ABOUT

This site is dedicated to uncovering the importance of this trial of eight women and one man (at two trials Carrickfergus Assize court in 1711), how it was represented and remembered, and how people can derive meaning from these traumatic historical events. This unique part of Irish cultural heritage has never been the subject of any museum collection, oral history or folklore project. Not one commemorative plaque, sign or stone marks the memory of these women, who would become known as the Islandmagee witches. Here, you are welcome to explore this neglected Irish social and cultural history and deepen your understanding about the witch trials. By exploring the past, you can help to understand the present and shape our future.

On this site, you can engage with the history of Ireland’s only mass witchcraft trial, and the last to be held on Irish soil, in multiple ways: INTERPRET blogs, articles and documents from the time; LISTEN to carefully crafted soundscapes associated with the Islandmagee witches; READ a dark graphic novel; EXPERIENCE what it’s like to be bewitched and/or accused of witchcraft in our VR app; and PLAY a demo of our new video game Demonised: The Islandmagee Witches, a choice-driven serious game in which you play the role of a witch Hunter in 1700’s Ireland. We invite you to #GetGraphicWithHistory.

–Dr Andrew Sneddon & Dr Victoria McCollum

MEET THE TEAM

Principal Investigators

Andrew Sneddon is the leading expert on the history of the Islandmagee witch trial of 1711, and has published widely on Irish witchcraft and magic, including four books. He has spent the last decade taking the untold story of the Islandmagee witches and Irish witchcraft to new, diverse, international audiences. He has worked with numerous libraries, archives, museums, community, educational, and women’s groups, and regularly appears on local and national TV and Radio, including BBC, ITV, TG4 and RTE. Between 2016 and 2021, he was historical consultant on the first 6 part series dedicated to Irish witchcraft, ‘Diabhal Inti (The Devil’s in Her), produced by Lagan Media. He is the President of Ireland’s oldest professional historical society, Ulster Society for Irish Historical Studies.

Victoria McCollum is an internationally recognised educator and researcher from Ulster University who writes books on films, TV shows and video games (especially horror), to explain why popular culture matters in helping us gain a deeper understanding of our moment in time. She has collaborated on projects with Apple, Cartoon Network, Cinemax, Facebook, HBO, New Line Cinema, RTE, Sky Atlantic, Telltale Games, Time Warner, Twitter and Universal Music Group.

Co-Investigators

Adam Melvin / Chris McCann: Original Score

Brian Coyle / Sabrina Minter: Video Game

Lisa Fitzpatrick / Amanda Finch: Drama

Shannon Devlin: Historical Documents

David Campbell: Graphic Novel

Helen Jackson: AR/VR

Gerard Gibson: VFX

For general questions and press enquiries: a.sneddon@ulster.ac.uk / v.mccollum@ulster.ac.uk