Leprechaun, The

DESCRIPTION: The singer sees a leprechaun and laughs anticipating a purse of gold. He grabs the leprechaun to claim the purse but is tricked into releasing the leprechaun. The singer laughs to think how he had been fooled.
AUTHOR: Robert Dwyer Joyce (1830-1883) (source: Hoagland)
EARLIEST DATE: 1968 (recording, Margaret Barry and Michael Gorman)
KEYWORDS: trick gold supernatural
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), p. 527, "The Leprahaun"
Roud #5274
RECORDINGS:
Margaret Barry and Michael Gorman, "The Leprechaun" (on Voice14)
NOTES [41 words]: The trick: singer is told that the [non-existant] lady by his side has the purse in her hand. - BS
Robert Dwyer Joyce is also credited with the Irish political songs "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" and "The Boys of Wexford" in this index. - RBW
File: RcTLepr

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