91Èȱ¬

Is in Oileán Mhic Aodha in 1711 a tharla an t-aon olltriail in Éirinn maidir le hasarlaíocht. Cuireadh i leith ochtar ban agus fear amháin gur chuir siad cailín aimsire óg, Mary Dunbar, faoi gheasa. Chreid lonnaitheoirí na hUltaise go mbíodh an diabhal féin ag smúrthacht thart agus cuma mná air. Is baintrí iad na mná a cúisíodh, é sin nó bhí cuma dhamanta orthu, bhíodh siad ag ól agus ag caitheamh, agus ceapadh go raibh siad trodach agus achrannach nuair a rinne siad iarracht iad féin a chosaint.

In 1711, young Mary Dunbar goes to stay as a companion in the home of a recently deceased woman in the tiny peninsula of Islandmagee. Supernatural hauntings, which have already been known to inhabit this house, reoccur.

Mary accuses eight local women and one man of supernatural persecution. The eight accused women, however, fitted a typical profile: they were ‘believable’ witches in that they had reputations for troublesome behaviour and were either argumentative, widowed, aggressive or somewhat ‘diabolical’ in appearance.

As the infamous trial unfolds, Mary Dunbar becomes the centre of attention, and the women are found guilty of persecution. Though not put to death, they spend a year and a day in prison and are subjected to the public humiliation of the pillory stocks, four times during the year. Even today, their names have still not been cleared.