Siobhán

**Siobhán** is a secondary character in the sixth season of Within the Wires. She was the girlfriend of Clíodhna Byrne.

## Biography

When Siobhán and Clíodhna started dating, they would sometimes stay up until 2am drinking cheap California Chardonay and then curl up in bed together. Once, they were dancing together while drunk and Siobhán did an elaborate twirl that accidentally put a massive crack in her bedroom window. While Clíodhna scrambled for makeshift first aid supplies, Siobhán laughed, because they had to use masking tape to bind the wound closed.

Once, behind a record shop, Siobhán found a kitten, presumed stray, that she wanted to adopt. Clíodhna objected, largely on the grounds that she would be the one who ended up looking after it, because Siobhán didn't know how and wouldn't trouble herself to learn.

In 1972, Clíodhna suggested she and Siobhán go camping, and she refused because of her phobia of snakes. Despite knowing that there were no snakes in Ireland, she would not agree to go, and Clíodhna later concluded that Siobhán simply hadn't wanted to go camping with her, and her mind fabricated an intense phobia of Irish snakes to justify that aversion.

When Clíodhna expressed a desire to take a job outside Galway, leaving for the first time in years, Siobhán laughed at her for choosing one so close. She suggested they meet up on a holiday somewhere further afield, but she said she had been in Galway too long and needed to get out. Clíodhna secretly wished that Siobhán would fight for her to stay, but she told her that it was a good opportunity and she should go.

While in Ballinroche, Clíodhna had several dreams involving a figure that might have been Siobhán, and heard her voice several times, specifically her laugh. Clíodhna didn't call Siobhán until the second Tuesday of her stay, but didn't tell her about everything that was going on, just said that she would probably be home soon. Siobhán said, "Well you'll do what you'll do," and there was a horrible silence before Clíodhna hung up. She tried to phone back, but it rang out.

On the 31st of October, Clíodhna phoned Siobhán again, and told her about everything she had been experiencing, and Siobhán reminded her of her phobia of snakes, suggesting that Clíodhna was projecting her fears and anxieties onto Gráinne's house. This made Clíodhna realise that Siobhán had never wanted to go camping with her, and the snake phobia was just an excuse. Siobhán also suggested that the house had a gas leak, which Clíodhna thought might have been a joke. Clíodhna and Siobhán got off the phone at midnight, and Clíodhna did not seem to consider them still a couple anymore.

## Additional info

* The name Siobhán is the Irish variant of Jeanne derived from the Biblical John meaning "God is gracious"
* Siobhán knew lots of old dances, including one called the Stroll
* The folktale Clíodhna mentions on Saturday the 27th appears to be a variant of the myth of Clíodhna and Ciabhán; one of the Dé Danann falls in love with a mortal man, but in pursuing him is cast out from her family's land and driven mad by loneliness. In this version, the mythical Clíodhna also has a daughter who is left to be raised by Ciabhán. It is worth noting the resemblance of the names Ciabhán and Siobhán.

## References

1. ↑ Season 6, Episode #6: Saturday 27 October 1973
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Season 6, Episode #9: Tuesday 30 October 1973
3. ↑ Season 6, Episode #3: Wednesday 24 October 1973
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Season 6, Episode #10: Samhain
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Season 6, Episode #4: Thursday 25 October 1973
6. ↑ Season 6, Episode #2: Tuesday 23 October 1973
7. ↑ Season 6, Episode #6: Saturday 27 October 1973