The Banshee
This story was told by Mrs Dan Byrne of Aughrim. It is of the Banshee.
The Banshee is the little woman with lovely hair, supposed to be a spirit who comes when someone is soon to die. Her cries sound like a little child crying. She gives three cries and starts again. She is generally out between twilight and 12 o'clock at night. She does no harm to anybody but when we hear her we say who is going to die. It is said she has a comb and is always combing her hair, as well as crying.
Nobody ever interferes with her. It is said she only follows the old Irish families such as the Laceys, the Fogarty's, the Byrnes and the Cullens. She has been heard many times in the Village of Aughrim.
Mary Cahill,
Kilacloran,
Aughrim,
Co. Wicklow.