What Mythical Creatures Come From Ireland? Irish fairy tales and folklore are populated with a wonderful collection of magical creatures and supernatural beings. Leprechauns are so famous they can sell breakfast cereal, and many people have heard the legend of the Banshee—but what about the rest?
For better or for worse, one of Ireland’s greatest cultural exports has been the leprechaun. While leprechauns are often depicted as evil, greedy creatures, the mythology actually portrays them as neither wholly good nor wholly evil. They do love their pots of gold though, which they carefully...
Britain and Ireland, the latter where it was probably introduced by the English in the 17c, are home to one species of pike: the northern pike (Esox lucius). The English common name “pike” is an apparent shortening of “pike-fish”, in reference to its pointed head, Old English píc...
history that has led to many traditions, fantastic music, and captivating stories. Readers of this blog can discover the origins of Scottish music and its close ties with Ireland, and other Celtic lands Traditional folk ballads tell tales of mystery and epic battles, evoking a sense of wonder....
The world over has its legends of goblins, ghosts and giant snowmen. Tales abound of beasts and brides of the sea. Here in Ireland, we have our own magical creatures. Banshees, leprachauns and, especially, fairies still inspire respect in Ireland. ...
You hear a lot about Ireland’s relationship with the Church, but beyond Catholicism and Protestantism, there is another set of beliefs which, in some corners, still prevails; an older, stranger set of superstitions rooted in the land and the country’s pagan past. ...
Wrens were once subject to the horrid practice of the Wren Hunt at Christmas. The practice predominantly occurs in Ireland, England, Wales, and France, with only a single recorded instance in Scotland. In some places, the hunt took place during the festive period, in others, the hunt fell ...
Originally considered fairies, their Irish name, bean sídhe, means “woman of the mounds,” those mounds (sídhe) being the ancient burial mounds believed in Ireland to be the home of fairies. The banshee’s wailing, which betokens imminent death of a blood relative, is probably based upon...
This quiz and worksheet specifically contains questions about the types of animals found in the folklore of Ireland and the ancient Celts. You can answer these questions to go over some major examples of animals in Irish-Celtic folklore, their characteristics, and their cultural significance. Quiz...
The Myrmecoleon, or Ant-lion, is a tale of two creatures and many translation errors. Druce distinguishes between the Eastern myrmecoleon, a hybrid of lion and ant, and the Western myrmecoleon, a carnivorous insect. These are one and the same, but the vagaries of translation led them down...