School: Ball Áluinn (Balla) (roll number 1146)

Location:
Balla, Co. Mayo
Teacher:
P. Ó Maolanaigh
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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0095, Page 201

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The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0095, Page 201

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  1. XML School: Ball Áluinn (Balla)
  2. XML Page 201
  3. XML “The Leipreachán”

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  1. The leipreachan has a white pants, a red jacket with swallow tails and a red cap. He is about six inches tall. He lives near the fairy forts under a fairy mushroom or beside a cliff. He works at the trade of shoemaker. Old people used to hear his hammer at night time working at the shoes.
    Stories are told of a boy who caught one and he told the boy that the pot of gold was hidden under a thistle in a field. He tied a scarlet garter to the thistle so that he would know it. He then went to get a spade to dig up the money. When he came back the leipreachan was gone and every thistle in the field had a scarlet ribbon tied to it.
    Leiprechans are friendly to human beings. A young lady who had a stepmother and was very badly treated. But the girl was lazy. A king's son came along and heard the stepmother shouting at her. He enquired the reason and was told that the girl was working so hard that she might injure her health. The king's son brought her to his father's catle. He gave her a barn of straw to spin. She sat down and began to cry. A leiprechan came in and asked if he helped her would she invite him to her wedding. She promised. He
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. agents (~1)
      1. supernatural and legendary beings (~14,864)
        1. leprechauns (~1,007)
    Language
    English
    Collector
    P. Ó Maolanaigh
    Gender
    Male