Irish+Legend

==Who Are The Leprechauns of Ireland? == As part of Irish mythology and folklore the Leprechauns are part of our faerie folk, called by some as the “wee folk”. As a cousin of the clurichaun they are known to inhabited Ireland well before [|the arrival of the Celts]. Small enough for one to sit comfortable on your shoulder they are very smartly dressed in small suites with waist coats, hats and buckled shoes. As mischievous and intelligent folk they are general harmless to the general population in Ireland, although they are known to play the odd trick on farmers and local population of villages and towns. It is said that every Leprechaun has a pot of gold, hidden deep in the Irish countryside. To protect the leprechaun’s pot of gold the Irish fairies gave them magical powers to use if ever captured by a human or an animal. Such magic an Irish leprechaun would perform to escape capture would be to grant three wishes or to vanish into thin air! Leprechauns are also very keen musicians who play [|tin whistles], [|the fiddle] and even the [|Irish Harp] and various other Irish traditional instruments. They are known to have wild music sessions at night which in Ireland are known as Ceili’s with hundreds of Irish leprechauns gathering to dance, sing and drink. The leprechaun is fond of drinking Poteen, moonshine, but must not be mistaken by their Irish cousins the cluricauns who are drunken creatures who love to cause chaos around Ireland at night time, a headache for us humans.

Everyone's heard of the legendary pot of gold, and the only way to track one is to follow the sound of a leprechaun hammering the shoes. They say if you catch one, he'll promise to take you to his pot of gold if you can just keep him in your sights. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">But these tricky little fellows know just how to get you to look away.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> media type="youtube" key="DNUD-WECu38" height="315" width="420" <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**The Symbol of the Shamrock** <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In ancient Ireland the Shamrock was thought to have magical powers and the number 3 was considered a powerful number. Legends say the leaves will stand upright when a storm approaches and that no snake will be found among them. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When St. Patrick came to Ireland he used the Shamrock to symbolize the meaning of the church's teaching on the Trinity. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The word Shamrock comes from the old Irish word "seamrog"

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">which means "summer plant."