Irish Faerie Folklore...Because faeries are my fav ; )

I love faeries, have faery artwork all over my home and have 8 faery tattoos. Faery jewelry and faery sculptures and nic nacs are everywhere at home. I am even making a faery portal for my garden..dont ask..it's just me ; )

So I am including some Irish History on Faeries!

Irish Sidhe (pronounced shee)


In Ireland two distinct fairy 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.

The trooping faeries are the major and presiding residents of fairyland; but the solitary ones (leprechauns, selkies, banshees, merrows, etc...) have greater interest in mortal affairs and therefore are generally more familiar to us.

Fairies exist all over the world. In Ireland they are the 'sidhe' (pronounced shee), a name they have retained from the ancient days.

The trooping faeries are found living in the bushes and 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 faires who live there and bringing down some bad luck upon themselves.

The fairies are said to be very beautiful, with long yellow hair and perfect delicate forms. They love milk and honey and drink flower nectar 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. The fairies also love music, often luring mortals into an eternal dance with their piping and singing.


Leprechauns (links included to go to the site, www.irelandseye.com )

Left 1
Standing Stones
The Leprechaun Watch

The Leprechaun Watch

Not far from the town of Thurles, in a picturesque part of Tipperary, is nestled the enchanting Glen of Cloongallon. To the north rise the Silvermine Mountains, and on a clear day it is possible to see the fabled seat of the kings of Munster. The mighty Rock of Cashel dominates the surrounding the plain.

A fairy ring lies in the heart of the Glen. (.view the location..) This prehistoric earthwork, some 500 ft (170m) in diameter and averaging 10 ft (3m) in height, encloses an neolithic dolmen. It is here, following mysterious events on a nearby farm, that irelandseye.com has been invited to establish a live cam Leprechaun Watch. We have set up a video camera connected via a satellite phone to the Internet. The apparatus is located in a 'hide' on the edge of the ring. The area has a reputation as a haunt for supernatural beings of various types. These include leprechauns, sheeries and pookas. They are regarded as being particularly active in the spring.

The Glen of Cloongallon is in the townland of Ballyseanrath. In a slight hollow lies the fairy ring itself. It is not obvious to passers-by as it is surrounded by hedges of hawthorn, ash, blackthorn hedges and early flowering gorse. There are trees ranged around the perimeter, mainly chestnut, with one magnificent specimen of oak. The oak is believed to be over 600 years old. Its magical reputation may stem from its providing leprechauns with acorns for their pipes. The tree is thought to be protected by a skeaghshee or tree spirit. Thus it may well have been spared the axe in Tudor times. Many of its species were felled to build Men O'War for Henry VIII's navy. It has been pressed into modern day service as a 'hide'. The camera is concealed in a cavity in its trunk, and a branch supports an antenna!