Leprechaun

Welcome to the 12th day of the A to Z April Challenge. This is a blog hop where the participants follow the alphabet and post every day except Sundays. To visit the main web page click HERE.

I chose Fantasy as my theme and today is about Leprechauns.



Probably the most famous of the Irish fairies, leprechauns are little people in Irish folklore, usually clad in a red or green coat, who enjoy partaking in mischief. Like other fairy creatures, leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha De Danann of Irish mythology. The leprechauns spend all their time busily making shoes, and store away all their coins in a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If ever captured by a human, the leprechaun has the power to grant three wishes in exchange for their release. However, they are exceptionally clever and tricky and very few mortals ever get the best of a leprechaun.

Popular depiction shows the leprechaun as being no taller than a small child, with a beard and hat, although they may have originally been perceived as the tallest of the mound dwellers (the Tuatha De Danann).

The earliest known reference to the leprechaun appears in the medieval tale known as the Echtra Fergus mac Leti (Adventure of Fergus son of Leti). The text contains an episode in which Fergus mac Leti, King of Ulster, falls asleep on the beach and wakes up to find himself being dragged into the sea by three luchorpain. He captures his abductors, who grant him three wishes in exchange for their release.