Editing Irish folklore (section)

===Fairies===
One commentator attributes to [[Andrew Lang]] the sweeping definition that Irish folklore is all about fairies.{{sfnp|Read|1916|p=250}} The belief in fairies ({{lang|ga|an lucht sidhe}}) has been widespread.{{sfnp|Read|1916|p=250}}

Some, such as Irish poet W. B. [[W. B. Yeats|Yeats]], have divided the fairies into multiple categories and/or species (see [[Classifications of fairies]]). However, Irish fairies are typically divided into two main categories: the fairy race and the solitary fairies.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Edwards|first=Gillian|title=Hobgoblin and Sweet Puck: Fairy Names and Natures|publisher=Geoffrey Bles|year=1974|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Yeats|first=W. B.|title=Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland|publisher=The Macmillan Company|year=1973|location=New York, NY}}</ref>

The race of fairy people ({{lang|ga|[[Aos Sí]]}}) were thought to be descendants of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]], a godlike race who came to Ireland and conquered the people there. They are described as human sized, beautiful, powerful, and in tune with nature, similar to the modern day fantasy race of Elves.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=O'Conor|first=Norreys Jephson|date=1920|title=The Early Irish Fairies and Fairyland|journal=The Sewanee Review|volume=28|issue=4|pages=545–557|jstor=27533351|issn=0037-3052}}</ref>[[File:Fairy Trees near Greenan - geograph.org.uk - 962666.jpg|alt=Two green "fairy" trees next to each other in a lush pasture.|thumb|Fairy Trees near Greenan. According to fairy lore, the hawthorn tree, also known as a fairy tree, is said to mark the territory of the fairies.]]

Instead of living together like the elite fairy race, solitary fairies are secretive and isolated, often staying away from humans and coming out at night.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Eberly|first=Susan Schoon|date=January 1988|title=Fairies and the Folklore of Disability: Changelings, Hybrids and the Solitary Fairy|journal=Folklore|volume=99|issue=1|pages=58–77|doi=10.1080/0015587x.1988.9716425|issn=0015-587X}}</ref> The solitary fairies include a wide range of magical creatures in Irish folklore.<ref>{{Cite book |last=White |first=Carolyn |title=A history of Irish fairies |date=1976 |publisher=Mercier Pr |isbn=978-0-85342-455-0 |series=A Mercier paperback |location=Dublin |pages=56-77}}</ref>

One type of Irish fairy is the female ''banshee'', the death-messenger with her [[keening]], or baleful crying over someone's death,{{sfnp|Read|1916|pp=250–251}} and known by many different names.{{sfnp|Lysaght|1996|pp=152–153}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|For example ''badhbh'' (meaning 'scaldcrow') us commonly used in the south-east of Ireland, though the crow represents the war-goddess [[Badb]] (conflated with [[The Morrígan|Mór-Ríoghain]]) in early Irish literature.{{sfnp|Lysaght|1996|p=156}}}}

Another well-recognized Irish fairy is the [[leprechaun]], which many have identified as the maker of shoes.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|The notion is based on Douglas Hydes's etymology of leprechaun, derived from ''leith brog'' or ''{{linktext|leith |brogan}}'' 'one-shoemaker',{{sfnp|Yeats|1888|p=80}} however, others point out the word can be traced to Old Irish ''luchorpán'' meaning some sort of a dwarf(-like being).<ref name=ogiollain1984/> But not only Yeats but [[Bo Almqvist]] refers to the leprechaun as "fairy shoemaker".{{sfnp|Almqvist|1991|p=25}}}}{{sfnp|Read|1916|p=250}}{{sfnp|Yeats|1888|p=80}}{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Diarmuid Ó Giolláin ([[#CITEREFÓ Giolláin1984|1984 paper]], etc.) is prominent in the study of Leprechauns.{{sfnp|Almqvist|1991|p=25}}}} The [[cluricaune]] is a sprite many treat as synonymous to the leprechaun,{{Refn|[[T. Crofton Croker]] (1824), ''Researches'' and [[Thomas Keightley]] (1860) [1828] ''The Fairy Mythology'', pp. 371–383, cited by {{harvp|Ó Giolláin|1984}}.}}{{Refn|Croker's "The Field of Boliauns" featured the cluricaune, but when [[Joseph Jacobs]] included the tale he altered the spirit to the leprechaun.{{sfnp|Jacobs|1892|pp=245, 26–29}}}} and Yeats muses on whether these and the [[far darrig]] (fear dearg, "red man") are the one and the same.{{sfnp|Yeats|1888|p=80}} Mackillop says these three are the three kinds [[solitary fairies]],<ref name=mackillop-cluricaune/> but Yeats goes on to say "there are other solitary fairies", naming the [[Dullahan]] (headless horsemen), [[Púca]], and so forth.{{sfnp|Yeats|1888|p=80}}

The [[changeling]] is often ascribed to being perpetrated by fairies.<ref name=mackillop-changeling/> The theme is assigned its own migratory legend type, "The Changeling" (ML 5085).{{sfnp|Earls|1992–1993|pp=111, 133}}