Spirituality

RTE documentary revisits Ireland's last witch trial in Islandmagee from 1711

Dr Marie Cassidy Investigates Ireland's Last Witch Trial, a new one-hour documentary, airs on RTE One on Thursday 29 October at 10.15pm, examining a 1711 case in Islandmagee, County Antrim where eight women faced charges of witchcraft, RTE.ie reports.

The case began when 18-year-old Mary Dunbar claimed to be possessed by demons and named eight local women as responsible for her torment, according to ATV Today. The eight were arrested and found guilty in a trial that drew widespread attention, loveballymena.online reports.

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Pillory sentences and an uncertain fate#

The women received a year-long prison term plus four market day pillory sessions, during which the public could throw objects at those restrained, ATV Today reports. The fates of the women following their sentences are unclear, according to ATV Today.

Such punishment could cause serious injuries, and historical records do not establish whether the Islandmagee women survived, loveballymena.online reports. The accusations caused considerable alarm among the Ulster-Scots Presbyterian community living on the peninsula, about 20 miles north of Belfast, per loveballymena.online.

Cassidy's journey from Dublin to Islandmagee#

Cassidy served as Ireland's State Pathologist for 14 years and applies a modern scientific perspective to the convictions, ATV Today reports. The documentary follows her to Dublin, Edinburgh, Belfast and Islandmagee, where she meets historians exploring beliefs around witchcraft in Gaelic Ireland and Scots Presbyterian tradition, per ATV Today.

She also speaks with Witches of Scotland podcasters and campaigners Claire Mitchell KC and Zoe Venditozzi about the influence of Scottish witch trials on the Islandmagee case, and with Dr Andrew Sneddon, an authority on the trial who examines arguments for and against the women's conviction, ATV Today reports. RTE.ie notes Cassidy examined a rare edition of Daemonologie, a book on witchcraft written by King James VI of Scotland, at the National Library of Scotland.

A rare trial in Ireland's history#

Although witch trials were relatively rare in Ireland, the Ulster-Scots Presbyterian community took the claims of demonic possession seriously during an era when anxieties about witchcraft gripped much of Europe and America, ATV Today reports. The proceedings attracted substantial public attention and sparked considerable debate, marking Ireland's final instance of such a prosecution, loveballymena.online reports.

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