Banshee is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic word bean si (meaning woman of the side or woman of the fairy mounds), it is a female ancestral spirit who forewarns members of certain families about impending death. According to legend, the banshee will wail around the house the night before somebody inside is about to die.
There are only certain families that are believed to have a banshee attached to them - O'Grady, O'Brien, O'Connor, O'Donnell, O'Neill and Kavanagh, although intermarriage has extended this select list.
She generally appears in two different guises, either as a beautiful young woman with long, fair hair or as a hideous hag. They dress in a white or grey cloak and brush their long hair with a silver comb, there is an existing superstition in Ireland that if you see a comb you should not pick it up as it may be a lure used to spirit humans away.
The sound of the banshee, a peculiarly mournful sound like the wind possessing a human tone terrifies people, there have been many instances where everybody in a house was in great health though once the wail was heard somebody would be drowned, or killed suddenly within a week.
There are some locations in Ireland where it is said that the banshee resides and does not leave. One of these is Dunluce Castle on the north Co. Antrim coast, which was the great home of the ruling O'Donnell clan before they were forced to the four corners of the world during the tumultuous Flight of the Earls. According to legend, the banshee remains to lament the scattered clan.
Russell Shortt is a travel consultant with Exploring Ireland, the leading specialists in customised, private escorted tours, escorted coach tours and independent self drive tours of Ireland. Article source: Russell Shortt, http://www.exploringireland.net
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