A Bewitched Land: Ireland's Witches

Bob Curran examines Ireland’s relatively few witchcraft prosecutions alongside the stories of people branded witches, sorcerers or wise women. The book recounts four notable cases, including Dame Alice Kyteler’s 14th-century Kilkenny proceedings, the Islandmagee accusations, Florence Newton’s 17th-century case and the death of Bridget Cleary in the 19th century.

Alongside these legal records are accounts of hedge witches, cunning figures and other people associated with healing, curses or supposed dealings with dark forces. Curran also considers how beliefs about witchcraft intersected with Ireland’s extensive fairy lore, showing how accusations, local traditions and supernatural explanations became entwined in the historical record.