Despite their popularity, the first accounts of Leprechauns don’t appear in English literature until the early 17th century. Leprechauns are known for being extremely small, wearing green clothes and hiding treasure. They are Earth Fairies that specialise in shoemaking. The Leprechaun is arguably the most famous Irish fairy of them all. While some legends say that if you hear her piercing shriek, you will die within 24 hours, there are cases when the soon to be deceased person is a relative of the individual that hear the cry. One famous case involved King James I of Scotland who was visited by the wailing woman and told of his forthcoming death at the behest of the Earl of Atholl in 1437. It is important to note that the Banshee is seldom seen. This fascinating wailing spirit is extensively covered in our popular Banshee article. There are a handful of stories that speak of sightings in the 21st century.
Tales of various unusual creatures were told and believed in Dublin well into the 19th century while the belief remained strong in the western parts of Ireland until the middle of the 20th century. In the early modern era, belief in Irish fairies was still relatively widespread. The first mention of these little people in the English language was apparently in 1604. You may be surprised to learn that the Leprechaun is probably a relatively recent fairy (more on that later). Indeed, it is likely that the Banshee is pre-Norman mythology. There are accounts of this female spirit dating from as far back as the late 14th century. In the post-Christian era, other tales emerged including the legend of the Banshee. Other figures such as the Pooka are also possibly from Celtic pagan times the Pooka is associated with the Samhain festival. The tales of these diminutive figures is in line with the Celtic tradition of believing in tiny people forced into hiding by hordes of invading humans. After that, they became known as the Daoine Sidhe and had children with the likes of Fionn mac Cumhaill.Īlso known as the Aos Sí, these underground people became smaller over generations. The tribe was defeated by the Milesians, so they fled into the Sidhe underground. According to legend, they ruled Ireland from the early 19th Century BC until the end of the following century. Translated as ‘tribe of Danu’, they were a race of people that possessed incredible, almost God-like, powers. Tales of the Tuatha de Danann go back thousands of years. The legend of the Changelings is popular throughout Europe, but especially here in Ireland.
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