Happy Leprechaun Day

May 12th, 2022

I would like to wish you a Happy Leprechaun Day! Maybe you didn’t know that May 13 is officially Leprechaun Day. I can’t say that I knew this either, until someone recently called it to my attention, because well, I wrote a book that includes the spirit of a leprechaun! You might read my story and think I’m a little crazy, but then I would suggest it comes from my Irish DNA and the folklore of my ancestors who believed in these little people.

The word leprechaun finds it origins in the Gaelic word meaning “small body”. The ancient Irish believed leprechauns lived in fairy rings and fairy houses. They are noted in written manuscripts as early as the 12th century. Now, we usually see leprechauns portrayed with a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Irish folklore suggests that if we catch a leprechaun, they will offer us three wishes in exchange for their freedom. These wee ones hold some magic, they do!

On my last trip to Ireland, I visited the National Leprechaun Museum in Dublin, hoping to become an expert in the little guys. I must admit the museum provided more questions than answers. The tour guide told us that the Americans deserve much of the credit for the notoriety of these mythical creatures. Walt Disney popularized the leprechauns by writing them into a movie script, Darby O’Gill and the Little People, produced in 1959. Irish immigrants in America keep the stories of the leprechaun alive. We walked through a tunnel into a small room with huge chairs, offering photo ops to transform us into little people. There, a storyteller shared tales of leprechauns explaining that’s how the legends were passed along, over the fire in the little cottages at night At the end of the tour, I posed to get my picture taken on a bench with a statue of a leprechaun.

When I later wrote my book, Revelation in the Roots: Emerald Isle, I decided to include a spirit leprechaun, Síocháin, the Gaelic name meaning peace. In my novel, Síocháin appears first to Abigail who soon learns she has Irish DNA. The leprechaun recommends a spirit of listening on their exploration of Ireland. Next, Síocháin startles Welby on a silent retreat in the heart of Ireland, calling him to greatness. Later, in my book, the group tours the Leprechaun Museum in Dublin. I’ll conclude with a limerick for you.

There once was a leprechaun, named Síocháin,

A magical lad who made peace his thing.

He convinced Abigail to listen

And helped Welby glisten

In Revelations in the Roots, the leprechaun’s gold does sing.

And so, I wish the top ‘o the morning to you and a very Happy Leprechaun Day. May you find that pot of gold at the end of your rainbow and may all your dreams come true! And if you’re looking for a book that matters, where a leprechaun is working for peace, read my latest book: Revelation in the Roots: Emerald Isle (All Things That Matter Press, 2022).