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Episode details

Radio 4,16 Mar 2026,14 mins

Diving for Pearls by Sheila O’Flanagan

Banshee

Available for 26 days

‘Banshee: Mythological Irish Women Retold’ is a spellbinding short story collection, edited by Ailbhe Malone, featuring original stories by Ireland’s most exciting female writers retelling ancient Irish myths from a modern perspective. Read by Roísín Gallagher (‘How To Get To Heaven From Belfast’ and ‘The Dry’). In these five abridged pieces of new writing from the collection, the stories of women who have too long stood in the shadows of warriors and kings are reclaimed in a celebration of womanhood and an homage to the ancient stories that still shape us. Featuring stories by Sheila O’Flanagan (‘The Honeymoon Affair’), Naoise Dolan (‘The Happy Couple’), Jane Casey (‘A Stranger in the family’), Wendy Erskine (‘The Benefactors’) and Megan Nolan (‘Ordinary Human Failings’). Reader: Roísín Gallagher Writer: Sheila O’Flanagan Abridger: Rowan Routh Producer: Michael Shannon A BBC Audio Northern Ireland Production for BBC Radio 4.

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