Halloween Special: Ireland's First Witch-Burning (Kilkenny 1324)

Irish History Podcast

Fin Dwyer

Ireland, Irish History, Norman Invasion, Great Hunger, Vikings, Interviews, History, War Of Independence, Great Famine

4.7 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 30 October 2014

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On November 2nd 1324, Petronilla of Meath, one of 12 people charged with witchcraft in Kilkenny was burned at the stake in the town. She was the first person to suffer this horrendous fate in Irish history. In this festively themed podcast I trace the story behind this fascinating case and those accused and convicted of witchcraft. What actually happened in Kilkenny in 1324? Was Petronilla of Meath a witch? And what were medieval witches supposed to have done anyway? Contact me with any questions, queries and suggestions for future shows at [email protected]

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Transcript

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0:37.0	Some shows may have ads. Hello and this is a Halloween special on Ireland's first witch-burning.
0:56.0	While Halloween will be celebrated this Friday, few realise that this coming Sunday, November 2 2 marks the 690th anniversary of the execution of Petchen
1:07.0	of Petchenella of Mead, the first person burned at the stake as a witch in Ireland. This podcast looks at the truth behind her trial,
1:16.4	what she was accused of and how it came to pass that this woman suffered a horrific punishment
1:22.4	in one of the darkest and most unsettling chapters in our history.
1:27.0	Before I go any further, I should say some parts of this show might not be suitable for young children.
1:33.6	To begin though, we need to turn back the clock to late autumn in the year 1324 when some of the
1:40.0	bizarreest events in Ireland's history took place in the town of Klekenny, 70 miles southwest of
1:46.5	Dublin.
1:51.5	Petranilla of Meath gained immortality of a kind and certainly infamy on November 2nd, 1324, when she was the first person executed for witchcraft in Ireland. Little is known about Petronella's life. She seems to have
2:08.1	had two daughters, Sarah and Basilia. We do know however that the death Petranilla suffered was horrific.
2:16.5	Having already been tortured, she was burned at the stake in front of a huge crowd of onlookers.
2:21.9	Her execution had come at the end of months of scandal and intrigue
2:26.4	in medieval Kalkenny. Before Petronella died, a confession of sorts was extracted from her after she had been flogged.
	...

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