Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse in the Haunted Castle #325 (1951)

L.B. Cole

How about actual Irish Celt folklore; like the Banshee?

X-Men #76


It should actually be spelled bean si or bean sidhe.

The Sidhe were the race that preceded the Celts (well, it is derived from the mounds where they were said to dwell), in mythology, the Tuatha De Danann, who retreated to the mounds and the underground places, only appearing during the Samhain, the festival marking the start of winter (where many of the Halloween traditions originated).  The bean sidhe was said to wail or keen at the death of a loved one (keening is a big part of traditional Irish music as demonstrated by Delores O'Riordan, on The Cranberries, in "Zombie").  Over time, that got altered into being a witch-like figure, though that is not the traditional version, anymore than the Sidhe were necessarily demons.

Sadly, comics have remained relatively sparse with actual Celtic lore and heroic figures, like Cuchulainn, Fionn mac Cumhail, or the tales of the Tuatha De Danann, like Lugh Lamfada, who slayed the Fomorian giant Balor, or Nuada Silver Hand or Mannan mac Lir.  Roger Stern & Steven Grant dabbled, briefly, in Avengers; but, that is about all I ever came across, apart from some bastardized wicca stuff, in supernatural comics.  Heck, when Claremont sent the X-Men to Ireland, we got leprechauns and Black Tom, who was as bad a stereotype as Banshee (complete with clay pipe).  Surprised hedidn't add Darby O'Gill and Sean Thornton to the whole thing.

Erin go bragh!

I have this vision of Wonder Woman, tied to a pot of gold, somewhere in that story.