Defiant Irish Women

Defiant Irish Women presents the stories of five Irish women remembered for ruthless actions, political cunning or violent resistance to the restrictive conventions of their times. Eddie Lenihan brings together history, legend and oral storytelling to examine how these figures entered Ireland’s cultural memory.

The subjects include Aoibheall, a banshee associated with County Clare; Máire Rua McMahon; Lady Betty; Moll Shaughnessy, linked with Spioraid na mBearnan; and Alice Kyteler. Their stories range from political and personal defiance to accounts shaped by folklore, showing how reputation, rebellion and legend became intertwined in Irish tradition.