A strange piece of Armagh folklore tells of a woman who was believed to steal butter from cows using a rope woven from human hair.
The story was recorded in the early 1900s by TGF Paterson, the first curator of Armagh County Museum, in The Armachiana Vol XII. It was later recounted in an account of local beliefs from the Tandragee and Tassagh area, although the source notes that it is unclear why the two places were joined together in the original writing.
A tale from Armagh’s folklore
According to the account, an unnamed local told Paterson that witches had existed in earlier times and that older people had spoken of a woman who could take butter from cows. The storyteller claimed she had been seen carrying out the practice on many mornings.
The unusual detail was the method she was said to use. The woman reportedly dragged a rope behind her, and the rope was believed to have the power to draw all the butter from the field towards her. It was said to be made from human hair.
The account offers no explanation of how the supposed theft happened, or whether the story was ever linked to a particular named woman. Its details survive as part of the region’s oral folklore rather than as a verified historical event.
What happened to the alleged witch?
The story also reflects older beliefs about how suspected witches might be treated. The narrator referred to another type of witch who might be shot at with a silver bullet. But, in the case of the woman associated with the butter-stealing tale, the account said that nothing could be done.
That unresolved ending adds to the mystery of the story, which sits alongside better-known Armagh legends including the Green Lady, Margorie McCall and the Woman in White of Armagh Gaol.
Armagh’s Georgian streets, spiritual heritage and long association with local storytelling have helped preserve a wide range of unusual tales. This particular account offers a glimpse of the beliefs said to have circulated among people in the county more than a century ago—when accusations of witchcraft formed part of the darker side of rural folklore.