Crumbled and overgrown, Cullohill Castle is no longer the seat of great deeds. But local legends tell of a tyrant queen who killed lovers nightly, and terrorized the area. The legend may now be almost forgotten – but people nearby still recall. For who could forget the terror of Sheela na Guira?

Read the Podcast Script

Sources and Further Reading

I’d like to thank Eugene Shortt, Derek Ryan who runs The Tipperary Antiquarian Blog and facebook page, and my grandfather Con Ryan, for their invaluable help in researching the elusive tales of Sheela na Guira.

Síd Cullain or the Castle of Cullahill, by Derek Ryan, The Tipperary Antiquarian

Glankeen of Borrisoleigh: Tipperary Parish, by Michael Kenny, assisted by V. Rev. John Quinlan, P. P.

Borrisoleigh Folklore from the Dúchas.ie school’s collection:

• Sheila na Guira
• The O’Dwyer’s Barrel
• Death of Mlaghlin Burke
• The Burke Treasure
• Local Ruins: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The Role of Infants in Animal Feeding, by Samuel X Radbill

Sheila Na Geira (Connaught princess kidnapped by pirates) by Philip Hiscock

Síle na Gig – Our Sexual History

Music