-38 by Cissie Mac ?amara from Tho

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 115

it is hardly likely that there is any stronger or more general tradition

anywhere in Ireland that the banshee is the offender.
In view of nearly all that is told about the banshee, however, it
is not surprising that it is a general attitude that 'People did not
like to hear or see her.'

The insuted banshee

It is a general folk belief that it is dangerous to interfere with,
insult or harm supernatural beings. The aggressor may even be
killed, as the following story from Co. Roscommon illustrates:

This story goes back to the time of the kitchen racket,

the kitchen dances, as we call them. There was a dance this
particular night in some village and this bloke was lvin' up
in the mountain in a lonely place. He was comin' to the
dance travellin' alone and he carried a stick. On a mound or
ditch beside the road he saw a little woman and she combin'
her hair, sittin' on the ditch. He let fly with the ash plant
or whatever he had and she disappeared. He didn't hit her,
anyway. He came on to the dance and he told the crowd
there what happened, that he saw the banshee. When the
dance was over, your man was goin' home the mountain
path again. The next mornin' he wasn't back. And they
found him, with the ash plant buried in his head, exactly
in the place where he told this woman was.43

This story is entitled The Banshee in the manuscript, but it is

not quite clear whether it is the storyteller or the collector who has
made the identification, a difficulty that a folklore investigator has
to cope with only too often. It is quite possible that there is a richer
tradition about offended banshees, though the documentation is
insufficient.

The migratory legend about the banshee's comb

In the banshee traditions-like in the traditions about some
other female supernatural beings, the mermaid in particular-there
is, as we have often seen above, almost an obsession about the

48 IFC 1675, 73. From Grange, Cam, Athlone, Co. Roscommon. Collected
September 1961 by James G. Delaney from Thomas Kelly, farmer (43).

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116 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

being's hair and how she keeps combing it. Not s

tions of the comb often enter into these traditions
said to have been made of silver or gold. A
Mountmellick, Co. Lacis, told me that the comb
bone and indentations on the bone form the
majority of the banshee traditions are personal
a rather artless way, of the type that folklorist
story with a fixed plot-a so-called fabulate or
has developed around the theme of how th
recovered her comb.
The following version of that legend is especial
told. It also illustrates the banshee's habit of b
streams or rivers, a habit that is often referred
but never given any explanation:

I used to hear my father saying (the bed

his soul) that there was an old man o' the R
here in Kilin a good many years ago. There
or lamps going in them times, but 'twas ho
to go to the bog and root up a good thick b
timber and bring it home with him. He'd
then and split that block up into slise6gs,
sliseogs. Them slise6gs then used to be dip
that they'd get out of the cattle or sheep
then whenever they'd want a light they us
and someone would hold them in his hand o
put it standing in the middle of a heap of
they'd be eating them for supper. Them sli
used to burn that ways were called caisn
They usen't have the caisnins buring all th
lamps are burning now. Devil a long they'd
be wasting them like that. They'd use th
they'd be putting down a pot or taking a po
looking for something around the house. Fo
time they'd be sitting around the fire and
be telling stories to one another and puttin

44 IFC 1840, 12. From Mountmellick, Rosenallis, Ti

Collected 28 June, 1976 by Patricia Lysaght from Mr
housewife (39).

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 117

ould times. The light o' the turf fire was enough for
and there was some of the old people and they could ho
telling stories forever.
Well, this ould man o' the Regans-he'd be Pat
Regan's great-grandfather, so that'll tell you that it m
be a good long while ago-he had a big stump o' bog
like that beyant in CarrachMn bog, just at the foot o
the mountain or in the mountain as you might say. He
the stump rooted up and all, had it thrown up in the b
ready to bring home and as soon as night had fallen he
over across towards Carrach6.n. There is a stream run
down this side o' Carrachin and didn't he hear the beet
going on, on the top o' the big flag that you'd pass go
over. He was a kind of harum scarum of a young man
and the devil one if he'd care for either june or joul (:deam
or diabhal). He had that cutting in him.
He made over across to where he heard the beetl
going on and sure enough he saw her there and she hav
the beetle in one hand and a lovely rack in the other.
stepped lightly in behind her, snapped the rack out of
hand and made one leap for the other bank and away
him home, and look here, you'd think the March wind bef
him couldn't keep before him and the March wind beh
him couldn't keep up with him; he was that quick on his fo
Away with the bean si hither after him and every scr
out of her worse then one another. She caught the be
that was in her hand and flung it after him and I supp
that 'twas God that saved him or that He didn't give h
the power to hit hin, but anyways the beetle went whistli
out by his poll and if he got it in the poll he was a dead m
Regan was a great runner and maybe 'twas how t
Almighty God didn't give her the footing that he'd gav
Regan, but anyways, he was always able to keep before
When she came up to the beetle she caught it the se
time and Regan could hear it whistling out by his ear a
suppose it was promised to him, but anyways, it missed
the second time. The banshee came up with the beetle
third time and as soon as she caught it Regan was
turned in home at his own gable-end and didn't the ban

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118 PATRICIA LYSAGHT

fire the beetle for the third time. Regan w

inside his own door when the beetle struck the
shook the house from head to bottom. He
and secured it from the inside with the mai
they used to have in them time to secure t
time of a storm. They were all sitting down
and wasn't the heart put across them when
scream outside the door. She told them in
the rack to her or that she'd knock the hou
Regan rose and he took the spade and he
on the top of the spade and caught the spa
[:handle] and pushed the rack out under th
Half the iron o' the spade was outside the do
half was inside. She caught the rack and the
that was outside and brought the rack and
with her. When they pulled in the spade aga
it gone!
Next morning when they got up and went outside didn't
they find the gable-end o' the house split in two even halves
from thatch to ground and any day that you go over to see
Regan's ould cabhail you'll see the gable-end split in two
even halves and that's how it happened.4"

This stoxy type sometimes forms hybrids with another migratory

legend-the tale about the man who stole a cloak, or the like, from
a mermaid and married her. This offers another example of the
fusion of mermaid traditions and banshee traditions.
Though there is a fair number of variants of the legend about
the banshee's comb from different localities in Ireland, the recorded
versions are still too few to enable us to come to grips with the
problem where the story originated and how it spread.

Conclusion
The general impression one gets from the material recorded over
the past forty years in the archives of the Department of Irish
Folklore is that not only is there a great variety of traditions about

45 IFC 404,10&-114. From Kileen, Beagh, Kiltartan, Co. Galway. Collected

8 September 1937 by Sean ? Flannag?in from S?amus ? Cealla, farmer (47).

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 IRISH BANSHEE TRADITIONS 119

the banshee still in oral circulation but also in many cases a strong
and deep-rooted belief in the banshee's existence. How this belief
varies according to areas, age groups etc., is something that it is very
difficult to assess from the older material, since detailed information
in these respects is only rarely to hand. Much is to be gained,
however, from information received within the last few months in
response to the Banshee Questionnaire, and if the appeal for further
information continues to meet with the same response, we will soon
have a basis for the solution of these and many other problems
attached to the banshee, problems that it has only been possible to
sketch within the scope of this article.

PATRICIA LYSAGHT

University CoUege, Dublin

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