On 26 December, masked figures in straw once knocked on Irish doors with a rhyme about a tiny bird. Here’s the story of Wren Day: how to say Lá an Dreoilín, the old hunt and today’s fake wren, the rhyme, the three legends, and where you can still see the wren boys parade.
The clurichaun is the solitary Irish fairy who drinks your best wine and moves house with you. Here is what Croker, Yeats and the Irish dictionary actually say about him, from the Haunted Cellar to The Sandman.
From the aos sí and the banshee to the dobhar-chú and Balor of the Evil Eye: 23 Irish mythological creatures, grouped by type, with their Irish names, a plain way to say each one, and an honest look at which stories are old and which are modern inventions.
A changeling in Irish folklore was a fairy left in place of a stolen child or young wife. Here are the signs people looked for and the harsh “cures” they tried. Then comes the true story of Bridget Cleary, killed by her husband in Tipperary in 1895, and how the belief is explained today.
Ireland’s vampire, Abhartach, was first printed in full in 1869, and he never drank a drop of blood. Here’s what the old sources really say about him and the Dearg Due, and how a Dublin civil servant called Bram Stoker came up with Dracula.
The púca, or pooka, is Ireland’s great shape-shifter: a black horse, a horned goat, a red bull, even a fleece of wool. Here are the real recorded stories, from wild night rides to the Halloween blackberry rule, plus Harvey, Carrigaphooca Castle in Cork and the Púca Festival 2026.
The Dullahan is Ireland’s headless horseman, a rider carrying his own head or a coachman driving the death coach. Here’s what the old sources from Cork to Clare say, and which bits the internet made up, like gold and the spine whip.
The Cat Sìth is the black fairy cat of Highland folklore, with Irish cousins. Here’s what the oldest source really says, where the soul-stealing and Samhain milk stories came from, and how a witch’s ninth change may have given cats nine lives.
Valentine’s Day has always been a time for romance, but how did Dubliners celebrate it over 40 years ago? Thanks to a fascinating archive video from 1983, we can take …
The banshee, or bean sí, is the woman of the fairy mound who keens before a death in certain Irish families. Here is what the old sources and the Schools’ Collection actually say about her cry, her comb, the O’s and Macs, a Cork rector in the 1700s, and The Banshees of Inisherin.
Grace O’Malley, Granuaile, was a real Mayo sea captain who met Elizabeth I in 1593. Here is what the records say, what is legend, and where to find her today.
Are you staring at a blank Valentine’s Day card, looking for the best Valentine’s Day messages for your partner? Don’t worry, we have all been there. You want to express …
The full “May the road rise up to meet you” blessing, line by line, plus the Irish Go n-éirí an bóthar leat, how to say it, and the real story of where the verse comes from.
The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry is Child Ballad 113, a Shetland song about a seal-man, his son and a gunner. Here are the old words, a plain-English guide verse by verse, the tunes, and Ireland’s own seal-folk stories.
What is a selkie? The seal people of Orkney, Shetland and the west of Ireland: the stolen skin, the seal wife, the Conneely clan, the merrow, the films, and where to see seals in Ireland today.