School: Garryhill
- Location:
- Garryhill, Co. Carlow
- Teacher: Pádraig Ó Riain
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0905, Page 302
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- XML School: Garryhill
- XML Page 302
- XML “Folktale - The Banshee”
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On this page
- The following story was told by a Sixth Standard pupil whose name and address is Patrick Smethers Straduff. Garryhill, Co. Carlow.
Now everybody knows that in Ireland the Banshee is supposed to follow certain families.
That is, she appears when a member of any family she follows is going to die and it is seen by people at night sitting in a tree by the roadside combing her hair.
It is said that if she throws the comb at anyone and hits them they will die soon afterwards. On the night that the person she follows dies she can be heard 'keening' for miles around.
The Banshee is supposed to follow a certain family named Bradley who live in a place named Clonee. Clonee is only about a mile away from where I live. One night a man named John O'Hara was coming home to Straduff from Myshall. He had to pass by Clonee on his way home.
When he was coming near Bradley's house he saw the Banshee sitting in a tree combing her hair.(continues on next page)
- Collector
- Patrick Smethers
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Straduff, Co. Carlow
- Informant
- John O' Hara
- Gender
- Male
- Address
- Straduff, Co. Carlow
