Irelands first Witchburning

I’m currently writing an audiobook on the Black Death in Ireland. The audio will focus on one particular town – Kilkenny. In focusing on a specific area I hope to detail what the impact of the plague was on individual people something that is too often lost in statistics and the incomprehensible death rates.

Due for release in late Octber, the story of the plague is intrinsically linked to the history of the 14th century which is one of war, famine and the devastating impact of a changing climate.  This culminated with the outbreak of the Black Death in Ireland in 1348 making the combined events one the greatest crises in human history since the last Ice Age.  One event that was indicative of the increasing harshness of 14th century Ireland was the burning of Petronella di Midia for Witchcraft in Kilkenny in 1324. Listen to this podcast produced for Heritage week in 2010 to get a flavour of 14th century Ireland and what you can expect from the audiobook.