The Banshee at Freighduff – by TJ Cunningham

Primary Children's Competition

The Banshee at Freighduff.

An account told by my grandmother, Maura O’Dwyer, Freighduff, Cashel. This story has been told by my great-grandmother Ellen Murphy and passed on to my grandmother.

It has been known that a Banshee walks up the Freighduff Boreen road at twelve o’ clock when there is a death around the Freighduff area. She crosses the road to the stile between Buckley’s house and Maura O’ Dwyer’s house. This is where the stile is located. This stile can never be removed or taken away and this is where she has been seen by my great-grandmother.

Our parents and grandparents have told us at certain months of the year that a man walking horses has been heard and history tells us that he has been seen in a shadow on this boreen. A story recalled was that one Christmas Eve a gathering was being held at Murphy’s house when the doorbell rang. This was midnight. Upon investigation, no one was there, but all that could be heard was horse footsteps and the smell of smoke.

Above are the steps the Banshee uses to cross over.

Story written by TJ Cunningham, 6th class, Boherlahan.