Why We Have Green Leprechauns

Here I am kissing a (not wee) leprechaun in the National Leprechaun Museum in Dublin

Here I am kissing a (not wee) leprechaun in the National Leprechaun Museum in Dublin, a great place of fun for young and young at heart as well. I took my Celtic Spirit Tour group there a few years ago and it was a great uplift after a visit to the Jeanie Johnston Famine Ship along the quay.

The biggest surprise for me was to learn that Walt Disney was responsible for the green leprechaun look you see above. We were told that in the filming of the movie Darby O’Gill and the Little People, Darby did not stand out enough. So, Disney “casting” artists made him greener and brighter than his band of merry leprechauns. The film is great fun and available on video for any who have not seen it. The amazing thing to me is how that act of amplifying the appeal of one costume forever led to an image indelible image of an undocumentable icon. There are other examples, of course. Thomas Nast, the great American illustrator, created the first modern day image of Santa Claus as we know him, and Coca-Cola embellished that image until it became a universal symbol.

I also was surprised to find that Lucky Charms,  the cereal with all the little rainbows and pots of gold, is not made nor sold  in Ireland. In fact, the museum has a box of the cereal in a glass cabinet pointing to that very fact. The guides add that often American visitors send the staff a box on their return home. It is hardly important, but it is a shocking indicator of how the prevalence of American marketing invades our hearts and minds and effects stereotyping.

While the Disney version of the leprechaun is better known, leprechauns are actually considered earth elements who have been part of Irish lore for centuries. Like fairies, some people swear they have seen and interacted with them. Others see them as part of our imaginal world. As I noted in my novel Celtic Spirit, I took a tour of sacred sites of Ireland with Tanis Helliwell that inspired my book. She is the author of Summer With the Leprechauns and gives workshops around the world on elementals and how we can partner with them to help restore our natural habitat. I have a vivid memory of walking an Achill Island beach with her when she began skipping and humming with her leprechaun friend. Frankly, I felt awkward. I liked the idea of leprechauns but had not seen nor believed I would see one.

I still have not seen one, but I have had a wonderfully fun and witty voice come to me that I am calling Harold. As we know from legend, the wee people do not give us their real names. But my vocal friend is in agreement that Harold works, so Harold it is. (But, he insists that he never be called Harry!) He first came to me on an overnight flight to Ireland. Lately, he’s appeared and is nudging me into writing more about Celtic wisdom from his point of view. More than a Muse, he wants his voice to be shared. Not sure what will come of this but stay tuned; we will see what happens.