Banshee: Irish Myths Retold
About this audiobook
In this spellbinding anthology, Ireland’s most electrifying female writers breathe new life into ancient Irish myths, reclaiming the stories of women who have too long stood in the shadows.
*An Irish Times bestseller and “One to Watch in 2026”*
*An Irish Examiner “Fiction to Watch Out for this Year”*
*One of Stellar.ie’s “20 Books We’re Dying to Read in 2026”*
Editor and journalist Ailbhe Malone was raised on these legends—but the women, always cast as mothers, warriors, or witches, were never given the lead. And so, Banshee was born: not just a retelling, but a radical reclamation.
Banshee transports you to treacherous landscapes and crashing seas, generational curses and mystical islands. Here you’ll find unruly mothers, rule-breaking queens, and women outrunning their destinies—their stories pulsing with desire, danger, and defiance.
With contributions from every corner of Irish literature, Banshee features luminous retellings by Naoise Dolan, Megan Nolan, Jess Kidd, Wendy Erskine, Nikita Gill, Sarah Maria Griffin, Jane Casey, Anne Griffin, Sheila O’Flanagan, and Salma El-Wardany. This is a celebration of womanhood—and an homage to the ancient stories that still shape us.
Discover more
About the author
Ailbhe Malone is a senior editor for The Strategist (New York Magazine) and she is also the author of two nonfiction books, 101 Tiny Changes to Brighten Your Day and 101 Tiny Changes to Brighten Your World. Ailbhe lives in Ireland.
Aoife McMahon, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is an Irish actress with extensive experience in theater and television. She won the 2002 Best Actress Gemini Award for Random Passage opposite Colm Meaney. She has also performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company at the Old Vic and has toured the United Kingdom with Goodnight Mister Tom.
Clara Harte is an in-demand narrator with a background in film and stage acting.
Aidan Kelly is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and a Dublin and London-based actor with extensive stage, film, television, and radio experience. He has appeared as Tom in the Druid Theatre’s production of The Good Father, directed by Garry Hynes for the Galway Arts Festival. He won the Irish Sunday Tribune Award for his performances in Howie the Rookie and Comedians.
Jane Casey is the author of the Maeve Kerrigan mystery series, the Jess Tennant mysteries, and several novels. She was born and raised in Dublin. She studied English at Jesus College, Oxford, followed by an mPhil in Anglo-Irish literature at Trinity College, Dublin. She lives in London, where she works as an editor.
Sheila O'Flanagan is the author of several books, including Someone Special, Bad Behaviour, and Yours, Faithfully, which have been huge bestsellers in the UK and Ireland. Prior to taking the decision to write full time, Sheila pursued a very successful career in banking and finance. In her spare time she plays competitive badminton and is currently a director of the Irish Sports Council.
Sarah Maria Griffin lives in Dublin in a small red brick house by the sea, with her husband and cat. She writes about monsters, growing up, and everything those two things have in common. Spare and Found Parts is her first novel.
Jess Kidd is the award-winning author of Murder at Gulls Nest, The Night Ship, Himself, Mr. Flood’s Last Resort, and Things in Jars. Learn more at JessKidd.com.
Nikita Gill is a poet and graphic designer living in London, UK.
Anne Griffin is the winner of the John McGahern Award for Literature. Shortlisted for the Hennessey New Irish Writing Award and The Sunday Business Post Short Story Competition, Anne’s work has been featured in, amongst others, The Irish Times and The Stinging Fly, and she had an eight year career at Waterstones. Anne lives in Ireland with her husband and son.
Naoise Dolan is an Irish writer born in Dublin. She studied English literature at Trinity College Dublin and Oxford University. Exciting Times is her first novel, an excerpt from which was published in The Stinging Fly by Sally Rooney.
Megan Nolan is the author of several books, including Acts of Desperation, the recipient of a Betty Trask Award, shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award, and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her essays and reviews have been published by the New York Times, White Review, the London Guardian, and Frieze, among others.
Salma El‐Wardany is a writer, poet, and BBC broadcaster. As a half‐Egyptian, half‐Irish woman her work focuses on telling the stories of women, especially women of color, that have for so long been ignored. She has contributed to the anthology It’s Not About the Burqa, and her writing has also appeared in Huffington Post, theMetro and she has given two TedxTalks.
