Clurichaun

The clurichaun, also called a clúrachán (from the Irish *clobhair-ceann*), is a solitary fairy in Irish folklore, distinct from trooping fairies because it is always encountered alone. Its defining traits are a deep love of drinking and a habit of haunting breweries, pubs, and wine cellars. It is related to the leprechaun, and the two are sometimes confused. Some folklorists think the clurichaun is simply a leprechaun on a drinking binge, while others see them as regional versions of the same creature.

In the 1825 folktale "The Haunted Cellar," recorded by Thomas Crofton Croker, a clurichaun named Naggeneen haunts an Irish lord’s wine cellar. He drinks everything he can find and plays frightening pranks on the servants. He is described as a tiny man, only six inches tall, with a face like a withered apple, twinkling eyes, and a red and purple nose from heavy drinking. He wears a red nightcap, a short leather apron, light blue stockings, and shoes with large silver buckles. When the master of the house discovers him, Naggeneen talks him out of moving by hinting he would simply move with him. Other accounts say clurichauns wear red, like other solitary fairies.

In another tale, "Master and Man," a young man named Billy Mac Daniel is offered a drink by a clurichaun on a winter night. After taking it, he refuses to pay, so the clurichaun forces him into seven years and a day of service. Billy eventually breaks the spell by invoking God’s blessing. In this story, the clurichaun can pass through keyholes to enter homes and wine cellars, turn bog rushes into horses to ride, and fly through the air on rushes, much like witches on broomsticks.

Thomas Keightley’s *Fairy Mythology* (1828) tells of a clurichaun named Little Wildbean, who was more helpful than most but quick to anger. He haunted the wine cellar of a Quaker named Harris. If a servant left a beer barrel running, Wildbean would wedge himself inside to stop the flow until someone turned it off. His dinner was left in the cellar, but one night the cook gave him only part of a herring and cold potatoes. At midnight, Wildbean dragged her out of bed and down the cellar stairs, leaving her bruised and bedridden for three weeks. When Mr. Harris tried to move to escape him, he turned back after finding Wildbean had come along.