Perhaps one of the most well known figures from Irish mythology is the Banshee, the omen of death, wailing as death comes to a house. But where does she come from? And what does she want from the dead?

Among the most enduring and chilling figures of Irish folklore is the Banshee, the spectral woman whose mournful cry foretells death. Her wail, or caoineadh, drifts through the night like a sorrowful song, a sound that has haunted Irish families for centuries. 

Read More: Check out all ghost stories from Ireland

To hear the Banshee’s cry is to know that death is near, and her presence serves as both warning and lament for the soul soon to depart.

The Irish Banshee: Here pictured the Bunworth Banshee, Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland by Thomas Crofton Croker, published 1834.

The Banshee of the Fairy Mound

As with many Irish legends, it has deep connections to the Fairies and the Otherworld. Along the Irish countryside, there are grassy hills or tumuli known as síde that the fairy folk, Tuatha Dé Danann were driven underground to. The banshee or bean sídhe means woman of the sídhe.

The Banshee Appears by R. Prowse 1862 sep, 1

In some later English-language texts, the word sídhe is incorrectly used both for the mounds and the people of the mounds. However, sidh in older texts refers specifically to “the palaces, courts, halls or residences” of the otherworldly beings that supposedly inhabit them.

The Banshee is most often described as a woman with long, flowing hair, sometimes silver as moonlight, sometimes fiery red or jet black. She is said to appear wearing a grey or white cloak over a green dress, her eyes red from endless weeping. 

In some tales she combs her hair with a silver comb, a symbol of her connection to the spirit world and her most prized possession. This is perhaps also why so many who claim to have encountered her say she asks for a comb.

Though she can appear young and beautiful, she can also take the form of a shriveled old woman or a stately matron, her face twisted with grief and sorrow.

The Celtic Goddess of War and Death: Her appearance seems to represent the triple aspects of the Celtic goddess of war and death, namely Badhbh, Macha and Mor-Rioghain. The Morrígan is often described as a trio of individuals, all sisters, called “the three Morrígna”. Image: Macha Curses the Men of Ulster from 1904.

She may also appear as a washer-woman, and is seen apparently washing the blood stained clothes of those who are about to die. In this guise she is known as the bean-nighe (washing woman), although this version is perhaps more known in Scotland.

Brigid Goddess of Fertility: Another goddess connected to the Banshee is Brigid. Her son died in battle, and the goddess broke out in a nasally and high-pitched singing style known as keening. This became a mourning practice. Image: The Coming of Bride (1917) by John Duncan.

The Wailing Woman

Her keening cry is unlike any sound of this world. It is said to begin softly, almost like the wind through the trees, then rise into a piercing wail that can shatter the stillness of the night. 

The scream differs from region to region. in Kerry are said to be pleasant songs, but at Rathlin Island off the shore of Northern Ireland, the banshee’s song is a thin screech almost like that of an owl. And in Leinster, in the Southeast, the wail of a banshee is said to be so piercing it can shatter glass.

Henry Meynell Rheam: La Belle Dame Sans Merci English: The Banshee (1901)

Mourning the death of one of their kin with her piercing “caoine” or keening. This mysterious creature  resembles traditional Irish keeners or mourners of old. Even today, some claim that her cry echoes near homes or graveyards just before tragedy strikes.

Keening Women and the Irish Mourning Song: The Aran Fisherman’s Drowned Child (1841)

Those who hear it know that someone close to them will soon die, for the Banshee’s lament is not random but personal as it’s not every dying person that the Banshee is said to keen for. Traditionally, she was said to follow Ireland’s ancient noble families, or families of the “high Milesian race”. 

The Banshee Haunting the Ancient Families

According to tradition, some families had their own banshee, with the Ua Briain banshee, named Aibell or Aoibheall, being the ruler of 25 other banshees who would always be at her attendance. The banshee of the O’Donnel family was said to live on a rock overlooking the sea and the banshee following the O’Neill family was called Maveen. She was said to have her own room in the family castle. 

The Milesians: The sons of Mil represent the Irish people and are seen as the final race to settle in Ireland according to Christian medieval history, although scholars today think this is just a story. They are Gaels who sail to Ireland from Iberia (Hispania) after spending hundreds of years travelling the Earth. Most, but not all, surnames associated with banshees have the Ó or Mc/Mac prefix that is of Goidelic origin.

Those gifted with music and song could also be lamented by a banshee. 

A Spirit of Sorrow, Not Malice

Despite her terrifying reputation, the Banshee is not a malevolent spirit. She does not bring death; she merely announces it. Her cry is an expression of grief, a sorrowful duty to forewarn the living. In some legends, she appears as a loving guardian, mourning for her family’s loss from beyond the grave. In others, she is one of several ancestral spirits, each tied to an old Irish lineage. 

More modern stories, though, also claim that she can be seen travelling together with the death coach and the headless horseman that are out to collect people’s souls. Sometimes she was also not described as a fairy at all, but a ghost of a woman murdered or a mother who died in childbirth. 

Read also. The Death Coach: Ireland’s Omen of Doom Racing Through the Night 

The Banshee’s lament may be terrifying, but it comes from compassion rather than cruelty. Perhaps strange, as much of her origin stories are about her being the old goddesses that were driven down underground by the same families she laments for. 

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References:

Banshee – Wikipedia