Annie Montgomery: The Old Woman of Belfast

Ireland is a country which is haunted by thousands of years of history embellished by legends and some of the most imaginative myths that have been given to humankind. According to Irish mythology, banshees were death messengers to ancient Irish families. Annie Montgomery: The Old Woman of Belfast is based on Padriac Pearse’s poem Mise Eire: I am Ireland, I am older than the Old Woman of Beare. Annie Montgomery was my grandmother. Accord¬ing to Irish legend, the Old Woman of Beare had seven recurring periods of youth, so that every man who had lived with her came to die of old age. Ultimately, her grandsons and great-grandsons evolved into the various tribes and races of Ireland.