Irish folklore tells of many different magical and mystical creatures, one of which is the leprechaun. This story has had many a child chasing rainbows for centuries, trying to get to the end and find the pot of gold. The image of the leprechaun has been greatly altered to benefit the media. Children grow up eating cereal marketed to them as “magically delicious” by a leprechaun named “Lucky”. In 1993 the movie “Leprechaun” depicted an evil leprechaun who goes on a killing spree to retrieve his pot of gold.

Irish folklore has a different story to tell of the leprechaun. He is a male fairy, usually no more than two feet tall and is believed to be the cobbler of the fairy world. It is said that a leprechaun can always be found with a shoe in one hand and a hammer in the other. They wear muted greys and greens so that they can blend in to their surroundings, a sturdy apron and a hat (usually a dusty green or red). They are loner creatures who don’t socialize with other leprechauns, fairies, or humans who they regard as foolish and flighty. The gold that they guard is said to have been left behind when the Danes plundered Ireland. They buried their gold and left the leprechauns to watch over it, but they never returned to claim it. They still guard the treasure but will tell the location of it if ever caught. One must be careful though because they are very clever and tricky creatures.

It is said that the location of a leprechauns gold is given away by the presence of a rainbow. Leprechauns are constantly moving their gold around, trying to find new hiding places for it but they cannot escape the rainbows. Legend has it that, when in Ireland, if you put your ear to the ground you can hear the tap tap of the cobbler’s hammer. If you follow the sound you may find a leprechaun, but you must be very quiet and sneak up on him, grab him by the arm and look him in the eye and he will not be able to escape. The leprechaun is very clever and will try to trick you into looking away and breaking eye contact, if he is successful he will disappear before his you can glance back. If he is unsuccessful he will try to bribe you into releasing him. First he will offer a silver coin, this is a magic coin which will return to his pouch once he is away. Second he will offer a gold coin, this too is enchanted and will turn to leaves or stone once he has vanished. Finally he will try offering three wishes before taking you to his pot of gold. Again he is very clever and these wishes often result in you accidentally wishing yourself away from the leprechaun and his pot of gold.

Rarely does someone succeed in getting a leprechaun to reveal his treasure. One story tells of a farmer who was not fooled by the leprechaun and was taken to his pot of gold which was buried under a bush. He had nothing to dig with so he took his red sock, tied it around to the bush and went home for a shovel. When he returned there was a red sock tied to every bush in the field and the farmer never found the pot of gold.

Leprechauns are often confused with their cousins Claricauns. Except for the rosy color of a claricaun’s nose, they are almost identical in appearance. Claricauns hate to work and are never seen in an apron. Most often they are in the cellar of the house drinking wine and ale down to the very last drop. Or, they may be seen late at night riding sheep, goats or dogs through the fields. They are very mischievous creatures who like playing tricks on humans. Often you will hear an old woman blame the leprechauns for missing keys or some other valuable that had disappeared. Leprechauns hate this association and claim they have nothing to do with the claricauns and deny any kinship. Some believe that claricauns are just leprechauns on a drunken spree who deny everything once morning breaks.

Whether or not leprechauns actually exist is not a point up for debate. There is a magic in storytelling and Ireland is a place full of lore and legend. In that sense, Leprechauns will live on forever.