Possessed by the Devil: The Real History of the Islandmagee Witches & Ireland's Only Witchcraft Mass Trial

by Andrew Sneddon

In 1711, in County Antrim, eight women were put on trial accused of orchestrating the demonic possession of young Mary Dunbar, and the haunting and supernatural murder of a local clergyman's wife. Mary Dunbar was the star witness in this trial, and the women were, by the standards of the time, believable witches - they smoked, they drank, they just did not look right. With echoes of Arthur Miller's The Crucible and the Salem witch-hunt, this is a story of murder, of hysteria, and of how the witch craze that claimed over 40,000 lives in Europe played out on Irish shores.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Witchcraft, Ireland

224 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2011

Reviews

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account of the witch trials in Northern Ireland in 1711. This book is mostly written using the recorded legal documents and court accounts of the day. What struck me most is how the courts fully accept witchcraft and magic as the cause of these strange occurrences. No other opinion is offered or, it seems, needed. It's hard to imagine a time when you could blame witches or magic and the courts would accept that but this book shows the machinations of how it all worked.

What makes this book so compelling is the amount of evidence the courts actually get to substantiate their claims. I suppose starting from the position that witches exist and walk amongst us, it is a case of guilty until proven innocent, and very few people in those times would've been educated enough to defend themselves.

The book is quite dry and reads like a history book, which I suppose it is, but I think it could've benefited from some modern points of view to explain other possible explanations for what happened. However only seeing it from the PoV that witches are everywhere and are evil, does give the book a kind of biased creepiness. Very interesting - I hope they make it into a movie someday. I'm available to write the screenplay. :-)

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

-

The more I read about witch trials, the angrier I get. This book is no exception to that.

Sneddon has laid out the entire history of the Islandmagee case here using the little evidence that remains. Much of the records were destroyed during the Irish Civil War. He details the possession of Mary Dunbar for the most part, and the arresting of those accused of bewitching her. The prevailing feeling one gets while reading is a deep sense of injustice for the people accused of witchcraft here: how, if this was a faked case, women and men who were ‘othered’ in society were targeted and paid for it in the court of law.

I would go so far as to say that this is essential reading for those studying or even just interested in Irish history. This type of story is usually expected in other European countries. Let us not forget that it happened here too.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd read a much shorter description of the account of the Islandmagee witches before, but this is a far more thorough and in depth look at what happened—or more accurately, what was claimed to have happened—and some of the reasoning behind it. Easy read, quick to get through, perhaps helped by frequent text breaks, which I always appreciate as it stops a book from feeling too dense. Certainly worth picking up for anyone who wants to know more about different witchcraft trials aside from the usual. Only complaint would be that some spots felt a little repetitive, though I'm not sure if that's due to the text or due to Mary Dunbar's repeating of her own actions time and time again in her claims that she was being possessed/cursed/whatnot...

[Ralph · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quite interesting historical treatise on the only mass witchcraft trial known to have taken place in Ireland. By examining the social, religious, political, mythological, and legal landscapes of County Antrim and the British Isles at large, Dr. Sneddon makes a convincing case for why the Islandmagee episode of 1711 was so remarkably exceptional. In doing so, he also dispels some of the ugliest generalizations about European witch hunts; in early eighteenth-century Ireland, witch trials appear, even by modern standards, to have been objective and highly skeptical of false accusations while steering well clear of coercion of the accused.

I gave the book three stars because it's marketed as a popular history when one really needs a familiarity with early modern European history to understand the many historical references contained herein. (For its true intended readership, of course, this is not a failing.) More concerningly, there are too many editing errors for comfort.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy to digest book bringing the historical account of Irelands only mass witch trial to life. Offering a political overview of the country at the time and how it impacted the trial, this will absolutely be one of the key pieces I reference in my thesis!

[Billy Keenan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book loved it

[adela🕯️🌙 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for my history project that I have to do. This book really helped as a source. Such an interesting topic. I think Mary Dunbar and the other accusers were either mentally ill or wanted revenge on some of the convicted “witches”.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an incredible tale - featuring demonic possession and other supernatural phenomena - on the Isle of Magee, off the Northern Irish coast in the early 18th century, where religious and political tensions were rife. Due to a Gaelic-Celtic popular culture, and - conversely - a legal system based on the English, non-inquisitorial model, witch-hunting in Ireland never reached the heights of Scotland or Europe during the early modern period. This case was exceptional, and without either sensationalising or resorting to academic jargon, Andrew Sneddon convincingly explains why.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

Anyone who like myself comes from this part of the world will be captivated with this story. I will definitely read again soon.