Rita Tighe - “Oh, so and so, is going to die” - Hearing and Seeing the Banshee in South Wicklow

I spent two and a half hours on the 21st of October 2021with this woman, Rita Tighe from Ballingate, a townsland between Bunclody and Carnew on the Wexford/Wicklow border. Here is a great account she gave me of seeing and hearing the banshee. The first account is of her mother calling her out of the bed as a child to listen to the banshee cross a field near their home, while the second story is of her uncle meeting the banshee on a bridge and him knowing some was dying. Again, I don’t care if you believe this or not, these are the stories and this is how they have had currency and survived in peoples lives. Just to point out, here in North Wexford and the borders of South Wicklow, the banshee was nearly always spotted at a bridge where the story goes she used the stream as a mirror when combing/racking her hair. Also note how she calls her 'The Bow' - which is particular to this part of Ireland. I recorded loads with Rita today but thought I’d share this little clip with you following yesterdays post about the banshee’s comb. Great stuff here. Text: Michael Fortune