Lucky the Leprechaun

Lore & Background

Leprechaun-like creatures rarely appear in Irish mythology and only became prominent in later folklore. The earliest known reference appears in the medieval tale 'Echtra Fergus mac Léti' (Adventure of Fergus son of Léti), dated to the 8th century. In that story, Fergus mac Léti, King of Ulster, falls asleep on the beach and wakes to find himself being dragged into the sea by three lúchorpáin. He captures his abductors, who grant him three wishes in exchange for release.

The leprechaun is said to be a solitary creature whose principal occupation is making and cobbling shoes, and who enjoys practical jokes. According to William Butler Yeats, the great wealth of leprechauns comes from 'treasure-crocks, buried of old in war-time', which they have uncovered and appropriated. According to David Russell McAnally, the leprechaun is the son of an 'evil spirit' and a 'degenerate fairy' and is 'not wholly good nor wholly evil'.

Reader's Guide

The leprechaun originally had a different appearance depending on where in Ireland he was found. Before the 20th century, it was generally held that the leprechaun wore red, not green. Samuel Lover, writing in 1831, describes the leprechaun as wearing 'a red square-cut coat, richly laced with gold, and inexpressible of the same, cocked hat, shoes and buckles.' According to Yeats, the solitary fairies like the leprechaun wear red jackets, whereas 'trooping fairies' wear green.

Yeats' leprechaun wore a jacket with seven rows of buttons with seven buttons to each row. The modern image of the leprechaun sitting on a toadstool, having a red beard and green hat, is a more modern invention or borrowed from other strands of European folklore. The most likely explanation for the modern day leprechaun appearance is that green is a traditional national Irish color dating back as far as 1642. The hat might be derived from the style of outdated fashion still common in Ireland in the 19th century.

Did You Know?

• The word 'leprechaun' is descended from Old Irish 'luchorpán' or 'lupracán'.
• The first recorded instance of the word in English was in Dekker's comedy 'The Honest Whore, Part 2' (1604).
• The leprechaun is similar to the clurichaun and the far darrig in that he is a solitary creature.
• In the politics of the Republic of Ireland, leprechauns have been used to refer to the twee aspects of the tourism field.