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The GAFF revisits Limerick folklore with The Banshee Lives in the Handball Alley 20th anniversary The GAFF revisits Limerick folklore with The Banshee Lives in the Handball Alley 20th anniversary

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The GAFF revisits Limerick folklore with The Banshee Lives in the Handball Alley 20th anniversary

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The GAFF revisits Limerick folklore with The Banshee Lives in the Handball Alley 20th anniversary

The GAFF with Bualadh Bos Children’s Festival gather fresh folklore from students for The Banshee Lives in the Handball Alley, marking 20 years since the original release

The folklore stories told by children from St. Mary’s School, Bishop Street, and Thomond Primary School in Limerick will be presented by The GAFF and the Bualadh Bos Children’s Festival. Picture via The GAFF Facebook

Marking twenty years since the release of The Banshee Lives in the Handball Alley, artists Michael Fortune and Aileen Lambert return with a film project which gathers fresh folklore from Limerick’s school children.

The folklore stories told by children from St. Mary’s School, Bishop Street, and Thomond Primary School in Limerick will be presented by The GAFF and the Bualadh Bos Children’s Festival with a 40-minute documentary detailing the imagination and creativity of the young Limerick students.

The event, taking place on Friday, October 3, will include an introduction from the artists, a look back at the original work, and a screening of the updated film.
The original film still holds a very special place in the hearts of Limerick people and is regarded by many as an exemplar across Ireland’s public art projects and one that has left an enduring legacy in the communities of Ballynanty and St Mary’s, where it was recorded.


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Commencing in March 2025, the artists returned to Limerick to work with students in St Mary’s National School, Bishop St, and with Thomond Primary School, to create the new film. Filming began in April 2025 with editing taking place throughout the summer, and the documentary now gears up for its premier as part of the Bualadh Bos Children’s Festival.

The original Banshee Lives in the Handball Alley, created in 2004 and 2005, was filmed with children from the Island and Moyross areas of Limerick and was commissioned as part of the Young EV+A and the Cuisle Poetry Festival. Following the success of the project, Fortune and Lambert went on to develop larger collections when they visited three national schools to document the stories of the youth of Limerick.

In a social media post following a special preview screening for the young student participants at the Belltable, Thomond Primary School said, “The day finally came… our 5th and 6th Class children went to the Belltable today to see Revisiting the Banshee. It features boys and girls from our current 6th Class sharing stories, superstitions and myths from the local area. Thank you to Michael Fortune and Aileen Lambert for putting together such a wonderful production. We are all so proud of our superstars on the big screen.”

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Richard is a presenter, producer, songwriter and actor. He was named the Limerick Person of the Year (2011) and won an online award at the Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (2011) for promoting multi-culturalism online. Richard says that the ilovelimerick.com concept is very much a community driven project that aims to document life in Limerick. So, that in 20 years time people can look back and remember the events that were making the headlines.