Fairies
In Ireland two distinct faery types exist, the trooping faeries 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. Fairies exist all over the world. In Ireland they are the 'sidhe' (pronounced shee), a name retained from the ancient days. In a group they are the 'daione sidhe' or fairy people. Some say that they get their name 'Aes Sidhe' (folk of the 'sidhe' meaning hillock or mound) from the large sidh/mound they inhabit; but others claim that the mounds got their name from the fairies' habitation of them.

The trooping faeries are found living in the bushes & 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 fairies who live there & bringing bad luck upon themselves.

Fairies are said to be very beautiful, with long yellow hair & perfect delicate forms. They love milk and honey and drink flower necter as their fairy wine. The fairies can assume any form & can make horses out of straw. They have the power to affect human life, especially unbaptized children. Fairies also love music, often luring mortals into an eternal dance with their piping & singing.

Leprechaun
Irish fairy. looks like a small old man (approx 2 feet tall), often dressed like a shoemaker,with a cocked hat & a leather apron. According to legend, leprechauns are aloof, unfriendly, live alone, & pass the time making shoes...they also possess a hidden pot of gold. Treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's hammer. If caught, he can be forced to reveal the whereabouts of his treasure, but the captor must keep their eyes on him. If the captor's eyes leave the leprechaun, he vanishes & all hopes of finding the treasure are lost.

Banshees
Banshee or 'Bean-sidhe' is Irish for fairy woman. 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'. 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.

White Lady of Sorrow some people name her, 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.

Blarney stone
The Blarney Stone is a stone set in the wall of the Blarney Castle tower in the Irish village of Blarney. Kissing the stone is supposed to bring the kisser the gift of persuasive eloquence (blarney). The castle was built in 1446 by Cormac Laidhiv McCarthy (Lord of Muskerry) -- its walls are 18 feet thick (necessary to thwart attacks by Cromwellians & William III's troops).

The origins of the Blarney Stone's magical properties aren't clear, one legend says that an old woman cast a spell on the stone to reward a king who had saved her from drowning. Kissing the stone while under the spell gave the king the ability to speak sweetly & convincingly. It's tough to reach the stone -- it's between the main castle wall & the parapet. Kissers have to lie on their back & bend backward, holding iron bars for support.

Shamrock
Long ago, when Ireland was the land of Druids, there was a great Bishop, Patrick by name, who came to teach the word of God throughout the country......This saint, was well loved everywhere he went. One day, however, a group of his followers came to him & admitted that it was difficult for them to believe in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. St. Patrick reflected a moment & then, stooping down, he plucked a shamrock & held it before them, bidding them to behold the living example of the "Three-In-One." The simple beauty of this explanation convinced these skeptics, & from that day the shamrock has been revered throughout Ireland.