Background:
The Banshee originated in Ireland and was initially called the Bean Sí, which translates from Irish to English into Fairy Mound, or Fairy Woman. As told in folklore, she is a female spirit whose wail precedes and predicts the death of someone. Typically the banshees cry is heard by a family or friend of the person who will soon be deceased to warn them to say their last good-byes. She is more often heard than seen, but if sighted the banshee usually appears as a woman in rags, or a woman washing blood out the clothing of the person about to die.
History:
While no one knows exactly where the banshee was first sighted beyond the understanding that the stories trace back to at least the eighth century, plenty of mythology and ideas surround the mystery of the banshee and its history. One popular theory suggests that banshees are the spirits of keeners. Keeners were women who were paid in alcohol to mourn at funerals and gravesides in order to increase the family’s stature in the community, as the Irish took into account the number of mourners at a member of the community’s funeral. Though, sometimes keeners were not hired to mourn, but to sing at the funeral or burial site. This song they sung was called a ‘caoine’, which can be translated into keening, hence the name of the women. All were paid in alcohol, however, which the church disapproved of, so the belief it that the keener women were cursed for their sins to forever sing in announcement of imminent death.
Another extremely well known theory, which is considered by some to be the very first story of a banshee, is the story of The Banshee of the O’Neils. This original theory adds to the idea that only the original Irish families, the O'Neils , O'Briens, O'Connors, O'Gradys and Kavanaghs, have banshees to protect and warn them. The story claims an early member of the O’Neal family, actual year and date unknown, found a cow trapped in the tangled weave of a hawthorn tree. The O’Neil freed the cow by cutting the branches of the tree, not realizing the tree was sacred to the Fairy Women. The Fairy Women were furious, and carried his daughter, who though named by legend Kathleen has no recorded name, down to the bottom of an unidentified Lough. The Fairy Women allowed the daughter to return, but only in the form of a spirit which would wail to announce an impending death.
Travel Information:
The castle of the O’Neils was a castle called Shane’s Castle which is now considered a haunted sight in Ireland. Located in Northern Ireland at Randalstown Road, Antrim BT41 4NE, United Kingdom, the castle burned down twice in its lifetime, leaving a rebuilt conservatory the only part of the castle that is still standing. The ruined grounds are typically not open to the public; however one of the two Great Game Fairs of Ireland, (The Irish Game Fair & Flavour Ireland Fine Food Festival), is held at Shane’s Castle every June. The dates vary, but typically the event happens on the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth of June. In addition, weddings are also licensed to take place place on the grounds 8000 acres pf farmland and 1000 acres of forest.
Currently the land is being used as a set for the highly popular HBO series Game of Thrones, so visits may want to be planned around when the show isn't being filmed, or when it is if one is interested in seeing some of the shows stars.
For further information it is recommended that those interested in visiting either send a letter to Shanes Castle Estates Co Ltd, The Estate Office, Shanes Castle, Antrim, Co. Antrim, BT41 4NE, call at 028 9442 8216, or email [email protected].
Temporary Citations:
http://merganser.math.gvsu.edu/myth/banshee.html
http://www.drakensang.com/banshees
http://atriptoireland.com/2013/06/12/the-banshee-of-the-oneills/http://www.antrim.gov.uk/Things-To-Do/Places-to-Visit/Shane-s-Castle
http://www.irishgameandcountryfair.com/
http://shanescastle.com/
http://www.gameofthronestours.com/n-ireland
The Banshee originated in Ireland and was initially called the Bean Sí, which translates from Irish to English into Fairy Mound, or Fairy Woman. As told in folklore, she is a female spirit whose wail precedes and predicts the death of someone. Typically the banshees cry is heard by a family or friend of the person who will soon be deceased to warn them to say their last good-byes. She is more often heard than seen, but if sighted the banshee usually appears as a woman in rags, or a woman washing blood out the clothing of the person about to die.
History:
While no one knows exactly where the banshee was first sighted beyond the understanding that the stories trace back to at least the eighth century, plenty of mythology and ideas surround the mystery of the banshee and its history. One popular theory suggests that banshees are the spirits of keeners. Keeners were women who were paid in alcohol to mourn at funerals and gravesides in order to increase the family’s stature in the community, as the Irish took into account the number of mourners at a member of the community’s funeral. Though, sometimes keeners were not hired to mourn, but to sing at the funeral or burial site. This song they sung was called a ‘caoine’, which can be translated into keening, hence the name of the women. All were paid in alcohol, however, which the church disapproved of, so the belief it that the keener women were cursed for their sins to forever sing in announcement of imminent death.
Another extremely well known theory, which is considered by some to be the very first story of a banshee, is the story of The Banshee of the O’Neils. This original theory adds to the idea that only the original Irish families, the O'Neils , O'Briens, O'Connors, O'Gradys and Kavanaghs, have banshees to protect and warn them. The story claims an early member of the O’Neal family, actual year and date unknown, found a cow trapped in the tangled weave of a hawthorn tree. The O’Neil freed the cow by cutting the branches of the tree, not realizing the tree was sacred to the Fairy Women. The Fairy Women were furious, and carried his daughter, who though named by legend Kathleen has no recorded name, down to the bottom of an unidentified Lough. The Fairy Women allowed the daughter to return, but only in the form of a spirit which would wail to announce an impending death.
Travel Information:
The castle of the O’Neils was a castle called Shane’s Castle which is now considered a haunted sight in Ireland. Located in Northern Ireland at Randalstown Road, Antrim BT41 4NE, United Kingdom, the castle burned down twice in its lifetime, leaving a rebuilt conservatory the only part of the castle that is still standing. The ruined grounds are typically not open to the public; however one of the two Great Game Fairs of Ireland, (The Irish Game Fair & Flavour Ireland Fine Food Festival), is held at Shane’s Castle every June. The dates vary, but typically the event happens on the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth of June. In addition, weddings are also licensed to take place place on the grounds 8000 acres pf farmland and 1000 acres of forest.
Currently the land is being used as a set for the highly popular HBO series Game of Thrones, so visits may want to be planned around when the show isn't being filmed, or when it is if one is interested in seeing some of the shows stars.
For further information it is recommended that those interested in visiting either send a letter to Shanes Castle Estates Co Ltd, The Estate Office, Shanes Castle, Antrim, Co. Antrim, BT41 4NE, call at 028 9442 8216, or email [email protected].
Temporary Citations:
http://merganser.math.gvsu.edu/myth/banshee.html
http://www.drakensang.com/banshees
http://atriptoireland.com/2013/06/12/the-banshee-of-the-oneills/http://www.antrim.gov.uk/Things-To-Do/Places-to-Visit/Shane-s-Castle
http://www.irishgameandcountryfair.com/
http://shanescastle.com/
http://www.gameofthronestours.com/n-ireland