Encounter Atlas
The leprechaun is a small, solitary fairy of Irish folklore, usually pictured as a little old bearded man mending a single shoe. Catch him and keep your eyes on him, the stories say, and he must lead you to his hidden gold; look away for a second and he is gone. The earliest version appears in an 8th-century tale in which three lúchorpáin drag King Fergus mac Léti into the sea and grant him three wishes to let them go.
Before the 20th century, leprechauns were said to wear red, not green. Writing in 1888, David Russell McAnally described one as 'about three feet high' in a red jacket and cocked hat. The green suit, buckled hat and rainbow came later, partly through tourism and St Patrick's Day imagery. Irish folklorists see the leprechaun as separate from the aos sí, the more dangerous fairy host.
The Cooley Mountains above Carlingford in County Louth have become Ireland's best-known leprechaun country. Locals campaigned for years and, in 2010, newspapers reported that the area had become a protected zone for 'little people'. In fact the legal protection covers the mountain's wildlife habitat, but the annual leprechaun hunt goes on.
What witnesses report
- A tapping sound like a tiny hammer
- A small man in red or green, working on a shoe
- Glint of gold that disappears
- Gone the moment you look away
Famous cases
- 2010Cooley Mountains 'protected zone' for little people reported
Carlingford, Ireland
Seen the Leprechaun?
Tell us what happened. Every report is read by a person before it goes on the map, and you can stay anonymous.
