(1280–after 1325) A wealthy Irish woman, her fourth husband believed he was being poisoned by her. After his death, his children accused her of using sorcery and poisoning their father. She and her followers were accused of several crimes, including denying the [Christian] faith, sacrificing animals to demons, and blasphemy. The night before she was scheduled to be burned at the stake she escaped, possibly to England, and was not heard of again. Her followers received punishments ranging from having to go to church and feed the poor to being flogged and burned at the stake. The strong implication is that she was a Witch.
Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Sandra Kynes, author of several books, including The Herb Gardener's Essential Guide, Plant Magic, and the new Witches' Encyclopedia of Magical Plants, among many others.
Although a few old books...