BANSHEE: Mythological Irish Women Retold

About the show

International Women's Week 2026 Readings and In Conversation event with Authors Ailbhe Malone, Jane Casey & Salma El-Wardany and Journalist Anne Flaherty
As part of International Women’s Week 2026, the ICC is delighted to present a special book event celebrating Banshee, a spellbinding new anthology that reclaims the women of Irish mythology.

Edited by journalist and author Ailbhe Malone, Banshee brings together ten of Ireland’s most electrifying female writers to breathe new life into ancient legends. Long cast as mothers, warriors, or witches on the margins of heroic tales, these women now take centre stage in stories of power, defiance, desire and destiny.

From treacherous landscapes and salt-crashing seas to generational curses and mystical islands, Banshee is alive with unruly mothers, rule-breaking queens and women outrunning fate. These are dark, lyrical and exhilarating retellings that feel both timeless and urgently modern.

On the night, editor Ailbhe Malone will be joined by bestselling author Jane Casey and critically acclaimed writer Salma El-Wardany for readings from the book and an in-conversation discussion exploring Celtic mythology, feminism and the radical act of letting women lead. The conversation will be steered by Journalist Anne Flaherty.

Copies of Banshee (published by John Murray Press) will be available for sale, followed by a book signing with all three authors.