![]() My thanks go to the staff of Belfast Central Library, and to the library staff of St Mary's College, Belfast, for their constant enthusiastic help. ![]() I would also like to express my gratitude to Professor George Stockman of the Celtic Department of Queens University Belfast for his help, and to Linda M Ballard of the Department of Non- Material Culture of the Ulster Folk Museum for her ready assistance and valuable information. Since the energy of the Irish belief in fairies presents such a contrast to the position in the rest of Europe, where acceptance of a supernatural culture is very much a thing of the past, I was prompted to investigate the Irish fairy culture as it exists in the present day, basing my conclusions largely on information and evidence collected from the Irish people themselves.Īt no time did I encounter hostility or total refusal to discuss the subject, and I would like to express my appreciation to all those interviewed for their assistance and information the most important of these are documented at the end of this paper. Would perhaps claim that fairy belief is or ought Possible to make absolute statements about urbanĪs opposed to rural ideas, about beliefs and Tradition to be collected … more detailed studyĪnd collection of stories is required before it is It would not be true to say that everyone hereīelieves in fairies, but there is still a strong Linda M Ballard, of the Department of Non- Material Culture of the Ulster Folk Museum, in a letter dated 19 November 1984, offered the following comment on distribution of belief throughout Northern Ireland: One acquaintance, who holds a Masters degree, is often seen to leave a scrap of food on her plate, or a little liquid in the bottom of the glass, "for the fairies". Likewise, level of formal education does not necessarily cancel out belief in the fairies such belie f is also traceable among academics and intellectuals. Similar attitudes are displayed by all levels of society: middle class professional families reveal as convincing a faith in the fairies l existence as do their working class contemporaries. Even there, however, I found the same acceptance as I experienced in the rural communities of the outlying areas of the south Further, belief in the fairies is not only widespread geographically speaking, but also through the various social strata. During my stay, I was based in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, and the most industrialized city in the whole of the country. Generally speaking, fairy belief is evident throughout - the whole of Ireland. ![]() Only on extremely rare occasions did I encounter such reluctance on the contrary, people were usually anxious to provide, as much as assistance as possible. There is no sense of embarrassment or shame in discussing the fairies, no sense of having to "admit" to a belief in them any reticence which does occur arises more from a reluctance to offend the fairies by repeating experiences concerning them rather than from an unwillingness to offer information. There existed and still exists in Ireland an unselfconscious acceptance of the supernatural which is rarely found in other parts of the western world. (The importance of religion in Irish life is proven by the continuing unrest in the north of the country, which is, to some extent, fired by religious fervour.) My more recent research of the situation has provided no evidence to dispute this earlier opinion. Was neither eccentric nor academic, but that the fairy culture constituted as matter-of-fact an element of day to day life as did religion. It was clear to me at that time that the attitude of the Irish to their fairy folk (xi) Leanhaun Shee (Irish: leanhaun sidhe)Ĥ Comparison between the Irish Tales and the Fairy Tale in Generalĭuring a year- long period spent in Ireland (1975-6), I was struck by the very evident belief of the great majority of the population in what were usually referred to as "the wee folk", "the good people", or "the gentry" - that is, in the fairy creatures, including such internationally renowned figures as the Leprechaun, as well as the more obscure Ganconer, the Leanhaun Shee, and the like. (iii) Ganconer/Gancanagh (Irish : gean- canogh) ![]()
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