A talk by historian Dr Gillian Kenny on the banshee, Ireland's legendary death messenger, and her link to grief and women's history, with a Q&A.
The Banshee in Irish Folklore: Folklore, history, gender and belief comes to 21Soho on Tuesday 20 October, a talk by historian Dr Gillian Kenny that looks at one of Ireland's most enduring legends. Most of us know the basic shape of the banshee — the wailing woman who heralds a death in the family — but Kenny takes it further, tracing the figure from medieval sources right through to twentieth-century family memory.
It's not just a history of the myth, though. The talk connects the banshee to grief, folklore and the lives of women in Irish history, looking at how the figure reflects Ireland's expectations of women and how her eerie cry ties back to old Irish mourning traditions. It's the kind of thing that starts with a ghost story and ends up being about how people actually lived and grieved.
There's a Q&A session after the talk, so you'll have a chance to ask questions and keep the conversation going. The whole thing runs for two and a half hours, with the talk starting at 7:00 PM. It's for ages 18 and over, and the venue is wheelchair accessible.
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Tickets are £16.00, and you'll find 21Soho at 5 Three Kings Yard, City of Westminster, London, W1K 4JR.
