Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild,
With a fairy hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than
you can understand.
- W.B. Yeats, "The Stolen Child"

A Celtic legend about the origin of faeries tells how, at the creation, Lucifer led his rebellious angels out of heaven and that, because the gates were open, many other angels flew out also. The archangels called out to the Lord, "The heavenly city is being emptied." So the Father ordered the gates to be shut and ordered that all that were in to stay in and all that were out to stay out. However, those of the angelic host who had inadvertently fallen out but who were not part of Lucifer's host had no place to go and these became the faery-folk.

Always be on the lookout for the "Wee Folk" - you never know when you might encounter them! Some are mischevious, some are evil, some will bring you luck and some will even grant you wishes, but remember to watch carefully!  If you blink you might miss them! 

The Sociable Faeries

  The Sheoques live in sacred thorn bushes. They play faerie music to lead humans astray. Sometimes they switch a child with a faerie child to create a changeling which they caused to die in one year.

  The Merrows are often seen as little hornless cows but they really have fishes tails and wear a red cap (cohuleen driuth).   The men have green teeth, green hair, pigs eyes and red noses - the women are beautiful and prefer human mates.

The Solitary Faeries:

  The Cluricaun like to rob wine cellars.  All night long they  ride sheep and shepherd's dogs and they are found panting and covered with mud in the morning.

  The Gonconer (Ganconagh) is a love talker and idler and a pipe smoker.  He appears when making love to shepherdesses and milkmaids.

  The Fear Darrig-Red man, sometimes called a Joker.  Beware of him for he gives evil dreams.

  The Pooka likes to take a rider on a wild ride and shake him off in the grey of morning.  He especially likes drunkards.When it rains with sun shining that means he will be out that night. When berries are killed by frost it is the Pooka's spit which is upon them and they should not be eaten.

  The Dullahan is usually seen headless or carrying his head.  He rides in a black coach with headless horses.  If it goes to your door and if you open it a basin of blood is thrown at you.  This is a death omen.

  Leanhaun Shee is a Faerie mistress.   She seeks the love of men and if they refuse her she is their slave - if they consent  to love her they are hers forever.  However her lovers waste away therefore you must find one to go in your place.

  The Fear Gorta is the faerie of hunger.  Good luck to those who give him food.

  The Fear Sidhe: Male Faerie

  There are also faeries for certain parts of the country and certain aspects of the home.  There is one for water (sherie), one for light (Soullh)  and a host of lake faeries, dragons and ghosts.

The Banshee

  The Banshee, "Ban-Sidhe", literally the "Faerie Woman" has no home.  She is the spirit of death, the most weird and awful of all the fairy powers.   She comes near a house to wail for one who is about to die.  Those who know how piercing is the caoine, the people's lament for the dead, will realize what a dread visitor the Banshee would be.  In all respects this mysterious creature is like the "keener" or mourner for the dead; those who have looked upon her describe her as drawing a comb through her hair; she is probably tearing her hair out in the manner of the ancient mourners.  The Banshee haunts only the families of the "high Milesian race," that is, the families who names are Gaelic by the "O" or "Mac" or any of the other prefixes.  However, the Gaelic poets have granted a Banshee to some of the Norman-Irish families - the Fitzgeralds have been given one.   The Banshee is a respecter of persons and haunts only those who are authentically of noble stock.

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