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Leprechauns and Fairies. |
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Leprechauns and Fairies. |
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Leprechaun
Leprechauns are the most well-known elves of Ireland,
they live in
the
large grassy hills, wild
areas and in the forests
of Co.Antrim.
The leprechaun is an ugly little creature with pointed
ears and is about two to three feet tall who avoids having any
contact with humans or any other leprechauns or fairies. He lives alone and
puts all of his energy into his passion of shoemaking as he is well known as a
fairy shoemaker.
Because they are a kind of
faery, leprechauns are often invisible,
they may pass in a swirl of dust and in times gone by men would raise their hats
and woman would curtsey.
Most of the time a leprechaun can be found with a shoe in one
hand and a hammer in the other, he also is quite fond of a smoke from his
tobacco filled foul smelling clay pipe which is never too far away from his
reach.
They have a mischievous glint in their eyes and tend to hide behind bushes and
hedgerows and their bodies despite their stubbiness can usually move
very fast and is nearly impossible for a human to catch!
They Usually dress in grey or green colored coats red trousers, studded leather apron and a red or green
wide brimmed hat. They carry two leather pouches in which he carries in one,
a silver shilling and the other, a gold coin to buy his way out of a tight situation.
They have been know to be fond of a mug or two of the very strong Irish drink
called poteen and can be found in an intoxicated state a lot of the time.
In the old days to keep in with them , people would leave out a dish of milk or some fresh water at night, they would also leave the dregs in their glasses when going to bed, and many other little feasts to keep them content. That so few people nowadays take the trouble this is probably the cause of endless bad luck which might otherwise be happily avoided.
Leprechauns have been known to ‘adopt’ families and move in with them, though this is now rare. When a Leprechaun has moved in the first sign is that things start to go missing, or appear again in unexpected places. Furniture may have been moved around the room, and the whiskey or milk will be found to have gone down overnight, and then to have been topped up with water ( especially the whiskey! ). If all this begins to happen the family involved will know they must start leaving out presents of food and drink and anything else to keep the little cheeky chap happy, and then with any luck, instead of doing mischief the leprechaun will go round the house and barns at night finishing off jobs that the big people have had no time to do.
It is believed that Leprechauns will drown in a light rain, float away in a breezy day and can get buried in a snowstorm.
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On Tiveragh Hill
On Tiv-ra Hill near Cushendall, I heard a commotion behind a wall, I stopped and looked over, and boys-o-boys! Now what do you think was making the noise?
'Twas a Hurley match - and may I choke -– It was two wee teams of the Fairy folk That was rippling' and tearing' and weltin' away In the light of the moon was bright as day.
And their playing pitch was hardly as big As my Uncle Barney's potato rig; And me there watchin' them puck and clout – At the back o' the wall with my eyes stuck out.
When all at once, like the squeal of a hare, A wee voice shouted, "Who's that up there?"” And a bit off a thing about nine - inch tall Came climbing up to the top of the wall.
And he stood there; he stood about pot -size With his two wee fingers up at my eyes, And its God's own truth that I'm speakin' mind ye, “"Get out o' that," says he, "or I’ll blind ye!"”
Aye that's what he said, "I'll blind ye," says he, And by Jing what he said was enough for me, Did I run? Aye surely; I didn’t miss -– And I haven't seen Tiveragh from that to this. H.Browne
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Tiveragh Hll near Cushendall Co. Antrim
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Leprechauns are the owners of Shamrock and the four-leaf clover garden. In Irish tradition the Shamrock represents “the holy trinity”: one leaf for the Father, one for the Son and one for the Holy Spirit. For the four-leaf clover, it is a universally accepted symbol of good luck. One leaf is for HOPE; the second is for FAITH; the third is for LOVE; and the fourth for luck .
Leprechauns guard the fairies' treasures as they must prevent it's theft by humans. They
hide the treasures well,
At the end of the
rainbow, there is a 4-leaf clover garden where Leprechauns’ gold
is
hidden called Lucky Charm
garden. From the myths, Leprechauns seemed to hate the rainbow since it will
show where the gold is
hidden.
As the saying goes "A pot of gold can be found at the end of a rainbow" and when a rainbow appears this causes the leprechauns great anxiety---for no matter how quick he shifts his pot of gold, he never can get away from rainbows.
The Leprechaun has a powerful memory and can remember exactly where each crock of gold is hidden.
They think humans are stupid and foolish creatures.
Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's
hammer and if a human ever catches a leprechaun (which is very difficult) and demands his treasure, he will give it to the human in a bid to be set free again. Rarely does this happen as he can move quicker than the eye can see and can vanish at the blink of an
eye, so don't for an instant take your eye off him as he often tricks you into looking
away, he then vanishes and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost!
If you can ever catch a Leprechaun he'll tell you where his pot of gold is
hidden, but he'd rather give you three magical wishes if you'll leave his gold alone.
Choose your wishes carefully as he will try to trick you!
Occasionally, especially after a wee bit too much poteen, he will offer a human not only a drink but some of his treasure. The other fairies endure them because they provide the much needed service of cobblery. The leprechaun must tell the truth, for in this it is bound by courtesy and fairy law. But only so long as you look it in the eye, as courtesy demands. They
love pranks, especially if there
is a lesson in it for the victim. So when meeting a leprechaun it is best to be
courteous and friendly!
There is no mention of female leprechauns in
traditional Irish legend, so there are different theories as to how they come
about. Perhaps they are defective offspring of other fairies, or maybe they're
the products of unions between fairies & humans
May good luck be
your friend
IN whatever you do.
And may trouble be always
A stranger to you.
 Cluricauns |
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As to whether cluricauns are actually leprechauns or their close cousins little is
known. With the exception for a pink tinge about the nose and their
different colors of dress they perfectly resemble leprechauns in all their other characteristics. They tend to be lazy and don't like to work like their cousins and they never wear an apron or carry a hammer. They have large silver buckles on their shoes, beautiful gold laces,
caps and pale blue stockings, they tend to wear garish colors.
They like to raid the cellars of the rich as they also like a good strong drink or two.
To amuse themselves they will smash the delph, overturn furniture and hide items in the houses they break into, harness sheep and goats, jump from bogs and race them over the fields through the night, then from the
safety of a dense hedge they will watch in amusement as the humans try to repair the damage they have done.
Leprechauns try to disown them and claim that they are none of their own but some suspect they are really drink filled leprechauns on a spree, who when sober in the
morning try to deny this double nature.
May the sun shine, all day long,
everything go right, and nothing wrong.
Grogoch
Found mostly around the Glens of Antrim this two feet tall very strong very hardy kind of fairy is covered in coarse reddish hair and could do with a good wash! He lives mainly outdoors and can survive the harshest of weathers. Can do without food or sleep for long periods of time and also has the same power as the other fairies to become invisible if so desired.
Unlike the leprechaun he is quite poor but is very good natured and the most sociable of fairies towards humans, he loves work and likes to help the farmers with the harvesting and threshing but can be offended if offered any payment (but loves a jug of milk) which may drive him away forever. In Antrim last thing at night the custom was to bury a large smouldering turf in the ashes of the fire so that in the morning it can be quickly fanned into a blaze. This was carried out to advert the wrath of fairies if there were no fire for them to sit at during the night .
His home is mainly in the form of a cave or hollow in the landscape and in a number of places around the Glens are large leaning stones against one another which are known as their houses.
Near a misty stream in Ireland in the hollow of a tree
Live mystical, magical leprechauns who are clever as can be
With their pointed ears, and turned up toes and little coats of green
The leprechauns busily make their shoes and try hard not to be seen.
Only those who really believe have seen these little elves
And if we are all believers
We can surely see for ourselves!
As you slide down the banisters of life
may the splinters never point the wrong way.
