Irish history is rich with myths and legends. The adventures of the famous seer-warrior Fionn Mac Cumhaill are still known to many Irish people. These include how he gained his wisdom as a boy by tasting the 'salmon of knowledge', how he triumphed over miscellaneous giants and magicians, and how he had the truths of life explained to him in a strange allegorical house. The champion Lugh, originally a god of the Continental Celts, is also remembered - especially how he slew his tyrant grandfather who had a horrific eye which destroyed all on which it gazed.

The adventures of the super warrior C? Chulainn are spoken of and tales are also told of more true to life characters, such as the quasihistorical High-King Cormac Mac Airt and the historical though much romanticised Conall Gulban, son of the great king Niall and contemporary of St Patrick.

Ireland is famous for its fairy lore , which also contains vestiges of prechristian tradition. The fairies are known in Irish as the people of the s? (pronounced she), a word which originally designated a mound or tumulus, and the Irish fairies can be connected with early Celtic beliefs of how the dead live on as a dazzling community in their burial chambers. Through their identification in the medieval literature with the Tuatha D? Danann ('People of the Goddess Danu') they may also be connected directly to the early pantheon of Celtic deities.

Dwarves, Elves & Leprechauns

While the physical appearance of all of these beasties is variable, they share a number of characteristics. Like all fairies they have the ability to become invisible at will, and all seem to possess the ability to traverse vast distances with magic. All have an intimate connection with nature. Dwarves tend to look like short stock people (rocket science this isn’t) and like to hang out underground mining and smithing. Elves tend to be tall and slender and spend most of their time dancing in the woods. They are fantastically beautiful and to look at one is to go stark raving mad from desire. Leprechauns also have an affinity for the wilderness, but look more like dwarves and speak with annoying Irish accents. What unites these three races is their general desire to avoid people. That don’t necessarily dislike humans, they just see us as trouble and want to stay away from us. Dwarves just because we are a nuisance, Elves for the same reason that girls abhor obsessed lovers and Leprechauns because humans are always trying to steal their pots of gold. They do have all sorts of magic powers so its best not to screw with them. Leprechauns are probably the most powerful, but tend to work alone. Elves and Dwarves are easy prey individually - but they are never alone, and they will come after kidnapped companions. In general, the knowledge (or gold) you are going to get from one of these creatures just isn’t worth the hassle.

Gnomes & Brownies

These are the only Fairies that are consistently helpful to humanity. What their thoughts are on helping humans who make a habit of preying on their fellow man aren’t clear. Gnomes look like tiny (around one foot) humans who live underground. They love to give advice (usually clandestinely) to humans and will occasionally materially help someone out (finish the work of an overworked tailor, etc.) Brownies are basically the “good” counterpart of the Bogey. Small invisible creatures that live inside a house (or lab) and try to do nice little things for its inhabitants. Fixing a broken hairdryer, keeping batteries from running down, things like that. If anyone finds a way to capture a few of these creatures and force them to help out in an evil lab, we’d love it if you could share your techniques.

Goblins, Bogeys, & Trolls

Again, these are three different looking species that share a common regard for humanity. They don’t like us, and want to cause as much trouble for us as possible. Goblins and Bogeys both have the ability to become invisible, while Trolls can quickly sink into the ground or water and thus become functionally undetectable. Bogeys are the smallest of the three, ranging anywhere from a few inches to nearly two feet. They like to live inside houses, often in cupboards, attics, etc. We haven’t heard of any lab infestations but imagine they could find plenty of places in a modern evil science lab to tuck away in as well. They are more annoying than anything else, hiding things, causing food to spoil, that sort of thing. We imagine they could ruin an awful lot of experiments. Goblins are a little larger, usually one to three feet, but sometimes much larger or smaller. In addition to working alone and carrying out activities virtually identical to Bogeys, Goblins can gather in groups and perform more seriously destructive acts. Arson, theft, and even murder is not unheard of. The most notable activity is the theft of babies whom are then genetically modified so as to develop into goblins (called changelings). Whereas Bogeys are almost as ephemeral as nature spirits and therefore almost impossible to kill, Goblins are much more corporeal. Standard conventional weapons will suffice and infrared optics will allow their detection. They also tend to be frightened by fire and large gatherings of people. Trolls are the most sinister of the bunch. They are usually six to twelve feet tall, covered in thick skin and often scaly with horns. They usually live alone near bridges or crossroads and will endeavor to eat lone travelers. With the advent of the automobile their effectiveness has decreased markedly, but they still manage to munch on the odd backpacker. They can be harmed with conventional weapons and are somewhat cowardly. If you have to walk alone, make sure a big gun is visible and you are unlikely to be bothered.

Pixies & Fairies

These creatures are almost identical. Both are about two feet tall, with gossamer wings and the ability to become invisible. They find humanity incredibly amusing and love to play pranks on people. They are by far the most dangerous of the fairies as their idea of a prank is almost universally detestable to humans. Stealing babies for Goblins is a common mundane activity but they are also responsible for poisoning people with a variety of sleeping or love potions, changing people’s shapes or setting up Home Alone type traps that result in death or maiming. In general the things are little monsters. They die relatively easily if you can spot them, but this is a difficult thing to do. When invisible they are undetectable throughout the EM band although some efforts to use sound have been marginally effective. They are remarkably good at evading invisible lasers but randomly firing bursts from flame-throwers will usually catch a few. That in itself is a problem. These creatures like to travel in large groups and if you don’t get them all you can be sure that the rest will make your life hell.

Banshee

Banshee or ‘Bean-sidhe’ is Irish for faerie woman - ban (bean), meaning a woman, and shee ( sidhe), meaning faerie. The banshee can appear in one of three guises: a young woman, a stately matron or a raddled old hag. These represent the triple aspects of the Celtic goddess of war and death, namely Badhbh, Macha and Mor-Rioghain.

She usually wears either a grey, hooded cloak or the winding sheet or grave robe of the unshriven dead. She may also appear as a washer-woman, and is seen apparently washing the blood stained clothes of those who are about to die. In this guise she is known as the bean-nighe or washing woman. She always has long flowing hair and eyes red from crying.

When someone is about to die, the Banshee appears at the family’s home during the night and weeps and wails. Sometimes, the Banshee cries for several nights in a row. Her sharp, cries and wails are also called ‘keen’. The wail of a banshee pierces the night, it’s notes rising and falling like the waves of the sea, it always announces a mortal’s death.

She is solitary woman fairy, mourning and forewarning those only of the best families in Ireland, those with most ancient Celtic lineages, whose names begin with ‘Mac/Mc’ or ‘O’. According to tradition, the banshee can only cry for five major Irish families: the O’Neills, the O’Briens, the O’Connors, the O’Gradys and the Kavanaghs. Intermarriage has since extended this select list.

Each Banshee has her own mortal family and out of love she follows the old race across the ocean to distant lands. Her wails or keen can be heard in America and England, wherever the true Irish have settled.

When a member of the beloved race is dying, she paces the dark hills about his house. She sharply contrasts against the night’s blackness, her white figure emerges with silver-grey hair streaming to the ground and a grey-white cloak of a cobweb texture clinging to her tall thin body. Her face is pale, her eyes red with centuries of crying.

She is also know as White Lady of Sorrow and Lady of Death. Unseen, banshees attend the funerals of the beloved dead. Although, sometimes she can be heard wailing, her voice blending in with the mournful cries of others.

Tag: Fairy tales, goblins, Elves, Leprechauns