Also called Leipreachán, Luchorpán, Lurikeen.
The tale
The earliest form of the name, luchorpán, appears in the medieval tale of Fergus mac Léti, where water sprites carry the king into the sea. In later folklore the leprechaun is a solitary fairy, usually heard tapping at a single shoe under a hedge. If you catch him and never take your eyes off him, he must show you his treasure, but he always tricks his captor into looking away. In one well-known tale a man ties a red garter round the bush where the gold is buried, only to find every bush in the field tied with a red garter when he returns with a spade.
When they are met
- in lonely places at dusk
- Bealtaine
- Samhain
Staying on their good side
- leave him to his work in peace
- a thimble of milk or whiskey left out
- never boast of catching one
Honouring them, or keeping safe
- Treat the leprechaun of old tales as a clever, touchy craftsman rather than a cartoon.
- If you take up a craft such as shoemaking or leatherwork, work quietly and honestly in his spirit.
What their tales teach
- the tales teach that greed is easily fooled
- patience and attention
- respecting craft
Symbols
- the single shoe
- the hammer
- the crock of gold
The green-suited leprechaun is a twentieth-century image; older tales dress him in red.
Sources
- Echtra Fergusa maic Léti
- Croker, Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland
- Yeats, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry
More Celtic folklore
- The Banshee The keening woman of the fairy mound
- Selkies The seal folk who come ashore
- The Púca The shape-shifter of November
- The Aos Sí The people of the fairy mounds
- The Kelpie The water horse of the lochs
- The Tylwyth Teg The Fair Family of Wales
- Clurichaun The fairy of the wine cellar
- Fear Dearg The red man who asks to warm himself