The Banshee: The Irish Supernatural Death Messenger.
Author: LYSAGHT, Patricia.
Dublin: O’Brien Press, 1996 (new, updated edition). 433 pages. Paperback.
“The banshee is a well-known supernatural figure in Irish folk tradition. In origin a patron goddess caring for the fortunes of her people, the banshee of folk belief is usually considered to be a harbinger of death, and is said to follow certain families. Traditions about her are spread widely throughout the country. This book describes those traditions and relates them to accounts of otherworld women in Irish literature which can be traced back to at least the eighth century.
Many issues associated with attitudes to life and death are expressed through the banshee tradition, and changes in such attitudes down through the ages are also revealed in changing beliefs about the banshee’s presence and activity. This book unravels that network of beliefs, drawing on a large and representative body of oral and written sources, including literary accounts from the Old Irish period to the present, and folklore accounts collected over the past sixty years. Recent personal fieldwork supports these sources, and brings the study into the present day, showing that in many instances belief in the banshee is alive and well …”
ISBN: 0862784905