{"id":11580,"date":"2021-07-28T22:00:39","date_gmt":"2021-07-28T22:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=11580"},"modified":"2021-07-28T19:58:57","modified_gmt":"2021-07-28T19:58:57","slug":"irish-storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/irish-storytelling\/","title":{"rendered":"Irish Storytelling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Haigh, a chairde!<\/em><\/h4>\n

Recently I read a BBC article<\/a> about the Aos Sc\u00e9al \u00c9ireann<\/a>, or Storytellers of Ireland, who gather in public spaces to tell anything from traditional Irish folk tales and mythology to historical events.<\/p>\n

This new generation of storytellers in Ireland are based on the seancha\u00ed<\/em> who were the original storytellers well before technology replaced them. They would travel from village to village to tell tales. They are described as \u201creporters, entertainers and historians\u201d all rolled into one.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In the fashion of storytelling, I wanted to share the story of the leipreach\u00e1n\/luchorp\u00e1n <\/i>(leprechaun) by the Irish poet William Allingham.<\/p>\n

Leprechauns are a “supernatural being in Irish\u00a0folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary\u00a0fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. In later times, they have been depicted as shoe-makers who have a hidden pot of gold at the end of the\u00a0rainbow.”<\/p>\n

An Irish idiom that might be acceptable to say to a mischief loving leprechaun would be:<\/p>\n

Go n-ithe an cat th\u00fa is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

May the cat eat you and the devil eat the cat!<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

THE LEPRACAUN; OR FAIRY SHOEMAKER<\/h3>\n

WILLIAM ALLINGHAM<\/p>\n

I.<\/p>\n

Little Cowboy, what have you heard,
\nUp on the lonely rath’s green mound?
\nOnly the plaintive yellow bird
\nSighing in sultry fields around,
\nChary, chary, chary, chee-ee!–
\nOnly the grasshopper and the bee?–
\n“Tip-tap, rip-rap,
\nTick-a-tack-too!
\nScarlet leather, sewn together,
\nThis will make a shoe.
\nLeft, right, pull it tight;
\nSummer days are warm;
\nUnderground in winter,
\nLaughing at the storm!
\nLay your ear close to the hill.
\nDo you not catch the tiny clamour,
\nBusy click of an elfin hammer,
\nVoice of the Lepracaun singing shrill
\nAs he merrily plies his trade?
\nHe’s a span
\nAnd a quarter in height.
\nGet him in sight, hold him tight,
\nAnd you’re a made
\nMan!<\/p>\n

II.<\/p>\n

You watch your cattle the summer day,
\nSup on potatoes, sleep in the hay;
\nHow would you like to roll in your carriage.
\nLook for a duchess’s daughter in marriage?
\nSeize the Shoemaker–then you may!
\n“Big boots a-hunting,
\nSandals in the hall,
\nWhite for a wedding-feast,
\nPink for a ball.
\nThis way, that way,
\nSo we make a shoe;
\nGetting rich every stitch,
\nTick-tack-too!”
\nNine-and-ninety treasure-crocks
\nThis keen miser-fairy hath,
\nHid in mountains, woods, and rocks,
\nRuin and round-tow’r, cave and rath,
\nAnd where the cormorants build;
\nFrom times of old
\nGuarded by him;
\nEach of them fill’d
\nFull to the brim
\nWith gold!<\/p>\n

III.<\/p>\n

I caught him at work one day, myself,
\nIn the castle-ditch, where foxglove grows,–
\nA wrinkled, wizen’d and bearded Elf,
\nSpectacles stuck on his pointed nose,
\nSilver buckles to his hose,
\nLeather apron-shot in his lap–
\n“Rip-rap, tip-tap,
\nTick-tack-too!
\n(A grasshopper on my cap!
\nAway the moth flew!)
\nBuskins for a fairy prince,
\nBrogues for his son,–
\nPay me well, pay me well,
\nWhen the job is done! ”
\nThe rogue was mine, beyond a doubt.
\nI stared at him; he stared at me;
\n“Servant, Sir!” “Humph!” says he,
\nAnd pull’d a snuff-box out.
\nHe took a long pinch, look’d better pleased,
\nThe queer little Lepracaun;
\nOffer’d the box with a whimsical grace,-
\nPouf! he flung the dust in my face,
\nAnd, while I sneezed,
\nWas gone!<\/p>\n

_________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n

an bhr\u00f3g<\/strong> [un vrohg], the shoe<\/p>\n

na br\u00f3ige<\/strong> [nuh BROH-ig-yuh], of the shoe<\/p>\n

na br\u00f3ga<\/strong>, the shoes<\/p>\n

br\u00f3ga gr\u00e9asa\u00ed<\/strong>: handmade boots<\/p>\n

\n
\n
pot of gold<\/strong>: bpota \u00f3ir<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
rainbow<\/strong>: tuair cheatha<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Haigh, a chairde! Recently I read a BBC article about the Aos Sc\u00e9al \u00c9ireann, or Storytellers of Ireland, who gather in public spaces to tell anything from traditional Irish folk tales and mythology to historical events. This new generation of storytellers in Ireland are based on the seancha\u00ed who were the original storytellers well before…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11580","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11580"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11587,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11580\/revisions\/11587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}