Fairies & Ireland with David Halpin

Without a doubt, when one thinks of Fairies and the cultures as well as countries which have historically been associated with them, no place can hold a candle to that of Ireland. The Aos Sí, or people of the mounds have been a part of life in Ireland for thousands of years. Ireland’s landscape is absolutely packed with the remains of stone circles, hillforts, ringforts and other such monuments which are known as Fairy Forts. But what sort of relationship have the people of Ireland had with Fairies? Taking us through all of the varieties of how Ireland relates to the Good People is writer and blogger of Irish and worldwide Fairy lore- David Halpin!

David Halpin is a writer and blogger from Carlow, Ireland. He compiles local folklore and documents alignments between ancient monuments near his home which he posts about on his blog Circle Stories– a wonderful project that goes through Irish and world Fairy lore, mythology, consciousness, Forteana and so much more. He is also the creator of Occult Book review on Twitter as well as YouTube which is a fantastic place to keep up to date on new releases in the Magic and Pagan publishing world.

Show Notes

• Aos Sí – Wikipedia actually has a pretty good list of resources here
• The National Monuments Service Map – Zoom in and then click around and see just how many monuments there actually are. Mind-blowing!
• The Dúchas Heritage Service – An insane amount of information here regarding Fairies in Ireland. Spend some time clicking through, you will be astounded by some of the stories. Included here is the School’s Collection as referenced by David in the episode
• Tuatha Dé Danann
• The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz – Essential reading but yes, Walt was a man of his times
• Meeting the Other Crowd: The Fairy Stories of Hidden Ireland by Eddie Lenihan – One of David’s recommendations and just an amazing collection of stories. Eddie is a national treasure
• Witchcraft and Magic in Ireland by Andrew Sneddon – David highly recommends this book as pretty much one of the greatest places to get information about Irish Magic from the late medieval period to the twentieth century
• Irish Witchcraft & Demonology by St. John D. Seymour
• Bewitched by an Elf Dart: Fairy Archaeology, Folk Magic and Traditional Medicine in Ireland
• The Fairy Faith in Ireland: History, Tradition, and Modern Pagan Practice by Lora O’Brien – Recommended by David
• Out of the Darkness: A sacred journey into the origins of Indigenous Irish Spirituality by Lar Dooley – A Preview can be read here – Recommended by David
• King of Morning, Queen of Day by Ian McDonald – Highly recommended by David – I can’t wait to read this
• Reading between the mythlines: Ian McDonald’s King of Morning, Queen of Day
• The Druid Code: Magic, Megaliths and Mythology by Thomas Sheridan – Recommended by David
• Aos Sidhe: Meeting the Irish Fair Folk by Morgan Daimler – One of the best places to get an introduction according to David
• The Middle Kingdom: The Faerie World of Ireland by Dermot MacManus – Recommended by David but I have to say that I read the whole thing and I absolutely love this book. It was such a joy to go through this. One of my favourite discoveries in the last year so thank you for that David!
• Biddy Early
• In Search of Biddy Early by Eddie Lenihan
• The Witch, the Bean Feasa, and the Fairy Doctor in Irish Culture
• The Amadán: A Fearful Fairy of June You Don’t Want To Meet – From David’s Circle Stories
• Leanan sídhe
• Far darrig
• Between Fallen Angels and Nature Spirits: Russian Demonology of the Early Modern Period by Dmitriy Antonov – As referenced by David but unfortunately ya gotta pay to read
• The Haunting True Story of Bridget Cleary’s “Changeling” Murder
• Irish Fairy and Folk Tales by W. B. Yeats – Not the best resource but there ya go
• Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland by Lady Jane Francesca Wilde or “Speranza” – Dated but still interesting in that this was Oscar Wilde’s mother
• The Return of the Fairy Folk: A View from the Tourist Shops of Ireland
• Seeking to Ignore Irish Paganism – From David’s Circle Stories
• Éva Pócs – Referenced in the episode, although she covers Eastern Europe for the most part, she is certainly worth reading
• FILID, FAIRIES AND FAITH: The Effects of Gaelic Culture, Religious Conflict and the Dynamics of Dual Confessionalisation on the Suppression of Witchcraft Accusations and Witch-Hunts in Early Modern Ireland, 1533 – 1670
• Mythical Ireland – Anthony Murphy’s website
• The Oz Factor