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  CONTENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  PART I: Who Are the Little People?

  Chapter 1: The Origins of Leprechauns

  Chapter 2: What Do Leprechauns Look Like?

  Chapter 3: Where to Find Leprechauns

  Chapter 4: What Do They Eat and Drink?

  Chapter 5: Are There Female Leprechauns?

  Chapter 6: How Long Do Leprechauns Live?

  PART II: What Do Leprechauns Do?

  Chapter 7: Shoemakers, Builders, and Blacksmiths

  Chapter 8: Musicians, Music, and Festivals

  Chapter 9: Leprechaun Entertainment

  Chapter 10: Guardians of Gold

  PART III: How Do Leprechauns Live?

  Chapter 11: Leprechaun Society

  Chapter 12: Leprechaun Law

  Chapter 13: Leprechauns and Religion

  Chapter 14: Leprechauns and the Dead

  Chapter 15: Other Wee Creatures

  Chapter 16: The Cluricaun and Others

  Chapter 17: Leprechauns in Popular Culture

  CONCLUSION

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  INDEX

  INTRODUCTION

  Up the airy mountain,

  Down the rushy glen,

  We daren’t go a-hunting,

  For fear of little men.

  —William Allingham, “The Fairies”

  Who doesn’t love a leprechaun? Clad in green, with tall hats and puffing on curved pipes, they are inseparable from Ireland. They’re cheerful but elusive—if you’re lucky enough to catch one, he may reveal to you his pot of gold, but beware! He’s tricky and clever.

  That’s the popular image of these legendary creatures. But they have a darker, more sinister side. They’re willing and able to take revenge on any they think have wronged them, and often their mischief is malicious and harmful. Leprechauns on the whole are extremely spiteful; they are as likely to perform an evil trick on the unwary mortal as a helpful or kindly one.

  In this book, we’ll explore the world of the leprechaun. We’ll meet many humans who have come into contact with these strange beings and have either gained or lost from the encounter. And we’ll learn some of the dark truths behind the fairy stories.

  Leprechauns are fairies who belong to the Otherworld—an ill-defined realm that exists just beyond mortal sight. They coexist with humankind throughout the rural countryside, but generally remain invisible to human eyes. Collectively, they are referred to as the Sídhe (meaning “dwellers of the mounds”—the word sí or sídh originally meant “a mound”) or Tuatha dé Danann (meaning “followers of Danu,” a goddess); but through the years, they became known in country folktales simply as “the little people.”

  As to the origins of Irish fairy beings, stories are many and varied. Some people believe at one time they were as tall as any human. In those days they were gods, but as people stopped worshiping them, they shrank to their present size. Others say that they are angels who refused to take sides in the great conflict between God and Lucifer. For this, they were not wicked enough to fall into Hell but not good enough to sit in Heaven.

  Whatever the truth of the matter, Irish—particularly those living in the countryside—have learned that leprechauns must be taken seriously. Now let’s begin our journey to discover more about this strange, magical race of beings.

  CHAPTER 1

  * * *

  THE ORIGINS OF LEPRECHAUNS

  The leprechaun’s origins in folklore are complex. As a character, he is a walking contradiction—he is stupid but at the same time crafty and scheming; he is kind and will work for nothing, but at the same time he is grasping and greedy; he is helpful, but at the same time surly and dismissive. How can all these attributes be reconciled?

  The answer is that the leprechaun’s origins may lie in a multiplicity of folk beliefs. He may have started out as a vague and ill-defined folk memory of some diminutive race that once coexisted with the early Celts. The leprechaun’s origins may lie partly in Scotland. But they may also lie elsewhere in the Celtic world. In Brittany, for instance, there is still a strong belief in fées—tiny creatures who dwell in rocks and gullies. These creatures try to avoid humans as much as they can; however, once again, they are not above playing tricks on or acting maliciously toward humans when their fancy takes them. It may well be that stories about them also influenced Irish folktales, as well as the imagery of the leprechaun. These memories may have mingled with the folk beliefs of other peoples, which also contained legends of small races and solitary dwarves, to create a kind of fairy stereotype that found its way into the general corpus of Irish folklore. These, of course, are only speculations, for any definitive answer concerning the origins of the leprechaun are lost in the mists of time and myth.

  The Fairies

  Leprechauns inhabit the misty world of the fairy people. Fairies were believed to be a very diverse species. Some lived in the air, some on the land, others in the sea, and others still under the earth—and each kind acquired some of the characteristics of their environment.

  • The fairies of the air were light, graceful, and rather nebulous beings, often described as flitting about on gossamer-like wings.

  • Fairies who lived in the sea were sometimes covered in fur, like the seals they clearly resembled, or in scales, like fish.

  • Fairies who lived on the earth were invisible beings that dwelt in the raths and earthen forts that littered the countryside. They were tall and splendid beings—very like humans, it was said, but with an unearthly beauty about them.

  • The fairies that lived under the earth—in mounds and caverns, in ditches and under hedgerows—were small, stunted beings with hard skins and even harder looks. They were often described as being “as brown as the earth” because of their harsh environment.

  There is no way to determine an actual source, but it may be that they came from Europe, with waves of invaders who gradually settled in Ireland. Right across the Continent, we find tales of small, elusive aboriginal races dwelling in communities well away from their taller counterparts. Some of these little people were considered to have special powers; many are said to have lived underground, and many were believed to be ugly or slightly deformed (or different from humankind) in some way. Might these have been the prehistoric prototypes for the leprechaun?

  ADAPTATIONS BY THE IRISH

  The Irish leprechaun may be part of a much wider lore concerning small races and creatures. This lore includes brownies, gnomes, goblins, fées, and pixies, all of whom feature prominently in Celtic vernacular mythology. It is quite possible that many of the tales concerning leprechauns were adapted by the Irish from other sources, perhaps from outside their own shores. Since there is no reference to the luchorpán in Ireland before the seventh or eighth century, there seems little doubt that he was imported from elsewhere and was integrated into native mythologies.

  A clue to the origins of the luchorpán comes from Ulster. Here, the leprechaun is known by two quite specific names—grogoch and pecht. It is the latter epithet, “pecht,” that hints at the origin, for it is too close to the word pict—a generic name in the area for aboriginal Scottish peoples—to be simply coincidence. Old local people, particularly in the North Antrim area, are quite sure of the area from which their dimin
utive neighbors came to Ireland.

  The Word Leprechaun

  Despite its now-widespread appeal—it is used to refer to almost any Irish fairy—the term leprechaun was not really used until the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. Even then, the word had many different, localized variations. In east Leinster, for example, the term was liomreachán, while in south Leinster it was lúracán; in Ulster it was luchramán, in Connacht lúracán. Even within provinces, the name varied. For instance, in parts of Munster, the sprite was called a luchargán, lurgadán, or cluricáun, while in other areas the description luchorpán prevailed.

  Many of these descriptions were taken from the sprite’s alleged powers or characteristics. Within these terms, there are echoes of the ancient Irish words luch (“mouse”), lúth (“agility”), and lurga (“ankle”). The leprechaun was, therefore, believed to be about the size of a mouse, with speedy reflexes and large feet. The term leprechaun is thought to have been used only in the north Leinster area until the middle or end of the nineteenth century. Nowadays, this form seems to be widely used all over Ireland.

  THE BROWNIE

  One creature who resembled leprechauns in some respects was the Scottish brownie. He was small, with large pointed ears and big eyes. After the household was asleep, he ventured out and helped with everyday chores, but he expected a reward in the form of food and drink. Readers of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series will recognize immediately the similarities to Dobby, the heroic house elf.

  The origin of the term leprechaun is complex. It has been argued that it derives from leith bhrógán (“half-shoe–maker—maker of half a pair of shoes”), making the sprite a cobbler by profession, with a collection of related folklore attached to him. However, it is more likely that the name comes from the ancient Irish luchorpán (“little man”) or luacharmán (“pygmy”), simply denoting a creature of very small stature. In texts dating from the eighth century, the term is used to denote members of a little race. In the legend of Fearghus mac Léide, for example, reference is made to a community of small people with magical powers and skills. Fearghus seizes three of them, and, in return for their release, they bestow the magical skills of swimming upon him. Later texts, dating from the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth centuries, say that these beings may also bestow certain magical objects, such as silver shoes that enable a person to walk on water without drowning.

  Fairy Temperament

  As well as taking on the physical characteristics of their environment, many fairies also acquired a temperamental quality that reflected their surroundings. Fairies of the air were shallow, fickle creatures, who changed their minds as often as the wind changed; the moods of water-fairies fluctuated with the tides; and those who dwelt under the earth and in remote places were usually surly and reclusive in their ways. Many were extremely hostile toward humans, and went out of their way to do mischief and inflict harm upon unwary mortals. In this respect, leprechauns are no different from other fairy folk.

  In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, a more sophisticated folklore began to divide the fairy realm into two distinct camps. One camp consisted of the trooping fairies—what the poet W.B. Yeats called the Macara Shee, the fairy cavalcade: a band of supernatural beings, usually of diminutive size, who traveled the country roads on certain nights of the year, such as Halloween and May Eve. At such times, according to rural folklore, the doors of the fairy hills and mounds swung open and the troop came out, led by a king and queen. Depending upon whom they met upon the road, they responded with gifts or with disdain, sometimes rewarding kindness, at other times punishing evil deeds. However, warned the wise people of the countryside, it was as well to avoid them whenever possible and to keep off the moonlit roads as soon as the sun went down.

  Solitary Fairies

  The other half of fairydom was what Yeats and others referred to as “the solitary fairies”: those supernatural beings who lived well away from humans and from other fairies and had very little to do with them. These beings dwelt in caves, holes, bogs, and ditches and remained invisible for most of the time. Mortals could sense their presence only when the fairies lured them into some danger (possibly resulting in death) or when the fairies were accidentally heard by some passerby. Among these solitary creatures were such entities as the banshee (a “woman of the fairies” who cried for those who were about to die), the lianhan shee (the fairy lover who lured men to their doom), the dullahan (a terrible headless figure who galloped through the night bringing doom, misery, and destruction to the houses that he passed), and the leprechaun (the fairy shoemaker).

  While the banshee has passed, more or less, into ghostlore, and beings such as the dullahan and the lianhan shee have been all but forgotten, the leprechaun has acquired a status that has put him at the forefront of Irish fairy tales and folktales.

  The Fairy of Ireland

  Despite his solitary nature, the leprechaun appears to have been seen frequently in many parts of Ireland. Indeed, the leprechaun has become something of a symbol of Ireland itself (one might be tempted to say he is the “national elf”). He appears on tea towels, on linen, in porcelain ornaments, and on illustrated plates from the Emerald Isle. He has appeared in both films and cartoons as the only fairy sprite in Ireland.

  This does both the leprechaun and the fairy world a disservice, for the creature also appears in neighboring parts of the world—in Scotland, in the Western Isles and in the North of England—and he forms part of a wide range of magical beings.

  Most of the painted representations of the leprechaun show him to be a jolly, amiable, and carefree creature. He is the sort of sprite with whom one would like to share a winter’s night beside a roaring fire, listening to his old, humorous tales and sharing his poteen. He is the epitome of Irish hospitality and Irish storytelling.

  The leprechaun is anything but amiable and humorous. He is dark and somber, with little or no levity about him. Nor is he particularly good company, for he seems to carry the woes of the world with him. Leprechauns are also great misers and extremely selfish, so there is little chance of them sharing anything, let alone their stores of poteen. Not only this, but leprechauns on the whole are extremely spiteful; they are as likely to perform an evil trick on the unwary mortal as a helpful or kindly one.

  POTEEN

  Poteen, or poitín, (pronounced “PUTT-cheen”) is a distilled Irish drink that can be made from grain, sugar beets, molasses, or potatoes. It was usually manufactured illegally.

  Because of their uncivil nature and innate hostility toward humans, leprechauns frequently had to be placated by the householders of the area. Failure to do so would invite mischief upon both family and property. Offerings of milk, cheese, bread, and other foodstuffs, as well as twists of tobacco, were sometimes left outside cottage doors at night, to keep the leprechaun from making mischief against the owner or tenant of the dwelling. Fresh water, the dregs of the teapot, or a glass of strong liquor were often left out as well. Sometimes libations of whiskey were left on the doorstep, but this alcoholic gift could have an adverse effect upon the sprite.

  “Never leave too much whiskey for the leprechaun,” conventional rural wisdom states, “for if you do, he’ll only get very drunk and create a commotion around your house.” It is also said that the whiskey may addle his wits and make him even more malignant than he already is. Leprechauns have to be treated carefully, even when one is offering them presents.

  PURSE OF THE SHILLING

  In some parts of Munster, once in a while, a more amiable leprechaun will sometimes present an individual with a sparán na scillinge (“purse of the shilling”)—a marvelous pouch that never becomes empty. However, although it is a wonderful present, there is a malicious reason for this particular gift. Those to whom it is given invariably misuse it—usually becoming drunkards and gamblers—and eventually all their wealth turns to dust and ashes. The leprechaun’s present turns out to be a double-edged sword.

  Signs of a Leprechaun
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  Ancient tradition said that the Tuatha dé Danann were usually invisible beings who existed, unseen by mortals, among the raths and forts of the countryside. The same is true of the leprechaun, who went about his business beyond the human gaze. The only sign of his presence was, perhaps, a small whirlwind or cloud of dust. In former times (and, in some areas, up until the present day), old men would doff their hats and old ladies would drop a small curtsy as one of these small dust storms swept past. In some areas, it was also common to bend a knee and say, “God bless me” or to throw your left shoe after the cloud; if you did, the leprechaun would be compelled to drop whatever he was carrying—which, if fortune was smiling, might be a bag of gold.

  Abducting Humans

  These pillars of dust might also be a sign that the leprechauns were carrying some unfortunate human off to the fairy realm. Leprechauns seem to have had a fondness for abducting unbaptized human babies, whom they then sold into service in the various forts (raths) and mounds. To protect children from such wiles, it was necessary to have an infant baptized by a clergyman as quickly as possible. In some more remote areas, where clerics were not readily available, the midwife who delivered the infant could perform an interim baptism using the following formula:

  No seed of fairy, no seed of the hosts of the air, no seed of the world’s people can lift away this tranquil little sleeper for whom is made this beneficent prayer of baptism. Evil cannot lie on him [sign of the cross]; envy cannot lie on him [sign of the cross]; malice cannot lie on him [sign of the cross]. The two arms of mild Mary, the Mother of God, graciously encompass him; the two arms of the gentle Christ shield, surround and succour this joyous little sleeper of the baptism.