A fascinating look at one of the oldest and most mysterious characters in Irish folklore with enduring worldwide appeal-- The myth of the banshee is still alive and well in many parts of IrelandThis examination of the banshee, in Irish myth the female herald of death, is the first major study of a supernatural being from Irish tradition. Mining the evidence of folklore and literary sources from the Old Irish period to the present, Patricia Lysaght sheds light on the political, social, and cultural history of Ireland.