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LA INQUIETANTE BANSHEE

Existen varias definiciones y varias versiones de lo que en sus orígenes fue una Banshee. La primera versión de este ser es el fantasma de una mujer joven que fue brutalmente asesinada y murió de forma tan terrible que su espíritu se quedó vagando por el mundo, vigilando a su familia y a sus seres queridos, avisándoles cuando una muerte violenta va a ser inminente.
Otro tipo de banshee es el que se aparece en la figura de una vieja vestida con harapos, el pelo sucio y gris, uñas larguísimas y dientes afilados y podridos. Sus ojos parecen inyectados en sangre y llenos de tal odio y tristeza que mirarlos causa la muerte inmediata. La boca de la Banshee está permanentemente abierta mientras emite un grito profundo y doloroso para torturar a las almas de los vivos.
Cuenta la leyenda que hay algunas Banshees que disfrutan quitando la vida y acosan a sus víctimas, gimiendo y gritando en su oído hasta el punto de que la víctima se vuelve loca o muere. Se dice que la Banshee ha quitado la vida a muchos hombres valerosos con sus propias manos. Verdad o leyenda, este es el tipo de Banshee que se representa en las películas de terror de Hollywood.

Pero en Irlanda del Norte hay una visión de la Banshee menos terrorífica aunque igualmente inquietante. Se la relaciona normalmente con familias y clanes cuyo nombre comienza por la letra "O", o por "Mc" en su apellido, como O´Brien, Mcneill, etc. Y efectivamente predice la muerte en la familia.
La Banshee no trae la muerte a la familia sino que avisa de que esta muerte está cerca y da a la familia la oportunidad de prepararse para el acontecimiento. No se trata siempre de una muerte violenta, sino que puede ocurrir también por vejez. Ella permanece en el lugar del suceso vigilante para asegurarse de que el familiar llega "sano y salvo" al más allá. Nadie desea la visita de una Banshee por seductora que pueda ser. La Banshee existe para cumplir un objetivo, el hacer saber a la familia que debe mentalizarse e iniciar los preparativos para un funeral tradicional.

Hay muchas historias locales que hablan de Banshees en toda Irlanda del Norte, pero hay una localidad, Londonderry, donde son especialmente comunes. 
Una de estas historias data de finales de 1940. Ocurrió en Fulton Place, por aquel entonces una calle lateral que salía de la antigua calle Howard y llegaba hasta el cementerio de la iglesia de Santa Columba. Cierto invierno, un residente de avanzada edad de esta calle cayó enfermo repentinamente y se vio obligado a guardar cama. Días más tarde unos cuervos se posaron en la calle en frente de la casa de este vecino y empezaron a comerse unas migas de pan que había en el suelo. Algunas personas que en ese momento se encontraban visitando al enfermo salieron inmediatamente de la casa y ahuyentaron a los cuervos. Esa misma noche el hombre empeoró y llamaron a un sacerdote para que le diera la extremaunción. Poco después una de los visitantes más jóvenes oyó cómo alguien llamaba a la puerta trasera de la casa. Preguntó si alguien más lo había oído pero la respuesta fue negativa. De nuevo se repitió la llamada, pero esta vez seguida de un quejido apenas audible. Una mujer vieja que estaba sentada al otro lado de la habitación, dijo “él no encontrará descanso hasta que la puerta se haya abierto."
La joven se acercó a la puerta y la abrió. En ese momento lanzó un grito y se desmayó. La gente que estaba dentro de la casa fue corriendo y la encontraron en el suelo en estado de shock. La llevaron a una habitación para calmarla y le preguntaron qué había pasado. La joven explicó: “Cuando abrí la puerta y miré al otro lado del patio pude ver a una mujer vieja con el pelo largo y blanco y un vestido también blanco. Parecía estar llorando y gimiendo y retorciéndose las manos. Comenzó a acercarse a la puerta, grité y ella se desvaneció.” Aquella misma noche el anciano murió.  La gente que le acompañaba aquella tarde, dijo que la casa había sido visitada por una banshee.

Otra historia en la misma zona y en el mismo periodo de tiempo fue narrada por un habitante de Bogside. Tenía que ver con su padre y uno de sus hijos.
El abuelo había estado durante muchos días sufriendo terribles dolores a causa de lo que creían era un dolor de muelas. Mientras discutía con su mujer sobre si visitar o no al dentista, mencionó que había visto una enorme sábana blanca colgando de una de las ventanas del piso de arriba, en una de las casas vecinas. Su mujer, que conocía particularmente bien a aquella vecina, le extrañó que colgara la ropa a secar en la ventana que daba a la calle principal.
Al día siguiente su hijo se le acercó, parecía muy agitado y le contó una experiencia que había tenido la noche anterior. Había escuchado una especie de quejido muy peculiar que venía del otro lado de la calle. Cuando se asomó para ver qué era vio lo que parecía ser una niña pequeña sentada bajo el alféizar de una ventana, llorando. Bajó a la calle para comprobar qué estaba pasando y allí, sentada bajo la misma ventana, vio a una mujer encogida, vieja y arrugada como una pasa. Gemía desconsoladamente. Él le tendió la mano pero ella inmediatamente se levantó y salió corriendo. El hombre quedó aterrorizado del contraste que mostraba su figura de niña con su grotesca apariencia de vieja. Convencido de haber visto a una banshee, apremió a su madre para que llamara a un doctor que visitara a su abuelo lo antes posible. Desgraciadamente llegó demasiado tarde y el doctor no pudo hacer nada. Un par de noches después del incidente, su abuelo falleció. Hasta hoy la familia está convencida de que su abuelo vio su propia mortaja en la "sábana blanca" que colgaba de la casa de la vecina y que el encuentro de su hijo con la Banshee predijo la muerte inminente.

Una de las leyendas mas famosas que hablan de la Banshee es la de Finvola, la Joya del Rio Roe. Finvola, la joven y bella hija de Dermot, el jefe de los O´Cahans, se enamoró de Angus McDonnell del clan de los McDonnell de las islas occidentales de Escocia. Dermot consintió el matrimonio con la condición de que a la muerte de su hija, ésta sería traída de vuelta a Dungiven para su enterramiento. Trágicamente, Finvola murió muy joven, poco después de llegar a la isla de Islay.  Destrozado por el dolor, Angus no quiso alejarse de ella y la enterró en la isla. En la Montaña de Benbradagh, los dos hermanos de Finvola escucharon un gemido desgarrador y reconocieron en él la llamada de la Banshee y en ese momento supieron que un miembro de su clan había muerto. Tras descubrir de vuelta a casa que todos los familiares estaban bien, los hermanos se echaron a la mar para dirigirse a Islay. El grito de la Banshee continuó sin descanso día y noche hasta que los hermanos llegaron a la isla donde les confirmaron la noticia de la muerte de su hermana. Amparados por la oscuridad de la noche recuperaron el cuerpo de Finvola y la llevaron de vuelta a Dungiven, consiguiendo que el grito de la Banhsee desapareciera. La historia de Finvola está reproducida en las esculturas de La Trilogía de la Joya del Roe, situadas en el exterior del castillo de Dungiven; la primera representa a Finvola en brazos de Angus, la segunda el lamento de la banshee y la tercera los hermanos de Finvola buscándola.

Este es el final de la historia de Fínvola, pero no todo queda aquí en lo que respecta a los misterios que rodean el mundo de las Banshees. En toda leyenda y mito hay una cara oculta, y en esta la cara oculta es incluso más terrorífica, !pues la Banshee tiene una hermana! Mientras que la banshee está considerada, en general, como un ser benigno, supuestamente tiene una fuerza hermana que no lo es tanto; esta fuerza se llama Lianhan Sidhe y su único propósito es buscar el amor de los hombres a los que atrae. Éstos, obnubilados por su atractivo, terminan aniquilados.  

Pero posiblemente la leyenda sobre Banshees más famosa en toda Irlanda del Norte sea la leyenda de la Banshee del impresionante Castillo de Dunluce.
Las adustas ruinas del castillo de Dunluce se levantan en un perfecto aislamiento sobre un acantilado que se refleja en el Atlántico. Este castillo ha sido descrito y elogiado  por Sir Walter Scott en una de sus novelas, bajo un nombre diferente. Los detalles de la historia sobre la construcción original del castillo se han perdido en las brumas del pasado, primero estuvo en manos del clan de los McQuillans y luego pasó a manos de los McDonnells. Tras muchas vicisitudes el castillo terminó, finalmente, siendo propiedad de los ingleses en el siglo XVI. Lord Antrim residió aquí hasta la revolución del año 1641, pero poco después una de las habitaciones se derrumbó, cayendo enteramente al mar y arrastrando consigo a nueve personas. Poco después el castillo fue abandonado. Desde entonces ha permanecido en ruinas.
Sólo se conservan dos de las torres originales, la torre McQuillan y la torre Roe, llamada así por Maive Roe, una Banshee (o fantasma) con espíritu de hada cuyo gemido, según se dice, aún puede oírse en invierno durante las noches de tormenta. La Banshee aún mantiene su habitación escrupulosamente limpia, en espera del retorno de los McQuillans.
Esta notable ruina ha sido declarada por el gobierno de Irlanda del Norte “Monumento Antiguo” y los guías explican su legendaria historia. Aquí sin embargo vamos a contar la historia más oculta del castillo, la de la Banshee y la terrible historia de Maive Roe.

Son muchas las leyendas que se cuentan acerca de Dunluce y sus primeros dueños. La más antigua y popular es la de Maive Roe, la encantadora hija de McQuillan, que adoraba a su padre hasta que llegó el día en que éste introdujo en su vida a su pariente Rory Oge con la intención de convertirle en su futuro marido. En el momento de las presentaciones la joven se quedó mirando a los dos hombres, paralizada de horror. Y llorando, dijo: “!No puedo, no lo haré! !Por favor no me lo pidas!”, y salió corriendo de la habitación. Sin que su padre lo supiera, ella ya había prometido casarse con Reginald O´Cahan, hijo del jefe de un clan enemigo. Le había conocido poco antes, cuando éste se encontraba prisionero en el castillo. Su cultura y sus modales de caballero fino y elegante se habían ganado completamente el corazón de Maive. Su padre nunca había imaginado que ella amara a otro hombre, y se enfureció muchísimo por su comportamiento ante Rory Oge; pero éste, que era más perspicaz, sospechó que existía un rival. A través de sus espías pronto descubrió que Maive y O´Cahan se encontraban con frecuencia bajo el “Arco de los Deseos”. Se lo comunicó al padre de ésta, quien, en un ataque de rabia encerró a Maive en la habitación de una torre, diciéndole que permanecería allí hasta que aceptara casarse con Rory Oge. “La prisión, incluso la muerte, sería preferible a eso”, respondió ella. No se permitió a nadie hablar con ella y aunque los sirvientes sentían un gran afecto por la joven, no se atrevieron a desobedecer a su fiero amo. Al cabo de una semana, McQuillan fue a ver si había cambiado de opinión, y se alegró al verla cosiendo un vestido blanco. “¡Ah!”, dijo su padre, “¿tu vestido de novia?”. “¡No! ¡Mi mortaja!”, respondió ella. Por dos veces más se repitió la misma escena. En la tercera visita, perdiendo su padre la paciencia, cogió McQuillan una escoba y se la lanzó diciendo “Entonces barre tus propias habitaciones, si es que prefieres eso a convertirte en una dama honorable, !los sirvientes no estarán a tu disposición nunca más!”

En la siguiente visita de McQuillan, este vio el vestido acabado y dijo: “Así que el vestido de novia está preparado!”, “Sí”, dijo ella, “mi mortaja está preparada”. Estas palabras se clavaron en el corazón de McQuillan con gran temor. Él la quería, y sufría al verla tan triste. Su padre entonces trató entonces de concebir un plan por el que ella y O´Cahan pudieran verse y escapar sin herir u ofender a su pariente. Se hizo llegar a Reginald el mensaje de que cierta tarde el señor había salido y la puerta de Maive estaría abierta. Ella no tenia ninguna sospecha del plan que su padre había fraguado y ese día se sentía particularmente desdichada. Al llegar la tarde se vistió con el vestido blanco y se situó al lado de la ventana, observando. De repente vio con terror que su padre y sus hombres dejaban el castillo probablemente para llevar a cabo una de sus sangrientas incursiones que ocurrían con demasiada frecuencia. Seguro que esta vez era para matar a su Reginald. Justo entonces escuchó que se abría la puerta y una voz susurraba: “Sígueme, O´Cahan te espera en la cueva”. No necesitó una segunda invitación. Siguió a la voz y encontró a Reginald en un barco. Subió a él y remaron intentando llegar a Portrush.
La noche era oscura, una tormenta se avecinaba rápidamente y cada vez era más difícil avanzar. Mientras tanto McQuillan había regresado para ver si su plan había prosperado. Desde el muro del castillo contempló el barco luchando contra el encrespado mar, y pudo distinguir a Maive con su vestido blanco. Sus palabras volvieron a su memoria. “La mortaja. !La mortaja!”, gritó, y bajando a la costa ordenó que se botara su propio barco para acudir al rescate y ofreció la mitad de sus posesiones a quien pudiera rescatar a Maive de la tormenta. Pero todo fue en vano; la fuerza humana no tenía ninguna posibilidad contra aquel mar enfurecido y la última vez que vio a Maive fue cuando el barco volcó y a Reginald intentando nadar con ella en brazos hacia la orilla de la playa de White Rocks. La mañana siguiente el cuerpo de Reginald fue encontrado en la orilla, pero Maive nunca más fue vista. Durante muchos años después miembros de la familia aseguraron que el grito de Maive se escuchaba justo antes de que una nueva muerte aconteciera en la familia, tal y como haría una Banshee.

Algún tiempo después, hacia el año 1635, cuando el castillo ya había pasado a manos de los MacDonnells, Randal MacDonnell, primer conde de Antrim, casado con la duquesa de Buckinham (viuda de George Villiers, el duque que fue asesinado) llevó a su esposa al castillo de Dunluce donde vivieron hasta 1641. Fue durante esta época cuando parte del castillo cayó al mar. Una tarde de Diciembre mientras ella atendía durante una gran fiesta a la nobleza y demás aristocracia un ruido extraño y sordo se oyó desde la zona norte. Todos corrieron a ver qué era y para su espanto pudieron contemplar que una gran parte de la cocina, con nueve sirvientes, la cena, la valiosa vajilla y todo lo que allí se encontraba había caído al mar. Un calderero, que estaba sentado en una de las ventanas arreglando una caldera, fue el único superviviente. Aún se enseña a los turistas “La Ventana del Calderero”. Este hombre explicó que justo antes de que la cocina se cayese al mar, se escuchó un terrible gemido proveniente del interior del castillo. Segundos después nueve personas perdían la vida. Nosotros pensamos que quizás fuera Maive, reclamando compañía para sus solitarias y frías noches en el castillo de Dunluce.
Bajo la colina existe una enorme cueva, a través de la cual el castillo recibía el aprovisionamiento en tiempos de sitio. Cerca de ella se levanta La “Colina Gallows”, desde donde el señor administraba una justicia cruel pero efectiva, historia que es mejor dejar para más adelante, cuando no estemos hablando de Banshees. Gradualmente, tras estos hechos el lugar entró en decadencia y dejó de utilizarse. 

La antigua iglesia de Dunluce, ahora un montón de ruinas pero antiguamente un edificio muy importante, está supuestamente conectado con el castillo por un pasadizo subterráneo. Cuenta la tradición que algunos marineros que se hundieron con la Armada Española están aquí enterrados en tumbas sin nombre. Sin ninguna duda en aquella triste noche en la que las crueles costas de Antrim se cobraron la vida de tantos marineros españoles a bordo del Girona, el sonido de las olas rompiendo contra las rocas y los gritos y lamentos de estos pobres hombres, enfrentándose a un terrible destino en las heladas aguas de Irlanda del Norte, fueron los únicos sonidos capaces de ahogar el grito de una Banshee.

Bea H.


IN ENGLISH!!!


THE OMINOUS BANSHEE

With regards to the origins of the dreaded creature known as The Banshee there are several versions throughout history all claiming to have witnessed her first ominous and potentially deadly appearance! The first version of the Banshee describes her as being the ghost of a young woman who was brutally murdered and she died in such a horrible way that her spirit remained behind in the world of the living, wandering the world and watching over her family and loved ones, destined to warn them when a violent death was going to take place.
Another account describes the Banshee as a frightening apparition which appears in the shape of an old witch-like woman dressed in tattered rags and having long, grey and dirty hair. She was also said to have very long fingernails and rotten sharpened teeth. She has bloodshot eyes which are filled with so much hatred and sorrow that looking into them causes sudden death. The mouth of this Banshee is permanently open in a constant deep and painful scream which is meant to torture the souls of the living.
The early legends also say that there are some Banshees who actually thirst for blood and enjoy killing people, harassing and torturing their victims by constantly moaning and screaming in their ear to the point at which the target of their cruelty ends up at least going mad and at worst dying.    
It is said that the Banshee has attacked and killed very brave men with only the means of her own crooked hands. Whether this is true or not it is the version which is most represented by directors in Hollywood when they are making horror movies based on Banshees.

In Northern Ireland, however, there is a version of the Banshee which is much less physically dreadful, but at the same time absolutely just as ominously horrifying. For some reason she is usually associated with families and clans whose surnames begin with the letter "O" or "Mc", such as O´Brien, McNeill, etc. And indeed she appears just before an unfortunate member of any of these families is going to die. Unlike the murderous versions of the Banshee previously mentioned, in this instance the Banshee does not actually inflict the death upon family, but instead warns them that Death is very close, cannot be avoided and she gives the family an opportunity to prepare for the tragic circumstances. Emphasising the more ominous nature of this Banshee's appearance rather than a brutal one it has to be said that the person's passing away is not always a case of a violent death. It can also occur simply due to old age. The Banshee in this instance stays in the place where the death is going to happen and watches over the events to make sure the family member reaches the "beyond" safe and sound. 
Horrific murderous version or kinder but no less ominous creature, no one ever hopes or wishes to receive the visit from a Banshee, no matter how tempting she can be as it has also been said that this harbinger of death can take the appearance of a beautiful young woman but bathed in a terrifying aura. Beautiful or horrific looking, the Banshee is there to fulfil only one unwanted objective, to let a family know that they are surely going to encounter death and to therefore make ready all preparations for a traditional funeral.

There are many local stories which all talk about Banshees being found and experienced all over Northern Ireland, but there is one place in particular, Londonderry, where they are especially common. One of these stories goes back to the end of 1940. It happened in Fulton Place, back then a lateral street that emerged from the old Howard street and reached the graveyard at St. Columb´s cathedral. During the harsh winter of this year a very old male resident in Fulton Place suddenly took ill and was forced to stay in his bed. Several days later some crows landed in the street in front of the old man's neighbour´s house and they began to eat some bread crumbs which had been scattered around the ground. That same night the man got worse and his family fearing the worst called a priest to give him the last rites. The priest arrived and comforted the old man in his last moments, when just then one of the youngest visitors heard a sound as if someone was knocking on the back door. She asked if anyone else had heard the knocking but the answer from everyone else in the room was no. Once again the knocking on the door happened, but this time it was accompanied by a barely audible moan. An old woman who was sitting on the other side of the room lifted her head and said "He will not find peace until that door has been opened".
The young girl at last confident that someone else had heard the knocking went to the door and opened it. Upon doing so she was said to have screamed and fainted. The other people who were inside the house went running to the open door and found her lying on the floor next to it in a state of shock. They took her to a separate room to calm her down and asked her what on earth had happened. Eventually when she could talk again, the young girl explained "When I opened the door there was no one there, but I then looked towards the other side of the yard and there I could see an old woman dressed in white with long white hair. She seemed to be weeping and moaning and twisting her hands. She then started to approach the door and when I screamed and collapsed I saw her disappear before I passed out".
That same night the old man died. The people who had gathered around him had no doubt that his house had been visited by a Banshee, and just as terrifying was the fact that the old woman who had told the young girl that she had better answer the door was nowhere to be seen, and during following conversations none of those present could actually say that any of them knew who she was!! 

Another story involving the same area and occurring around the same period of time was delivered by a resident of the area in Londonderry  known as The Bogside. This account was related with the resident's grandfather and one of the same man's sons. The grandfather had been suffering terrible pains in his head for several days due to what all who knew him had thought was simply a toothache. While he was discussing with his wife whether or not he should go to the dentist, the grandfather mentioned that he had seen a huge white sheet hanging from one of the upstairs windows of his neighbours house. His wife knew the neighbour well, she was accustomed to knowing all her daily habits, another term for being very nosey, and she was surprised as to why she would hang clothes to dry from a window that overlooked the main street, and on a day when it had been forecast to rain!
The next day his son approached him. He seemed very agitated and told his father about an experience he'd had the night before. He heard some sort of moan coming from the other side of the same street. When he looked through his window he saw what looked like a small child sitting in that street under the neighbours windowsill crying sorely and constantly. He rushed down to the street to see what was happening with the child and he saw, instead of the child, sitting under the same window, an old woman with a very wrinkled face. She continued to cry desperately. He bravely tried to give her his hand in some effort to comfort her, but she stood up and floated off very quickly. 
For some reason the son had been convinced that he had seen a Banshee! It was definitely a child that he had first looked out on from his window, the cries were of a young person in distress and he could see even in the darkness that it was not the old dishevelled crone who he discovered when he crossed the street to help her. He insisted that his mother call a doctor right away and that the medic should visit his grandfather as soon as possible. The doctor did so, but upon reaching the old man he discovered that he was too late, the toothache he thought he was experiencing must have been some form of imminent brain haemorrhage and nothing could be done for the poor gentleman. Two nights later the grandfather died. Until this day the Bogside family is convinced that the old man had seen his own shroud when he thought he had seen his neighbours bed sheet hanging from her window and the encounter of his grandson with the Banshee predicted the grandfather's imminent death.

One of the most famous Ulster legends that involves a Banshee is the one which talks of Finvola, The Gem of the Roe river. Finvola, the young and beautiful daughter of Dermot, the chief of the O'Cahans, fell in love with Angus McDonnell from the clan of the McDonnells who hailed from the western isles of Scotland. Dermot accepted the marriage between Finvola and Angus with the absolute condition that in unforeseen case of the death of his beautiful daughter occurring while she was on the Scottish Isles, she was to be brought back to Dungiven for a proper O'Cahan funeral and burial in her own land. Tragically, Finvola did indeed die not long afterwards, very young and upon arriving on the island of Islay. Destroyed by the inevitable sorrow, Angus did not want to let go of her body and ignoring Finvola's father's wishes he buried her on the island of Islay. While out hunting on the Mountain of Benbradagh, the two brothers of Finvola together heard a heartbreaking moan and recognised it as the unmistakable bloodcurdling scream of a Banshee,and each brother was in no doubt that at that moment a member of their clan or worse, family, had passed away. After reaching their home and discovering that the resident family were all safe and sound, they obviously then thought of Finvola and feared the worst! The terrifying screaming of the Banshee continued night and day and the the brothers set sail to the island of Islay where they were heartbroken to discover that their sister had indeed died and been buried against their father's wishes on the island.Under cover of darkness they recuperated the body of Finvola and brought it back with them to Dungiven. Her body was buried in the O'Cahan family burial grounds and once she had been laid to rest where she was supposed to lie for eternity, only then did the  screaming of the Banshee dissappear once and for all. Finvola's legend is reproduced in the 'Trilogy of The Gem of the Roe' sculptures situated at the exterior of Dungiven Castle; the first sculpture represents Finvola being embraced by Angus, the second represents the scream of the Banshee and the third one shows Finvola´s brothers looking for her.

That might end the story of Finvola, but it most definitely does not end the twists and turns of legends involving the Banshee, because like every good myth there is another dark side (actually in this case, darker); when it becomes knowledge that the Banshee does not necessarily terrify the living on her own, a Banshee can have a sister! While the original Banshee is considered, in general, to be a benign being albeit in a terrifying way, she is said to also have  a sister who is not so benevolent. This creature sister is called Lianhan Sidhe and her only purpose in existence is to search for and attract gullible men who she will undoubtedly allow to fall in love with her, a love which these men, blinded by her beauty, will end up leading to their slaughter. When Lianhan Sidhe is casting her spells there is nothing her sister can do in this instance to forewarn men of their impending doom, their fate is sealed and there is nothing even a Banshee can do to prevent them knowing that their death is imminent, Lianhan Sidhe is one sister who won't let the other get between her and her man!

But, without doubt, the most famous Banshee of them all is the one that features the story of the Antrim coast's Dunluce castle.
The jagged ruins of Dunluce castle rise in perfect isolation atop a cliff which looks towards the Atlantic ocean, an ocean whose power constantly crashes against the base of the monument and contributed to the erosion which saw part of the structure collapse. This castle has been described and commended by Sir Walter Scott using a different name in one of his novels. The details of the original building of this castle have been lost in the mist of times; it was first owned by the clan of the McQuillans and then it passed onto the McDonnel family. After many problems the castle finally ended up being the property of the English in the 16th century. Lord Antrim resided here until the revolution in 1641, but not long after during a particularly violent storm, one of the rooms closest to the sea collapsed under the eroded cliff, falling in its entirety to the sea and dragging with it nine people to their watery graves. Shortly afterwards the castle was abandoned. Since then it has remained in ruins.
Only two of the original towers remain, the tower McQuillan and the Tower Roe, named as such in honour of Maive Roe, the resident Banshee of Dunluce Castle, a banshee with a fairy spirit whose cries, it is said, can still be heard througout the remains during the winter on cold and harsh stormy nights. Maive Roe continues to keeps her room carefully clean, waiting for the McQuillans to return.
There are many stories about Dunluce castle and its first owners. The oldest of them all is one which talks about Maive, the lovely and beautiful daughter of the castle's owner McQuillan. Maive worshiped her dad until one day her father introduced her to Rory Oge, the moment in her life when she realised that disappointment was a reality as the man she had looked up to all her life had suddenly rocked hers with the intention of seeing her married to Rory! When the presentations had taken place she was left in a state of shock, horrified at the idea of marrying a man she knew nothing about and she begged her father to not allow this to happen. What her father did not know was that Maive had already promised herself to Reginald O'Cahan, the son of a chief from an enemy clan. She had met him not long ago, when he was actually being kept prisoner in the castle. Maive had visited him at his cell door and Reginald's culture and his manners of a gentleman had won her heart. Her father had never imagined that she could love a man like this and he became exceptionally angry because of her behaviour regarding his proposal that she should marry Rory Oge, although it wasn't revealed at that time that Maive actually loved someone else; but Rory was much more perceptive and suspected that a rival existed. Utilising his network of spies he soon discovered that Maive and O'Cahan were lovers and they met frequently under the "Arch of Wishes". He relayed his findings to Maive's father who in a massive rage attack locked her away in a room in one of the Dunluce Castle towers, telling her that she would stay right here until she accepted that she was to be married to Rory Oge. "This prison, even death, is preferable to marrying that man", she cried. Nobody was allowed to talk to her and although the servants felt love and affection for Maive, none of them dared disobey the Chief´s orders. After a week had passed, McQuillan went to see if his daughter had changed her mind and became very happy upon looking through the door of her cell to see her sewing a white dress. "Is that your wedding dress?" he asked. Maive slowly looked up from her sewing and with sad and sorrowfull eyes she simply answered "No father, this is my shroud". Not taking his daughter's words seriously twice more McQuillan went to see if Maive had changed her mind. On the third visit, upon being met with her same response, McQuillan lost his temper, took a brush and threw it towards his daughter shouting "clean your own room as from now you will be treated exactly the same as a servant". 
Calming down he returned several more times but he was always met with the same response "My shroud is ready father". It was heartbreaking for the chief seeing her daughter so sad. 
Her father then reluctantly tried to conceive a plan so that he could send Reginald a message in order that he and his daughter could escape together without offending her supposed future husband and his clan . The message read that at a certain date and time the chief would be out and Maive´s door would be left open. Maive was actually unaware of her Father´s plan, and on the day of the proposed escape, a day when she was feeling particularly sad,  she put on the white dress and stood beside the window of the tower which had been imprisoning her. She suddenly saw her father and his men leaving the castle, where she was concerned probably to carry on with one of their bloody incursions into enemy clan territory which happened too frequently. She was sure that this time the objective of the incursion would be Reginald. However just at that moment she heard her cell door opening slightly and a voice whispering "Follow me, O´Cahan awaits you in the cave". Maive did not hesitate and followed the voice, finding Reginald eagerly awaiting her arrival onboard a small rowing boat. She got into the boat with him and they rowed with the intention of reaching Portrush.
It was a dark night and a storm was dangerously approaching making it more and more difficult to keep going. In the meantime McQuillan had come back to see if his plan had worked out. From the castle walls he saw the boat fighting with the troubled sea and he could make out Maive wearing her white dress. Her words came flooding back into his head "The shroud!The shroud!" and rushing down to the shore he boarded his own boat in an attempt to save his daughter, offering half his possessions to anyone who could rescue Maive from the storm that had gradually worsened. But all efforts were in vain; human strength could not compete against that fierce sea and the last time that he saw Maive was when her boat keeled over. Reginald tried to swim towards the White Rocks beach with Maive in his arms. Next morning Reginald´s body was found on the beach but nobody ever saw Maive again. However for many years after McQuillan family members said that her very distinctive scream could be heard just before a death occurred in the family, just like a Banshee's could be heard. 

Some time later, around 1635, when the castle was already the property of another family, the MacDonnells, Randal McDonnell, the first Count of Antrim who was married to the Duchess of Buckinham took his wife to Dunluce castle where they lived until 1641. It was during this time when part of the castle fell onto the sea. On an evening during the month of December while they were celebrating a party with some aristocrats, the MacDonnells all thought they heard a strange noise from the north area of the castle. All of them ran to see what had happened and with horror they saw that part of the kitchen together with nine servants, all the cutlery and the dinner had fallen into the sea. A boilermaker who was repairing some boilers sitting on a window was the only survivor. Even today we can still see "The window of the Boilermaker". This survivor's only real memory of the incident was that the noise of the building collapsing around him and crashing to the sea below was preempted by a bloodcurdling scream which he associated with the warning of a Banshee that death was about to ensue, and moments later the structure disintegrated and left 9 people dead! Maive had tried and failed, and now had company on her lonely Dunluce nights! Maybe that's what she wanted all along!
Under the hill on which the castle sits on exists a huge cave through which the castle used to receive provisions in times of war. Close to it we can find the Gallows Hill from which the chief used to administrate a cruel but effective justice, the descriptions of which are best left for another story not focusing on Banshees. Gradually, after all these events the castle started to become abandoned and eventually stopped being used altogether. 

The old Dunluce church which faces it on the other side of the road, now just an equal ruin, is supposedly connected with the castle through an underground passage. The tradition says that some of the sailors who were drowned off the Antrim coast with the Spanish Armada are buried in this Church's graveyard in unmarked graves. The night the Girona floundered under Dunluce's violent stormy seas the sound of crashing waves and the screams of dying sailors would have been the only thing louder than the wail of the Banshee.

Bea H.