The Leprechauns are merry, industrious, tricksy little sprites, who do all the shoemaker’s work and the tailor’s and the cobblers for the fairy gentry, and are often seen at sunset under the hedge singing and stitching. They know all the secrets of hidden treasure, and if they take a fancy to a person will guide him to the spot in the fairy rath where the pot of gold lies buried.
It is believed that a family now living near Castlerea came by their riches in a strange way, all through the good offices of a friendly Leprechaun. And the legend has been handed down through many generations as an established fact.
From 'Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions' by Lady Wilde (1887)
Art by Jean Baptiste Monge
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