“The blood is the life.”
Bram Stoker
Cover art by Alexander Krohl
It’s unclear if this story is folklorically true and it’s much more likely a relatively modern fabrication as it only appears in one reference.
Dearg Dur or Dearg Due’s name means ‘red thirst or bloodsucker’. There is a legend from County Waterford that tells of an incredibly beautiful young woman, a chieftain’s daughter who fell deeply in love with a poor farm laborer. They were absolutely mad about each other and made great plans to marry, have children and live happily although this love was forbidden and her dreams, torn away. Her father arranged for her to be married to a renowned cruel neighboring chieftain in exchange for more land and riches. The girl was soon married away and unsurprisingly, treated horrendously. She was tortured and locked away in a prison like chamber to where she starved herself as a way to escape her living hell. She died alone with only thoughts of her lost love and vowing to have vengeance.
So it was, that on the year anniversary of her death, she arose from the grave out of the sheer anger still dwelling within her soul and body. She ran straight to her father’s house where he lay sleeping, touched her lips to his and sucked the life right out of him. Then she made her way to her callous husband’s house and did the same to him however, she was so angry by that time that she drew not only his breath but every ounce of blood out of his body. This awoke a thirst in her like she had never known, a thirst for more blood and in an anguished, deranged and monstrous state she began terrorizing the countryside, preying on young men, luring them with seduction to their deaths and would continue to do so the same day every year. The remains of Dearg Dur were said to be buried in Waterford near Strongbow’s Tree in a local churchyard where it was said that rocks were placed so that she would not rise again and prey on the innocent.
Isla Skye / The Druid's Cauldron Historical Society
Isla Skye is a writer, photographer, herbalist and teacher of 20 years who lives in Mayo, Ireland.
We are a registered non-profit, The Druid’s Cauldron Inc. 501(c)(3) The Druid’s Cauldron is an independent journal established in 2016, dedicated to the preservation and exploration of the druids, filid/poets, culture, native wisdom, and the living traditions of the isles. We exist to recover folklore, herbalism, spiritual philosophy, and ecological knowledge embedded in the whispers of our ancestors.
Through deep research into traditional folklore, herbalism and mythology as well as personal artistic endeavors, we seek to cultivate a deeper relationship with the land, the seasons, and to one another. We are committed to serious inquiry and evidence-based information, or it is alluded that it’s personal philosophy and labeled as such. The Druid’s Cauldron is a space for the curious, the contemplative, and those who feel called to remember older ways of being in right relationship with the land and each other.
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