1/Explain and expand on the statement; ‘Fairy lore interacted intimately with the practicalities

and the emotional reality of daily life.’

By definition, the term of folklore relates to “the traditional beliefs, customs, and
stories of a community, passed through generations”, according to Google. Within Irish
folklore and legends, fairy tales take a significant place and are deeply connected to the
people’s way of living. Indeed, Irish people often debated concerning the true existence of the
fairies or not. In this essay, I will firstly reflect on some fairy tales and observe the figure of
the fairies and their influence upon human beings; then I will demonstrate how two different
worlds can connect through the theories of a folklorist; I will also show that some common
beliefs and happenings of the Irish population were related to the fairies; then I will focus on
Angela Bourke’s article and ideas concerning the figure of the fairies in Irish folklore.
Fairy tales generally take place in the human world, where these fantastical creatures
interact with human beings in many different ways, which means that their own existence will
have an influence upon the people’s lives and free will. It is true that fairies can either inspire
sympathy and admiration or fear and confusion. For example, in some stories such as Teig O
Kane and the Corpse, translated by Douglas Hyde, Teig’s life is strongly impacted by his
unexpected meeting with the fairies as he turned from an unruly, reckless and immature child,
to “a changed man” who stopped drinking and gambling to become a responsible man in one
night only. The fairies did not directly transform his life and nature, but their frightening
authority and the forced journey that the fairies constrained Teig to endure made him
miraculously change his foolish behaviour and way of living to a wiser one. In another story,
entitled “Paddy Corcoran’s Wife”, collected by William Carlton, Paddy, a simple human, is
terribly sick for almost seven years, and no one never found a solution to heal her. Except
when a “weeshy woman” who finally comes to see her and tell her the truth: “you have been
annoying us […] your children threw out your dirty water after dusk and before sunrise, at the
very time we’re passing your door”. Miraculously, when Paddy’s children stopped doing that,
the ill-woman became healthy and in good shape. In other words, the fairies severely
impacted the woman’s life and health because of her behaviour with them; which
demonstrates again that fairies in fairy lore even affect the body and well-being of the people.
Moreover, in the story “Taken” collected by Robin Flower, the fairies even viciously
transform the environment and fate of a human. Indeed, the “fairies take her [a woman]
prisoner”, making people think she was dead. The woman is trapped in the fairy world, and
cannot eat any food from this world, unless she wants to be stuck for eternity with the fairies.
Finally, because her people cannot involve themselves with the fairies, the woman was
doomed to remain with them forever and ever. In this case, the fairies considerably influence
and model the woman’s way of living and even her fate: she was a wife and had a family, and
finally her whole environment and life were brutally taken from her. After the analysis of
these various fairy stories; it is clear that fairies often interact, and beyond measure, with the
people’s life, emotions and destiny.
However, some folklorists discussed about strange daily situations that were believed
or explained by the apparition of the fairies. For example, Seán O Súilleabhaín describes in
his novel the Handbook of Irish Folklore that sometimes it was believed that fairies could
come to a human house “to borrow something, […] make a merry in a house at night, […]
cause commotion in a house built on a fairy-path”. Put another way, the folklorist reveals that
some unexpected events such as the disappearance of something, some odd noises, or any
kind of disturbance in a house could be the act of the fairies. Consequently, Seán O
Súlleabhaín demonstrates that Irish people used to strongly believe that fairies have an effect
on their daily life. This very example shows that people take advantage of their belief of the
existence of the fairies in order to give a justification to some unusual events and
circumstances of their life.
Furthermore, some unexplainable natural features, which had not been transformed by
the hand of a human, or that is simply too old to get a proper explanation; are justified by the
act of the fairies. For example, in Ireland, we can observe some circular raths, nowadays
called ring forts, that were pictured as a mystical and magical natural element owned by the
fairies. In other words, fairies meddle in the human world, and even modify it as they wish.
Sometimes, fairies do not only transform the human world, but also the human’s essence and
soul. For example, people believed that musicians or artists in general were gifted by the
fairies in order to have this particular talent and ability to make people feel something through
their art.
Moreover, the article entitled “The Virtual Reality of Irish Fairy Legend”, written by
the folklorist Angela Bourke also reflects on the relationship between fairies (in fairy lore)
and human beings. Indeed, Angela Bourke reveals that the fairies’ “physical and social
characteristics resemble those of humans”. For example, the fairies are usually depicted with a
very tiny size, such as Tinker Bell in the Disney industry. However, in Ireland it is more
common to “depict them as similar size to humans”, as Bourke explains. Also, the fairies are
socially much the same with humans’ behaviour and way of living: “the fairies keep cows and
milk them, ride horses, eat, drink, fall in love, play music, dance, wear shoes and clothing,
play ball and card games, fight, steal, and hold funerals for their dead”. Consequently, fairies
do not only influence and interact with humans, but act and look like them. Indeed, the fairies
soak up humans’ ability to feel, their physical appearance, their habits, their metabolism, and
even their way of behaving, thinking and living.
In this way, it is now obvious and clear that fairy lore deeply affects the life and
beliefs of human society; especially in Ireland. Indeed, through the analysis of some fairy
stories and legends, we saw that they usually take place in the human world and that fairies
often enjoy to mess up or interfere with the people’s lives and fate. Furthermore, we saw that
unexplainable events or situations are in the end explained by the act of the fairies, and that
Irish people generally strongly believed in the existence of the fairies and their influence on
the world; a perspective also demonstrated by Seán O Súilleabhaín. Moreover, even some
folklorists, such as Angela Bourke, reveal that the common representation that Irish people
make of the fairies look highly like themselves; which reduces the barrier and the differences
that exist between fairies and humans. Therefore, fairy lore, and the image of fairies in
general, have a deep impact on Irish people lives and emotions.

2/Choose two of the four major festivals of the traditional calendar: Halloween, Brigid’s Day,
Mayday or Lughnasa. Explain and comment on [1] the symbolic and practical significance,
[2] rituals and practices, [3] legends, [4] beliefs associated with the two you have chosen.
 Irish culture is often related to various customary celebrations; which left a mark on
people, but also still mark Irish people nowadays. In this essay, I will focus on two different
major festivals of the Irish traditional calendar: Halloween, or Samhain in Gaelic; and the
festival of Lughnasa.
First of all, I will observe and reflect on the Halloween celebration, which takes place
from the 31st of October to the 1st of November, and marked the beginning of a new season,
winter, but more precisely of a new quarter of the year. Halloween, one of the most famous
and flourishing festival around the world, also pointed the inauguration of the Celtic New
Year. Though Halloween’s symbolic has evolved throughout the years and centuries, one
main idea still remains: the world of the dead is exceptionally connected to the world of the
living for one night only. Indeed, Samhain is known to be the introduction of the “dark half of
the year”, which highlights the idea that Samhain has always been a festival associated with
fear and powerlessness regarding the inevitable arrival of the dead. Moreover, some rituals
and traditional practices highly stressed or even caused this connection between both worlds.
For example, the “Night of the Tricks”, or Oíche na gCleas, includes different kinds of
games, pranks and dares; as well as one specific trick which was to get rid of some doors in
the town; which strongly symbolized the removal of the barriers between the worlds of the
living and the dead. Furthermore, another well-known practice was the divination, which was
played through many different games. These games were mostly played by girls, as they used
to reveal what lies ahead in matter of love. For example, one divinatory game was to threw a
popping hazel nut in the fire and to wait and see if the nut bounces because of the flames
(which means that their lover loves them back), or if it just gets consumed by the fire (which
symbolizes the non-reciprocity of their feelings). Another divinatory game included a cake
named “Bark brack”, or Bárín Breac, in which was added various object which would
determine the future of the person receiving the piece of cake with an object. The most
common objects were: a ring, which symbolized marriage; a stick, meaning the person will
get beaten by his wife, a rag, symbolizing poverty; a button for men and a thimble for women,
which points single life; and a coin for wealth prediction. In addition, Halloween has also
been related to many legends and myths. For example, the legend of Eachtra Nera witnesses a
large amount of scary, supernatural and mystical events such as the presence of dead living
people, demons, ghosts and fairies, but also the prophetic vision of Nera, who discovers the
death of her people one year before it will truly happen. This legend is very famous in Ireland
and soaks up deeply the themes and ideas of the Samhain celebration. Finally, this festival
kindled many beliefs and conviction regarding many areas, but especially with agriculture.
Indeed, because Halloween marked the beginning of winter, it was believed that it was better
to dig and collect the potatoes before the end of the 31 st. Moreover, some fruits, such as sloes
or blackberries shall not be collected and consumed before the 31 st. People believed such sorts
of things because of their fear of the púca, a kind of mischievous fairy who enjoyed rotting
and poisoning the fruits which was aimed to injure the people. Therefore, Halloween is a
festival combining various activities and games, which influenced Irish people and made them
believe to this union of the world of the living and the world of the dead, but also believe in
many other legends.
 From now on, I will focus on another Irish traditional festival, Lughnasa. Less popular
than Halloween, Lughnasa festival commemorates the beginning of the harvest from the 31 st
of July to the 1st of August. Lughnasa symbolizes the conclusion of the waiting period for
fresh harvests to develop, as well as the first taste of the new food source. Thanks to her long
research regarding the origins of this festival, Máire Mac Néill’s book The Festival of
Lughnasa reveals the most common natural places where Lughnasa was celebrated: heights,
lakes, rivers, and also springs. Usually, people used to head to these different places, enjoy the
season harvest and celebrate the end of hunger. Nevertheless, before being officially named
Lughnasa, this festival was called “Garland Sunday” in some parts of Ireland. Indeed, this
variation of the Lughnasa combined flowery activities such as gathering flowers on a hill,
fashioning them into garlands or wrapping them around the hair of the girls. To come back to
Lughnasa itself, many customary practices were a requirement. For example, it was common
to collect and eat berries, as it symbolized the land’s health and fertility; but also for the
people’s serenity and well-being. Furthermore, some legends associated to the Lughnasa
festival are related to Christianism or mythology. For example, the name “Lughnasa” comes
from the god Lugh, from Irish mythology; who is represented as a saviour and who also was a
symbol of the end of hunger, and so satisfaction and relief for the people. Another famous
legend mentions a heathen ruler named Crom Dubh who keeps selfishly his provisions and
lands for himself. However, one story tells the transformation of Crom Dubh’s paganism and
selfishness, to a Christian and honest man. Indeed, Crom Dubh meets Saint Patrick, who
gently asks him for food, but the selfish lord who despises Christianism tries to trick the man
by suggesting him he can have his bull to eat. Nevertheless, the bull is extremely violent, and
Crom Dubh secretly wishes that the animal will kill the poor man. Saint Patrick approaches
the animal and does the sign of the Christian cross with his hands, which immediately stops
and calm the bull. Saint Patrick comes back to the lord with the meat, and put the bones of the
bull in a sign of the cross, which makes the animal come back from the dead. Crom Dubh is
amazed by what he just experienced and is convinced by the Christian religion and its
miracles. Therefore, this legend is related to Lughnasa because it symbolizes that we must
enjoy and share the food we have now, and believe that we will still have something to eat in
the future. Finally, some people had different beliefs concerning the festival. Indeed, it was
assumed that during the festivities, one person must eat a lot and with enjoyment in order to
avoid hunger for the next year. It was also believed that while consuming the first taste of
food, people should say “Destruction to the Red-Haired Hag”, because the hag represents
famine, and so it was a way to keep hunger away from them.
In this way, these two festivals are completely different, because they have distinctive
symbolics and significance for the people, they do not celebrate the same idea, and the
customs and rituals are nothing alike. However, they belong to Irish culture and folklore, and
both represent the country, redraws its history and traditions through the evolution of these
festivals throughout the years and the way people celebrate them.