Alice Kyteler - new documentary tells story of Kilkenny 'witch'

A new series on TG4 An Diabhal Inti (The Devil's in Her), which begins today, on International Women's Day, explores how and why thousands and thousands of people, mostly women, were accused of being in league with the devil and executed as ‘witches’ - including Kilkenny's own Alice Kyteler!

Set against the backdrop of the great European witch hunts spanning two centuries and reaching across the Atlantic as far as America the six-part series offers a unique lens into the social, political and religious conditions that resulted in one of the greatest ‘otherings’ in human history.

Featuring the renowned actor Olwen Fouéré, dancer and choreographer Aoife McAtamney and introducing the young Ailbhe Drimbarean, this visually arresting series offers a dramatic and mesmerizing re-examination of the idea of woman as ‘witch’.

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By exposing patriarchal views of women which combined with religious beliefs in the devil walking the earth, the series shows how accusations of witchcraft mostly targeted women, making the female body a site of demonic possession, with deadly consequences for the accused.  

Episode One which airs on TG4 tonight, tells the story of two women in Ireland who faced persecution as 'witches'.

In the Anglo-Norman town of Kilkenny, a noble woman Alice Kyteler suspected of killing her husband is accused of heresy by the Bishop who believes she is in league with the devil. Alice flees to safety, but her maidservant Petronella de Meath meets a terrible fate.

Centuries later as witch panics spread across Europe, in Puritan Youghal a beggar woman named Florence Newton is accused of bewitching a servant Mary Longdon for refusing her charity. Florence is put on trial for the crime of witchcraft and became known forever as the 'Witch of Youghal.

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The series also explores the reasons why the witch hunts did not affect Ireland in the same way as other European countries, and how paganism, goddess worship and beliefs in popular magic survived longer as a result.

The story of Mary Butters, the Carnmoney Witch in the North and Biddy Early, the wise woman of Clare, in later episodes offer other insights into how powerful women survived beyond the witch hunts in a patriarchal world.

An Diabhal Inti (The Devil’s in Her) is a visually rich and layered historical series with a contemporary feel. Woven into the visual narrative is a sumptuous layer of art spanning centuries. Contributors such as Dr Andrew Sneddon, the leading expert on the Irish witch trials, Dr Mary McAuliffe, Claire Mitchell QC, Professor Julian Goodare all offer unique insights into the religious mindset that created the narrative and the conditions for the witch hunts.

The series is written and directed by Paula Kehoe, produced by Ashlene Aylward and edited by Jill Beardsworth for Lagan Media Productions. An Diabhal Inti is funded by TG4, BBC Gaeilge, Northern Ireland Screen's Irish Language Braodcast Fund and the BAI Sound and Vision Fund.

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