Irish Mythology people
Banshee Banshee or 'Bean-sidhe' is Irish for fairy woman. Her sharp, cries and wails are also called 'keening'. The English word 'Keen' is from the Irish 'Caoineadh' meaning lament.
There is no harm or evil in her mere presence, unless she is seen in the act of crying; but this is a fatal sign. The wail of a banshee pierces the night, it's notes rising and falling like the waves of the sea, it always announces a mortal's death.
She is solitary woman fairy, mourning and forewarning those only of the best families in Ireland, those with most ancient Celtic lineages. Those whose names begin with 'Mac/Mc' or 'O', whose origin dates from the time of the Irish heroes. The banshee loves the old mortal families with a fierce and unearthly caring.
When a member of the beloved race is dying, she paces the dark hills about his house. She sharply contrasts against the night's blackness, her white figure emerges with silver-grey hair streaming to the ground and a grey-white cloak of a cobweb texture clinging to her tall thin body.
Her face is pale, her eyes red with centuries of crying. But this is not the only way that the banshee appears, at other times she is seen as a beautiful young girl, with long, red-golden hair, and wearing a green kirtle and scarlet mantle, broached with gold, after the Irish fashion. Or she will appear shrouded and muffled in a dark, mist-like cloak.
White Lady of Sorrow some people name her, and Lady of Death. She is the Woman of Peace and the Spirit of the Air. For despite her wailing, she is somehow graced with a manner of peace.
Unseen, banshees attend the funerals of the beloved dead. Although, sometimes she can be heard wailing, her voice blending in with the mournful cries of others.
Each banshee has her own mortal family. Out of love she follows the old race across the ocean to distant lands. Her wails or keen can be heard in America and England, wherever the true Irish have settled. But they never forget their blood ties; and neither does she.
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Cluricauns There is much debate over whether cluricauns are actually leprechauns or their close cousins. Except for a pink tinge about the nose, they perfectly resemble leprechauns in all their physical characteristics. But they never wear an apron or carry a hammer, nor do they have any desire to work. They have silver buckles on their shoes, gold laces their caps and pale blue stockings up to the calves.
They like to enter rich men's wine cellars, as if they were their own, and drain the casks dry. To amuse themselves they harness sheep and goats and shepherds' dogs, jump from bogs and race them over the fields through the night.
Leprechauns sternly declare that cluricauns are none of their own. But some suspect they are really leprechauns on a spree, who, in the sobering morning, deny this double nature.
Fairies In Ireland two distinct fairies types exist, the trooping fairies and the solitary fairies.
The trooping fairies can be found in merry bans about the hawthorn tree or at feasts in gilded fairy palaces. They delight in company, while the solitary fairies avoid large gatherings, preferring to be left by themselves and separate from one another. Fairies exist all over the world. In Ireland they are the 'sidhe' (pronounced shee), a name retained from the ancient days. In a group they are the 'daione sidhe' or fairy people. Some say that they get their name 'Aes Sidhe' (folk of the 'sidhe' meaning hillock or mound) from the large sidh/mound they inhabit; but others claim that the mounds got their name from the fairies' habitation of them.
The trooping faeries are found living in the bushes & circles of stones that crop up all over Ireland -the fairy raths. The fairy raths crop up in pastures all over Ireland, and the farmers never plow them up for fear of disturbing the fairies who live there and bringing bad luck upon themselves.
Fairies are said to be very beautiful, with long yellow hair & perfect delicate forms. They love milk and honey and drink flower necter as their fairy wine. The fairies can assume any form and can make horses out of straw. They have the power to affect human life, especially unbaptized children. Fairies also love music, often luring mortals into an eternal dance with their piping & singing.
Leprechauns The leprechaun is a solitary creature avoiding contact with mortals and other leprechauns--indeed the whole fairy tribe. He pours all of his passion into the concentration of carefully making shoes. A leprechaun can always be found with a shoe in one hand and a hammer in the other.
Most leprechauns are ugly, stunted creatures, not taller than boys of the age of ten or twelve. But they are broad and bulky, with faces like dried apples. They have a mischievous light in their eyes and their bodies, despite their stubbiness, usually move gracefully.
They possess all the earth's treasures, but prefer to dress drab. Usually grey or green collared coats, a sturdy pocket-studded apron, and a hat sometimes green or dusty red collared.
They have been known to be foul-mouthed and they smoke ill-smelling pipes calld 'dudeens' and they drink quite a bit of beer from ever-handy jugs. But the other fairies endure them because they provide the much needed service of cobblery.
Leprechauns guard the fairies' treasures. They must prevent its theft by mortals. They, alone, remember when the marauding Danes landed in Ireland and where they hid their treasure. Although, they hide the treasures well, the presence of a rainbow alerts mortals to the whereabouts of gold hordes. This causes the leprechauns great anxiety for no matter how fast he moves his pot of gold, he never can get away from rainbows.
If a mortal catches a leprechaun and sternly demands his treasure, he will give it to the mortal. Rarely does this happen. Occasionally, especially after a wee too much beer, he will offer a mortal not only a drink but also some of his treasure. Female leprechauns do not exist.
The Red Man (Far Darrig) far darrig (or fear dearg) is a near relation to the leprechaun, with similar features and a short stocky body. His face is splotched yellow. He dresses in red from his hat to his tail-trailing cape to the woollen stockings that cling to his calves. This is the reason he is called the far darrig or red man.
He is known not only for his colour (sometimes he travels invisibly) but also for his delight in mischief and mockery. He can be a gruesome practical joker. He manipulates his voice, emitting sounds like the thudding waves on the rocks or the cooing of pigeons. His favourite is the dull, hollow laugh of a dead man; which he makes sound as if it's coming from the grave. He has also been known to give evil dreams.
Mortal terror amuses the far darrig. Occasionally, he invites a mortal to enter a lonely bog hut, then he orders him to make dinner out of a hag skewered on a spit. The man usually faints. When he recovers, he finds himself alone with the sound of laughter filling the air, but coming from no distinguishable source. It is advisable to say 'Na dean maggadh fum'-- do not mock me', when you encounter a far darrig, that way you cannot be used in one of his macabre games. Unfortunately, he plans his tricks so well that a mortal is snared long before he realizes the need to protest.
With all his pranks, the far darrig desires not to do harm but to show favour. He actually is good natured and will bring luck to those whom he approves; but he cannot resist a preliminary teasing.