Author Description

The people of Ireland are justly famous for their way with words and "gift of the gab," and their distinguished literary tradition and long and eventful history have been considerably enlivened by their ancient mythology and folklore which, fortunately, has remained largely unaffected in this modern age. Tales continue to be told around roaring fires on dark winter evenings, usually while the storyteller enjoys a "wee drop o' the black stuff to whet his whistle." Early tales were part of an oral tradition until they came to be written down by Christian scribes. Irish families still have their individual tales to tell, which are added to and embroidered and passed down from generation to generation. Thus arose the tales of banshees, pookas, fairy horses, changelings and other such creatures, with perhaps the most famous being the leprechaun, who spends his time making fairy shoes and mischief and who hides his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.