The Dearg-doo

The Dearg-doo: the Waterford Vampire

My love is colder than black marble by the sea.

My heart is older than the cold oak tree.

I am the flash of silver in the sun.

When you see me coming you had better

Run...run...run...

-          Dearg Doom, Horslips

     The two greatest tales of the Vampire have been written by Irish authors, Sheridan Le Fanu, a Dubliner who was central to the development of the ghost story genre in the Victorian era, and Bram Stoker from Clontarf, whose Gothic novel Dracula has inspired numerous films and television series. Their inspiration lay in the stories and legends of their homeland. Montague Summers, an English clergyman noted for his quirky studies on vampires and werewolves (as well as being the translator of the Malleus Maleficarum, a 15^th-century witch hunter’s manual) outlined that ‘In ancient Ireland the Vampire was generally known as Dearg-dul, “red blood sucker,” and his ravages were universally feared.’

     Numerous corruptions of this Gaelic phrase have led to a variety of attempts at Anglicisation, the most common of which appears to be the Dearg-doo or Dearg-due. On the website Vampires A thru Z entry for the ‘Dearg-due’ records:

Area from/nationality: Ireland. A dreaded creature, whose name means “Red Blood Sucker.” An ancient vampire that dates back to Celtic times, it is still feared. The only way to curb its predations is to pile stones upon any grave suspected of housing such a beast. The most famous tale of the Dearg-due is the story of a beautiful woman supposedly buried in Waterford, in a small churchyard near Strongbow’s Tree. Several times a year she rises from her grave, using her stunning appearance to lure men to their doom.

     The core facets of this story are noted by Dublin’s Evening Herald from 1975 that in ‘Waterford: A vampire is supposed to be buried in the tiny graveyard by the ruined church.’ The Ghost Club, founded in London in 1862 has been the leading organisation in investigating ghosts and hauntings since its establishment. In 1960, the parapsychologist (an investigator of paranormal activity), Peter Underwood became the President of the group (a position he held till 1993 subsequently forming the Ghost Club Society in 1994). In an interview with the Evening Herald in 1977 he stated:

 In Ireland there is a persistent legend that a vampire lies buried near Strongbow’s Tree in Waterford. Some say the vampire is Strongbow himself, Richard de Clare, second Earl of Pembroke, who occupied Waterford in 1171; others say it is his wife, Aoife, the daughter of the King of Leinster whom Strongbow succeeded. Aoife is said to have cut her own son in two for showing cowardice: as evidenced the truncated effigy in Christ Church Cathedral Dublin.

Strongbow or Richard de Clare, lead the Norman invasion of Ireland and helped the deposed King of Leinster, Diarmait Mac Murchada (Dermot MacMurrough) reclaim his kingdom. In return for re-taking the kingdom of Leinster, Strongbow was offered the hand of Mac Murchada’s daughter Aoife in marriage. We know that upon his death in 1176, de Clare was first interned in Christ Church Cathedral Dublin, while there are various beliefs that his remains may be at Christ Church Cathedral in Waterford and the Dominican Abbey in Kilkenny. Nevertheless, in relation to the legend, Underwood continues:

The haunted graveyard at Waterford is small and overgrown, a ruined church adds to the macabre atmosphere and for centuries it has been claimed that even after the awful creature had been laid in the customary fashion for vampires, this one still lured young men and girls to the sinister spot on dark nights and many stories can be traced, even today, of curious experiences in the vicinity of Strongbow’s Tree.

The rather vague reference to a graveyard in Waterford, and the consultation of burial records is complicated, as the website of Waterford City and County Council highlights that there are ‘many burial grounds for which no burial registers survive, many burial grounds that are closed, or some that are not in the ownership of the local parish.’ Yet we once again have the reference to Strongbow and “Strongbow’s Tree”.

     Another respected source in this field is Anthony Masters’ the Natural History of the Vampire which:

states that in ancient Ireland there was a vampire known as the dearg dubh which was kept in subjection by having a cairn of stones built over its grave. A female vampire he adds, lurks around Strongbow's tree near Waterford, under a ruined church, "and it is to this sinister place that she lures, by her fatal beauty, men with good red blood running in their veins.

Perhaps the idea of a female vampire being that of Aoife, as eluded to by Underwood, comes from the tale of her death. As a young woman upon the death of her husband, Aoife had a fortress constructed at Cappamore to protect her territory and raise her children while feuding with the Quinns. However, she was shot through the throat by the Quinns one day and was interred in the crypt of Kilkenny Castle.

     It is Montague Summers who elaborates the most on the tale of the Waterford Vampire in his study The Vampire in Lore and Legend. However, he refers to a “Strongbow’s Tower” rather than a ‘tree’. He writes:

It has been stated: “At Waterford, in Ireland, there is a little graveyard under a ruined church near Strongbow’s Tower. Legend has it that underneath the ground at this spot there lies a beautiful female vampire still ready to kill those she can lure thither by her beauty.”

     And it is Summers who gives the most reasonable explanation for the whole tale, will trying to explain the reference to “Strongbow’s Tree”:

No authority is given for this, which is perhaps hardly surprising when one knows that there is not nor ever was such a tower at Waterford as “Strongbow’s Tower.” Probably there is some confused reference to “Reginald’s Tower,” which Strongbow (de Clare, Earl of Pembroke) used as a fortress in 1170, and where King John established a mint, whence it was called Dundory. The great Irish authority, the late Chevalier W.H. Gratton-Flood informed me that there is no legend of a Vampire connected with Reginald’s Tower, and probably the following tale has been confused which is related in regard to the capture of Waterford by the Anglo-Normans by Giraldus Cambrensis in his Topographia Hibernica. A frog was found in the grassy meadows near Waterford, and was brought alive to Cork before Robert le Poer, the warden of the city (who lived in Reginald’s Tower). All were astonished at the sight of the frog, this being the first frog discovered in Ireland. It is said that the frog was solemnly interred in Reginald’s Tower. Cambrensis notes that the frog must have been brought over by Strongbow among the baggage of the force he led from England.

Giraldus Cambrensis also known as Gerald of Wales was a Cambro-Norman archdeacon of Breton and historian, whose account of his journey to Ireland, who was related to some of the Norman invaders of the island. The Topography displays many prejudices particularly towards the native Irish, portraying them as barbaric savages.

      The lack of answers or explanations for the legend doesn’t lessen the tale itself. This may be why Bram Stoker wanted people to ‘believe in things you cannot’. Legends like the Dearg-doo allow us to recognise that there is always to sides to the world. Again, to evoke Stoker, ‘The world seems full of good men – even if there are monsters in it.’ To paint the world as good or evil, black or white, dead or undead goes someway to exploring morality and humanity and goes someway to explaining the complexity of man.

     Often though, just like trying to understand the tale of the Dearg-doo and searching for the grain in truth in it, one is left with more questions than answers. A metaphor for life itself! As Sheridan Le Fanu wrote, ‘Nevertheless, life and death are mysterious states, and we know little of the resources of either.’ 

Side Note ; This historical story was done by a friend of mine Cian Manning, I appreciate it a lot and is very well written. Hopefully I will have further contributions by him in the future.