The very first mention of these mythical, mystical creatures is believed to have been in medieval times in a story called The Adventure of Fergus, son of Léti in which three of the tiny characters are captured by the Prince of Ulster and who grant him three wishes in exchange for releasing him. This magical fellow has long been featured in Irish folklore. Perhaps the strongest manifestation of the supposed luck of the Irish comes in the form of the so-called lucky leprechaun. Over the next few hundred words, we’ll take a closer look to see if either, or both might be the case, as well as examine a few examples of genuinely lucky Irish people. Or, perhaps, it’s the mythology that has led to the expression.
Within these five words, there are a huge number of assumptions, and they have also given birth to a whole mythology that has sprung up around them. Fortunately, a number of these are ones with very positive associations and a good example is “the luck of the Irish”.
