Of Leprechuans…
Leprechuans are a relatively new addition to the fairy family, with the earliest known reference to a leprechaun appearing in a medieval tale ‘Echtra Fergus mac Léti ‘ (Adventure of Fergus son of Léti‘), somewhere around the eighth century. After that there is only occasional reference to leprechaun’s in Irish folklore until the eighteenth century, where the figure gained popular attention. Interestingly, the Irish writer William Butler Yeats was a primary influence in promoting the recognition of this character through his overall documentation of fairies in general.
Yeat’s described the leprechaun as a type of solitary fairy, industrious, and mischievous, and as shoemakers who guarded pots of gold. He further noted them as beings distinct from other fairies, due to their solitary nature, miserly tendencies, and propensity for playing pranks. However, though troublesome, he did not consider them particularly evil. Also, he made clear distinction that leprechauns are not part nor from the Aos Sí (the ‘good people’) of the fairy mounds (sidhe), the Tuatha Dé Danaan, but rather of different origin, being introduced much later in Irish myth, and with at least one source describing them as ‘the son of an “evil spirit” and a “degenerate fairy”!
Regardless, the general appearance of leprechauns is fairly refined, without too much variation, that being a little man wearing green clothes, a coat and hat, and often adorned with gold buttons or belt buckle. Earlier descriptions have leprechauns wearing red jackets and with red beards. They are also often portrayed wearing thick, brown aprons, where they put their tools for shoemaking, their primary occupation.
It is said in the earliest tales that leprechauns were in constant need of repairing their shoes because they were very active running here and there, and further had a proclivity for drinking (even being called fierce drunkards) and dancing through the night, thus constantly wearing out their shoes. So early stories describe leprechauns mending their own shoes, while later stories describe them as full fledged shoemakers, apparently from becoming very proficient at their chosen and well loved skill.
Celtic Fairy Tales (1892)
Edited Joseph Jacobs
Another famous aspect of leprechauns is their great love and lust for gold. There are many a story about how humans try to claim the fabled ‘pot of gold’ from a leprechaun, and how they are tricked by the leprechaun, who will do most anything to stop humans from finding it, and thereby protecting his gold. One of their favorite tricks is to hide their gold under the end of a rainbow, something impossible to find. They also love pranks, tricks and jokes of all types, indeed, being their other primary occupation, and giving them the reputation as troublesome.
Leprechauns also have many magic abilities and tricks. They can become invisible. They can grant wishes. They can create illusions, possess an uncanny or supernatural ability to outsmart humans, can teleport, cast spells and even alter space and time. But they are also vulnerable to other magicks, such as not being able to escape under the watchful eye of a human, having to wait until a human looks away before vanishing.
Ellen Hattie Clapsaddle (1865-1934 American)
There is the legend that states that if you catch a leprechaun, he will either grant you a wish, or give you his gold for his safe return. While the chase for gold is nearly always thwarted, a leprechaun can be held to his word to grant a wish, or three, in exchange for his release. This was first described in a thirteenth century version of the eight century tale referenced above, ‘Echtra Fergus mac Léti ‘ (Adventure of Fergus son of Léti‘), where Fergus mac Léti, King of Ulster, falls asleep on the beach and awakes to find himself being dragged into the sea by three ‘lúchorpáin’. He captures his abductors, who grant him three wishes in exchange for their release.
Finally, leprechauns became very popular, like other fairies, in the early 1800’s, and to this day, featured in stories, in print, in movies, to in marketing. Numerous books from the 1800’s, collections of folk tales all have tales of leprechauns, with example publications being (Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland (1862), Irish Folk Lore: Traditions and Superstitions of the Country (1870), Irish Wonders (1888) The Crock of Gold (1912)). More recent examples of leprechauns in modern times include the postcard craze of the early 1900’s, the 1959 movie ‘Darby O Gill And The Little People‘ and the 1993 slasher film, aptly named ‘Leprechuan’. Their is also the continual marketing using this characterization to sell all manner of products and momentos, such as the cereal Lucky Charms. And speaking of luck, the leprechaun also became the primary spokesperson for the fabled ‘Luck of the Irish’, which if rightly understood, is a joke onto itself, and quite fitting given the jokester aspect of a leprechaun.