Irish dancing is a vibrant and integral part of Ireland’s cultural heritage. From its humble beginnings centuries ago to its global recognition today, Irish dancing has captivated audiences with its intricate footwork, lively rhythms, and rich history. Let’s explore the top 10 most famous Irish dancers who have left an indelible mark on this rich cultural art form.

Top 10 Famous Irish Dancers You Should Know About

Discover the top 10 most famous Irish dancers who have left an indelible mark on the world stage.

1. Michael Flatley: The Lord of the Dance

No doubt, the most famous Irish dancer is Michael Flatley. Known as the “Lord of the Dance,” Michael Flatley revolutionized Irish dancing with his electrifying performances and innovative choreography. He gained worldwide fame with shows like “Riverdance” and “Lord of the Dance,” setting the standard for modern Irish dance productions.

See also: Top 10 Most Famous Dancers of All Time

2. Jean Butler: The First Lady of Irish Dance

Jean Butler rose to prominence as Michael Flatley’s original female lead in “Riverdance.” Her grace, precision, and expressive movements earned her acclaim as one of the foremost Irish dancers of her generation.

3. Colin Dunne: Master of Rhythm

Colin Dunne’s technical prowess and artistic flair have made him a standout figure in the world of Irish dance. His performances seamlessly blend tradition with contemporary influences, captivating audiences around the globe.

See also: The Top 10 Most Famous Belly Dancers

4. Riverdance Troupe

The Riverdance troupe, featuring a talented ensemble of dancers, musicians, and singers, brought Irish dance to a global audience with their iconic performances. Their dynamic routines and infectious energy have inspired countless individuals to embrace Irish culture.

5. Michael Donnellan: Dynamic Performer

Michael Donnellan’s dynamic style and unparalleled agility have earned him widespread acclaim in the Irish dancing community. As a former principal dancer with Riverdance, he continues to showcase the beauty and complexity of Irish dance on the international stage.

See also: Top 10 Most Famous Pole Dancers

6. James Devine: Traditional Virtuoso

James Devine is renowned for his dynamic footwork and captivating stage presence. With roots in traditional Irish dance, he has pushed the boundaries of the art form, infusing it with modern elements while honoring its heritage.

7. Bernadette Flynn: Riverdance Icon

Bernadette Flynn’s grace and poise have made her a beloved figure in Irish dance circles. As a lead dancer in “Riverdance,” she helped popularize Irish dance on the world stage, inspiring a new generation of performers.

8. Joanne Doyle: Trailblazing Talent

Joanne Doyle’s technical precision and expressive storytelling have earned her acclaim as a top Irish dancer. Her performances are characterized by fluid movements and emotional depth, captivating audiences wherever she goes.

See also: 10 Most Famous Dance Styles in the World

9. Liam Harney: Iconic Choreographer

Liam Harney’s infectious enthusiasm and dynamic choreography have made him a standout presence in Irish dance. With a background in both traditional and contemporary styles, he continues to push the boundaries of the art form with his innovative approach.

10. Ciara Sexton: Rising Star

Ciara Sexton’s versatility and charisma have made her a sought-after performer in the world of Irish dance. From traditional jigs to modern interpretations, her performances showcase the richness and diversity of Irish dance culture.

Irish dancing has not only entertained audiences but also served as a cultural ambassador, promoting Irish heritage and tradition on the global stage. Through their talent and dedication, these top Irish dancers have ensured that this vibrant art form continues to thrive for generations to come.

FAQs: Irish Dancing

See also: Top 10 Most Beautiful Irish Women

The world of Irish dancing is rich with history, tradition, and talent. From the traditional reels of centuries past to the contemporary performances of today, Irish dancers have captivated audiences with their skill and artistry.

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For decades, people have traveled from all around the world to kiss the Blarney stone and visit Grafton Street. And one of the most precious souvenirs they take away is the memory of Irish folk songs ringing in their ears and the memory of a stiff drink.

The music from this enchanted island swirls around centuries of love and war, feast and famine. It tells the story of bravery, cowardice, death, and experiencing life the way it was meant to be lived. Of course, there are a few with some pretty unique backgrounds. So here are the top 10 Irish songs with strange origins.

Related: Top 10 Fascinating Stories Behind The Lyrics Of Popular Songs

10 “Molly Malone”

Oh, sweet Molly Malone. She was just trying to sell her fish at the market. Although, maybe that’s a lot less appropriate than we thought.

There’s nothing conclusive that talks about “Molly Malone” being based on an actual person, but that doesn’t mean that the classic song hasn’t memorialized her into something real. Supposedly, she was a sexy fishmonger (I guess that’s a thing?) who worked in Dublin. Another record found in the 1790s book Apollo’s Medley really leans into the sex appeal aspect. It hints she worked a second shift as a prostitute when the fish were gone. I guess that gives the term “streetwalker” a whole new meaning.

After dying from a fever, her ghost was said to haunt the fair city.

While there are actually a lot of Malones floating around Ireland, one Mary Malone (Molly is sometimes a nickname for Mary) was thought to have been the real-life lady. She apparently died in 1699. And Dublin has all but adopted Miss Malone, giving her a holiday of her own (June 13th) and a busty bronzed statue.

9 “The Fields of Athenry”

It’s no secret that the Irish Famine is a pivotal period in the country’s long history. So when songwriter Pete St. John heard about the struggles of the time while staying in Galway, he penned a tribute that would make Athenry famous. While the family in the song is fictional, the situation they faced was anything but.

Apparently, Indian corn was sent from the U.S. to help the Irish people. But it was completely unusable because the kernels were too hard for the Irish mills. Hungry and outraged, Irish people stormed the city and were arrested, then sent to Australia for prison. And thanks to the ballad “The Fields of Athenry,” Indian corn made an important impact on the history of European football. Let’s discuss.

This powerful song about the Irish famine was considered a team anthem. During the 2012 European Football Championship, the Irish team had lost brutally. But the crowd began singing to their team in a chorus so moving that commentators were asked to zip it so everyone could hear.

8 “Carrickfergus”

Made into a classic by none other than Van Morrison, this is one song that only makes partial sense. But there are a lot of clues in “Carrickfergus” that piece together a strange story…and it just might connect back to ancient Greece.

One of the weirdest issues with the song’s mysterious history is the fact that it seems to switch back and form between Carrickfergus and Ballygrant—two towns that are separated by the Irish Sea. Some people claim that the lyrics may have played a little telephone over time, specifically by actor Peter O’Toole.

However, the song talks about not being able to swim across the wide sea and searching for a handsome boatsman to “ferry me over to my love and die.” Now here’s where it starts to get Greek. In ancient mythology, a boatman would ferry dead souls into the Underworld over the River Styx. All this suggests that the old man in the song wasn’t just getting close to death. He longed to be buried across the sea in Scotland (Ballygrant), where his love was likely buried.

7 “The Galway Girl”

Alright, now this is one Irish dame who’s 100% real—we swear on our mashed potatoes.

“The Galway Girl,” a modern folk song from the Emerald Isle, was written in 2000 by Steve Earle. He recorded it alongside Sharon Shannon. While the two met in Galway, she is definitively not the long-lost lover from the song.

Before Shannon and Earle met, he met a little lass who stole his heart and inspired this hit. And, apparently, they’re still friends. And that may have been all they ever were. Though Shannon has hinted that they still spend platonic time together, and mutual friends have reported the tension between the two is crazy.

But just like the black-haired beauty from the song, she likes to leave a little mystery. She prefers to stay anonymous, apparently. “And I ask you, friend, what’s a fella to do?”

6 “Arthur McBride”

The song “Arthur McBride” is also definitely a shift from the traditional Irish ballad too. While half of all classic folk songs are about going to war or coming home from war, this one is actually about resisting war. Despite the fact that this was written in the 1800s, it almost sounds more like a 1970s protest song.

The exact war that inspired this song is unknown, but many speculate that it’s either the Napoleonic Wars or the Williamite War—especially since the song talks about soldiers being sent to France. Historians believe the story took place in Donegal based on the origins of the name McBride. But if I’m being totally honest, the best tidbit of strange with this poem comes at the end. After two recruiters attempt to talk a man and his cousin into war, they shut him down, bash them over the head, and then literally drop-kick their stuff into the ocean.

5 “Finnegan’s Wake”

So this title has been a best-selling book and a quirky film. But it was originally an Irish comedy song. The weird ballad is about a whiskey-obsessed brock hod who needs to toss a couple back before work every morning.

Or at least he did until he falls off a ladder and dies. Comedy gold, right? Hang with me. At his wake, everybody’s drinking more whiskey, and they start fighting (talk about stereotypes…). But when they accidentally spill their booze on the corpse, it springs the old man back to life.

If we’re being honest, this story is kind of ridiculous. But the best part is that it inspired James Joyce’s last book of the same title in 1939. So this over-the-top sloppy drinking song became immortalized as one of the most influential pieces of literature in history.

4 “Noreen Bawn”

If you haven’t noticed yet, there are quite a few Irish songs named after women. Gee, I wonder why. But this one isn’t your typical across-the-sea love song. It was actually written about Bridget Gallagher.

Gallagher was an Irish songbird who was buried in Doe Cemetery in Creeslough, where she was originally from. Known by her fans as “The Girl from Donegal,” she was a record-holder for drawing thousands to her show at London’s Albert Hall.

3 “Wild Mountain Thyme”

While the origins of this song aren’t exactly strange, they’re kind of confusing. It’s hard to tell who the real author is. Apparently, it was originally based on a song by poet Robert Tannahill titled “The Braes of Balquhither.” But also, it was totally different.

Then it was adapted by Francis McPeake into the song we know today—almost. He wrote the song for his wife. Then, his son added a verse when Francis remarried. Finally, his nephew recorded the song. But he apparently tried to claim some credit for writing it as well. It sounds like too many cooks in the kitchen for this Irish stew.

2 “The Sash”

How about a war song about a colorful wardrobe? Yup, that’s pretty strange, alright. The song “The Sash” was an original folk song for loyalists that many believe was about the Jacobite siege of Derry in the 17th century.

Also called “The Sash My Father Wore,” it literally centers around an orange sash. These sashes were part of the Protestant uniform, signifying victory. Today, it’s considered a popular tune for marching bands.

1 “On Raglan Road”

Now this song has a strange and kind of hilarious background story. It was based on a 1946 poem by Patrick Kavanagh and is at least partially accurate.

In the poem “Dark Haired Miriam Ran Away,” he meets a girl on the street and decides to hit on her, despite knowing he’ll probably end up hurt. But apparently, the name Mirium was a cover for his actual girlfriend, Dr. Hilda Moriarty. Is it just me, or does she sound like a Sherlock Holmes villain?

Still, she inspired his famous poem (since the two would meet on Raglan Road) and several others creatively named Hilda, Hilda 2, Hilda 3, and so on.

But in the end, Kavanagh was right—they wouldn’t make it. Moriarty stated later that the biggest problem was their 18-year age difference. Can’t say I blame her on that one.

Every March 17, not only do most people of Irish descent (and many who are not) pause to celebrate the life of the Emerald Isle’s patron saint, St. Patrick, but also it’s a time to take stock of the culture of Ireland on a day that is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival. There is much the world owes to the people of Ireland in terms of food, drink, and culture.

However, another legacy the country has is its unique history, which has spawned some of the greatest mysteries that have eluded scientists, historians, and criminal investigators for centuries. Enjoy this list of ten of the most intriguing mysteries of Ireland and its natives that have yet to be solved.

Related: Top 10 Irish Songs with Strange Origins

10 St. Brendan Discovers America

“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” He discovered America, and of course, the rest is history. Or is it? If you are a native of the Emerald Isle, then surely you know it wasn’t Christopher Columbus or 10th century Vikings who were the first Europeans to arrive in the Western Hemisphere. But rather, it was a 6th-century Irish monk who was a legendary seaman.

Known as “Brendan the Navigator” or more affectionately “St. Brendan” in Ireland, his seafaring exploits are chronicled in the 9th-century Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis or “Voyage of St. Brendan the Abbot.” The “Navigatio” describes Brendan and his crew dodging floating “pillars of crystal” (possibly icebergs) before making landfall in a “promised land” that was so vast they failed to reach the far shore after “40 days of walking.” Could this have been the North American mainland?

In 1983, Harvard marine biologist Barry Fell discovered petroglyphs in West Virginia carved in Ogam script, the Irish alphabet used between the 6th and 8th centuries. Could St. Brendan and his men have left this? Most archeologists remained unconvinced. However, British author and adventurer Tim Severin built a replica of Brendan’s vessel and successfully completed what was believed to be the Irish monk’s route in 1977. But did St. Brendan do it? We may never know.^[1]

9 The Murder of William Desmond Taylor

Few remember Irish-born filmmaker William Desmond Taylor today. With a filmography of over sixty movies, Taylor directed some of Hollywood’s biggest stars during the silent era, such as Mary Pickford and Wallace Reid. He was also a popular figure in Tinseltown who was linked romantically with one of the film industry’s biggest comedic stars, Mabel Normand. The dapper, 49-year-old Taylor was also stalked by his obsessed 17-year-old protégé, former child star Mary Miles Minter.

When Taylor was found shot dead in his upscale Los Angeles bungalow on the morning of February 2, 1922, there were many possible suspects. Could it have been the cocaine-addicted Normand, whom he was reportedly “deeply in love with” and trying to help shake her drug dependency? Or perhaps Minter, who supposedly refused to accept his rejection of her romantic advances? Or maybe Minter’s mother, Charlotte Shelby, who was a manipulative, overbearing stage mother, who may have been in love with Taylor herself? And last but not least, Taylor’s cook and valet Henry Peavey, who would die nine years later in an asylum of syphilis-related dementia, was strongly suspected.

Over a century later, his death remains an unsolved cold case that continues to puzzle police and historians to this day.^[2]

8 The Abduction of Shergar

When the topic of the greatest racehorses of all time is brought up, most Americans think of Secretariat, Sea Biscuit, or the ageless John Henry. But for the Irish, one of the fastest thoroughbreds ever was the County Kildare-born stallion Shergar. Owned by the Aga Khan IV, Shergar enjoyed a dominant season in 1981, winning the 202nd Epsom Derby by ten lengths, and the Irish Sweeps Derby by four lengths.

Two years later, after being retired to Ballymany Stud, Shergar was stolen by an armed gang who demanded a ransom for the return of the prized racehorse. When the kidnappers could not provide proof that the horse was still alive four days later, negotiations ended, and Shergar was never returned.

In 1999, a former Irish Republican Army member claimed the IRA stole the horse to raise money for arms. He further claimed that after the abduction, Shergar panicked and seriously damaged his leg leading to the horse being destroyed. To date, no one has ever been arrested for the crime, and Shergar’s body has never been found. As a tribute to the famed thoroughbred, the Shergar Cup was inaugurated in 1999 to pay homage to the horse’s great accomplishments on the racetrack.^[3]

7 The Tragedy of Aer Lingus Flight 712

On the morning of March 24, 1968, Irish Aer Lingus Flight 712 departed from Cork en route to London with 61 passengers and crew on board. After a normal takeoff, flight controllers received a call believed to convey the message that the plane was flying at “12,000 feet, descending, spinning rapidly.” (LINK #12) By noon, Flight 712 had disappeared. After failed attempts to contact the pilot, Captain Bernard O’Beirne, the London Air Traffic Control immediately called for a search of the area west of Strumble Head off the coast of Wales.

After futile efforts to locate the plane, the wreckage was discovered, and bodies sighted northeast of Tuskar Rock, off the southeast coast of County Wexford, Ireland. Although only fourteen bodies were later recovered, there were no survivors of Flight 712. Several theories have been proposed as to the cause of the tragic flight, from a bird strike to a structural failure with the plane itself or possibly a target drone accidentally deployed by the nearby Aberporth missile station. Although a two-year investigation into the crash was conducted, including a 2002 review process by the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit, a cause for the crash has yet to be determined.^[4]

6 The Disappearance of Amy Fitzpatrick

Fifteen-year-old Amy Fitzpatrick was a Dublin, Ireland, native living abroad in Málaga, Spain, with her family on New Year’s Day 2008. She spent that evening babysitting the brother of her friend Ashley Rose. When she left that night to return to her own home, which was only a short walk away, she mysteriously disappeared and was never seen or heard from again. A massive search was undertaken to find the missing Irish teenager but investigators failed to find any evidence of her whereabouts.

In June of 2009, Fitzpatrick’s mother received an anonymous phone call from a man who claimed that Amy had been kidnapped and was alive in Madrid. The same man later sent a text requesting a ransom of 500,000 euros. Both the call and text were determined to be from pre-paid phones. Later, authorities and private investigators failed to locate the mysterious caller or determine if his story was even true. Five years after Amy’s disappearance, her 23-year-old brother Dean was stabbed to death in Dublin in an incident later ruled to be manslaughter. Who was the perpetrator? None other than Amy’s mother’s boyfriend, Dave Mahon, who lived with the Fitzpatricks at the time of Amy’s disappearance, thus adding another twist to a cold case that has yet to be solved.^[5]

5 The Extinction of the Irish Elk

What is the largest member of the deer family that ever existed? Is it the Alaskan moose, which can grow up to two meters (6.5 feet) tall from hoof to shoulder while weighing in at a massive 1800 pounds? (LINK #18) Close, but not quite. The Irish elk, a giant Ice Age megaloceros whose range extended from Ireland to Lake Baikal in Siberia, stood an imposing 2.2 meters (7 feet) tall at the shoulders with 90-pound antlers that spanned up to 3.6 meters (12 feet). It is generally considered to be the largest deer that ever existed.

However, sadly, these majestic beasts disappeared nearly 8,000 years ago, with the most recent skeletal remains of the species limited to what is today Western Russia. Why did the Irish elk become extinct? Named for the abundant fossils of the elk found in Irish bogs, there have been many hypotheses put forth for the species’ demise.

The most obvious is the elks’ inability to adapt to the extreme climate change of the most recent ice age. Overhunting by early humans is another possibility, and here’s an intriguing one, the inability of stags to escape to forested areas from predators due to their oversized antlers. With rumors abound that modern scientists plan to clone and bring back the Irish elk, maybe its return from extinction will provide some clues.^[6]

4 The Origin of the Blarney Stone

For the introverted among us, the Irish have two possible options to loosen the tongue and endow a lass or bloke with the “gift of gab.” One option is to drink a pint of Guinness. If that doesn’t work, according to legend, kissing the Blarney Stone is a sure-fire guarantee to give one the eloquence of speech and wit they desire. But what exactly is the Blarney Stone?

Technically it’s a block of limestone built into the battlements high atop Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland. Its origin is the stuff of legends such as one that the builder of the castle, Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, was told by the Irish goddess Cliodhna to kiss the first stone he should find on his way to court. In doing so, it gave him the verbal power of persuasion to win his case. He supposedly then placed the stone in the castle parapet.

In reality, no one really knows where the stone came from. But if Ireland is too far to travel to see it, Texas Tech University in Lubbock claims a rock fragment on display outside the old Electrical Engineering Building is a missing piece of the Blarney Stone. However, according to their legend, only Texas Tech graduating seniors that kiss the stone upon graduation receive the gift of eloquence.^[7]

3 The Banishment of Snakes

If you suffer from ophidiophobia, you are not alone. Roughly one-half of the U.S. population suffers from the malady, better known as “fear of snakes.” If your greatest hope is to move to a country where snakes don’t exist, you have three options: Iceland, New Zealand, and yes, the Emerald Isle. According to legend, St. Patrick himself banished the slithery reptiles from Ireland in the 5th century, chasing them into the sea after attacking him during a 40-day fast.

Countering the claim, modern science claims snakes never existed in Ireland at all. In fact, there is no evidence of any reptiles in post-glacial Ireland, with the exception of the viviparous or common lizard, which is common to the island. So why is Ireland only one of three countries free of the reptile most likely to instill fear in one out of every two people? The general rationale is that Ireland is simply too cold and inhospitable for cold-blooded reptiles to survive. That being said, snakes do exist in neighboring England and Scotland, where the climate is similar. So if you’re like Indiana Jones and hate snakes, it’s okay to go ahead and lift a pint to St. Patrick on March 17. Let the science be damned.^[8]

2 The Fate of Francis Crozier

On the morning of May 19, 1845, two ships, the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, set sail from England for the Canadian Arctic, searching for the fabled Northwest Passage. Led by the 59-year-old Sir John Franklin, both ships and a crew of 128 other men were last sighted by whalers off the west coast of Greenland in July of that summer. Their countrymen would never see them again.

Second in command to Franklin was a seasoned naval officer of humble birth, Irish Captain Francis Crozier. Two years into the voyage, Franklin died, and both ships became trapped in the pack ice off the west coast of King William Island. The task of leading the men out of their frozen arctic trap was left to Crozier. But what happened to the men would remain unknown for another fourteen years.

A terse note found in a cairn on King William Island in 1859 revealed the men’s desperate trek to the Canadian mainland. They would never make it, and their demise has been attributed to everything from hypothermia, scurvy, and starvation to lead poisoning from poorly soldered tins of canned meat. (LINK #32) When, where, and how Francis Crozier died remains a mystery. Today the Irish seaman is perhaps best known as the protagonist of Dan Simmons’ best-selling novel The Terror and the 2018 AMC television series adapted from the book and inspired by the tragedy.^[9]

1 St. Patrick’s Grave

Also known as the “Apostle of Ireland,” Patrick is the patron saint of all things Irish. Although specific dates of his birth and death are difficult to determine with absolute certainty, it is generally accepted as fact that St. Patrick lived and was an active Christian missionary during the fifth century. What is more difficult to pinpoint is the actual location where the venerated Irish saint is actually buried.

It is claimed that St. Patrick is buried on the grounds of Down Cathedral, located in the town of Down Patrick in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, the medieval monks of Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset, England, claimed that St. Patrick was buried there. According to their tradition, after Patrick completed his tenure as Bishop of Ireland, he retired to Glastonbury Abbey, becoming the monastery’s first Abbot. They further claim he is interred next to the High Altar in the “Old Wattle Chapel.”

What is known is that the patron saint of Ireland was born in Roman-occupied Britain, which makes the claims that St. Patrick returned to the land of his birth not as far-fetched as it seems. (LINK #37) To cover your bases for St. Patrick’s Day this year, feel free to tint your English brown ale green.^[10]

Ireland has a rich tradition of weird and wonderful creatures – but it’s not just fairies and leprechauns. Some denizens of the Irish Otherworld are truly horrifying. Like these 10!

10. The Abhartach

Long before Irish novelist Bram Stoker came up with Dracula, Ireland had the blood-sucking Abhartach. Once an evil wizard king from the hills around Glenullin, Abhartach, a dwarf, was killed by his subjects and buried standing up. When he returned the next day, demanding blood from their veins, his terrorized subjects had him killed again. But it didn’t help. Abhartach kept coming back.

In desperation they sought out a hermit in the woods and asked him what to do. “Abhartach is not really alive,” he explained, he’s “one of the neamh-mhairbh [‘undead’].” In other words, he couldn’t be killed. But he could be “suspended” if slain with a sword made of yew wood and buried in the earth upside down, sprinkled with ash twigs and thorns, beneath a very large stone. Abhartach would stay there as long as the stone did, said the hermit.

The rock is still there to this day, with a tree that sprang up from the thorns. Even now, it’s considered ‘bad ground’. Eerily, the most recent attempt to clear it—in 1997—was thwarted by malfunctioning chainsaws, as well as blood loss when a chain lifting the stone broke and cut one of the workers.

9. Banshees

Perhaps the best known ghoul from the Emerald Isle is a banshee, which in Irish (bean sí) means ‘Otherworld woman.’ Her wails and screams, heard at night, foretell a death in the family—but only if your family’s Irish. Irish poet W.B. Yeats described the banshee as “an attendant fairy that follows the old families, and none but them.” More than one is considered an honor.

The queen of the banshees, Clíodhna, was a goddess of love and beauty accompanied by birds that cured illness. But she also lured sailors to their deaths. For this, she was punished by the sea god Manaanán MacLir. When she left the Otherworld to be with her lover, a mortal, MacLir drowned her with a wave. Hence the legend in Glandore, County Cork that a loud wave belongs to Clíodhna.

8. Bananach

The bánánach (bánánaigh) are a type of shrieking female specter drawn by combat to circle the skies over battlefields. They’re kind of like banshees, and their name may have a similar root. If not just from bán, meaning ‘white’ or ‘pale’, bánánach may come from bean/ban, meaning ‘woman’.

In early Irish texts, they usually appear alongside their male counterparts, the bocánach (bocánaigh). These “demons of the air,” as monastic scholars called them, more actively encouraged the bloodshed of war. Based on their name, from bocán (meaning ‘he-goat’), it’s assumed they had a Puck-like appearance.

7. Fomorians

In Irish mythology, there are basically two main factions—one good, the Tueatha Dé Danann, and the other evil: the Fomorians, or Fomors. The name is thought to derive from fó, meaning “from below,” and a suffix meaning “the sea,” “demons,” or “giants.”

Thought to have built Ireland’s megalithic monuments, the Fomorians are said to have been the first Irish settlers—numbering 200 men and 600 women to begin with. But their prevailing characteristic is their mutant appearance, which they themselves see as a blessing from the dark gods. Mismatched limbs, animal heads, too many eyes, and so on are common. They’re also wielders of old, earthy magic—the “power of the wyrm”—with control of the weather and plagues.

Their king, Balor of the Evil Eye, had a flaming eye so huge it took four men to lift the lid. With it, he can reduce a man to ashes and lay waste to whole regions—as he did to the islands west of Scotland. In fact, it was so dangerous that he kept seven cloaks over it at all times and never got it out among his people. Whenever the time came to use it on an enemy, the cloaks would come off one by one—the removal of the first withering ferns, the removal of the second browning grass, the third heating up trees, and so on, until the removal of the sixth and second set the land itself on fire.

6. Fear gorta

The fear gorta or ‘hungry man’ stalks Ireland during times of famine, begging from house to house for something to eat. His ancient origins are murky. According to some, he rises from the “hungry grass” (or féár gortach), which curses anyone who walks on it to starvation. Others say the fear gorta is the ghost of a man who starved to death close to a fairy mound.

Whatever his origin, the wretched fear gorta appears emaciated, dressed in rags with long, dirty fingernails and carrying (often dropping) an alms bowl. Unlike hungry grass, which you can burn, there’s no way to destroy the fear gorta. There is, however, a way to protect yourself: compassion. Those who feed him whatever they can are thanked or rewarded for the favor, while those who don’t—especially if they mock (or worse yet attack) him—are cursed with bad luck and starvation.

Hence it’s said that the fear gorta has made kings into paupers and beggars into princes. However, he’s always an omen of hard times to come.

5. The Fetch

A fetch (derived from the old Irish faíth, meaning seer) is Ireland’s answer to the doppelgänger. Depending on whether you see it in the morning or the evening, it may bring good luck or bad. But mostly the fetch is a bad thing.

Assuming the form of someone whose death is impending, this shapeshifting spirit appears either to them or their loved ones as an omen. What sets it apart from a regular doppelgänger is the fetch’s tendency to hint at the cause of coming death—showing burns if it’s fire, clutching its chest for a heart attack, etc. Also it doesn’t have a shadow. Needless to say, this all makes the fetch look more terrifying.

A fetch might also appear after the death, walking among loved ones at the funeral with a distant look on their face. Apparently, if you follow one a while it’ll disappear in a dark corner or vanish behind a tree.

4. Sluaghs

Sluaghs are monsters with a taste for human souls—especially souls in true love. According to the ancients, sluaghs are faeries gone “amuck,” “warped and twisted, without fear, reason or mercy.” Later, Christians explained them as the souls of sinners doomed to wander the land dragging souls with them to Hell. They’re said to be especially active at Halloween, when all fires were traditionally forbidden so as not to attract their attention. But whatever day of the year it is, there’s an old Irish tradition of keeping west-facing windows shut tight to keep the sluaghs at bay. (They were said to fly in from the west after dusk.)

Sluaghs also snare mortals as slaves, commanding them to do their bidding. If the sluaghs are denied a soul they crave, for instance, they’ll get their slaves to slaughter cattle, sheep, and pets. This is because the sluaghs themselves have no corporeal presence, typically appearing as undulating shadow resembling a great flock of ravens. In fact, the word sluagh means ‘host’.

So feared was the sluagh in times gone by that people favored death as their fate.

3. Dobhar-chu

Otters—with the hand-holding, the pouch they keep their stuff in, the fluffiness, and so on—are impossible not to feel good looking at. They’re basically the penguins of the northern hemisphere; you can’t help but smile when you see them. But trust Ireland to make them scary.

The dobhar-chú is a kind of otter from Hell, a vampire with “gargantuan fangs.” It was first encountered on the shores of Glenade Lake in County Leitrim, lying fast asleep on the blood-soaked body of one Grace Connolly. At the sight of the creature, her husband Terence McLoughlin ran home, got his gun, returned and shot the creature—which let out a terrifying shriek like a death rattle. In response, another dobhar-chú emerged from the lake and had to be slain by the man. Creepily, both Connolly and McLoughlin have carvings of the creatures on their gravestones.

They weren’t the only encounters, though. The dobhar-chú—or “Irish crocodile,” as it’s sometimes called—has allegedly been in scuffles with others. It’s also been seen and photographed as recently as 2000. According to photographer Sean Corcoran, who spotted the creature on Omey Island, Connemara, it swam across the lake within seconds, leapt onto a boulder, and gave the “most haunting screech.”

2. Ollipheisteanna

We’ve all heard of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland, but what does the old legend mean? Well, scholars aren’t exactly sure but it may have something to do with a breed of giant, worm-like monsters. Likened to dragons, olliphéisteanna (singular, olliphéist: from oll, ‘great’, and péist, ‘worm’, ‘beast’, ‘reptile’) are so massive that their snaking around carves rivers into the landscape. The River Shannon is said to have formed this way, left in the wake of an olliphéist fleeing St. Patrick.

Otherwise, they’re said to bide their time in deep lakes, underground caverns, and especially marshes and swamps. Even their blood is toxic. Hence when the healer of the gods, Dian Cécht, removed three olliphéisteanna that had been growing inside a baby’s breast, he burned them to ashes and cast the ashes into a river. But even then, the river stopped flowing and the water turned black—killing everything in it. Another tale has an olliphéist crawling from a witch’s broken thigh bone, growing full size, and devouring Ireland’s cattle. The warrior Conán leapt into its mouth to slay it from within, but its blood forever stained the County Donegal lake Lough Derg red.

The greatest of all the olliphéisteanna was Caoránach, mother of all worms and demons. She is still thought to inhabit Lough Derg.

1. The Dullahan

Long before The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Ireland had its own headless horseman. The Dullahan (meaning ‘dark man’) is a black-robed decapitatee, a harbinger of death who “thunders through the night” on horseback, using a human spine as a whip. Alternatively, he might ride his enormous black coach—the “coach-a-bower”—pulled so incredibly fast by six headless horses that it sets the roadside ablaze. 

Traditionally, the Dullahan is a manifestation of the pagan fertility god Crom Dubh—whose sacrificial blood rites involved decapitation. He keeps his head close to hand, despite its resemblance to a lump of mouldy cheese. By holding it up, the Dullahan can see for miles around the countryside in his midnight pursuit of the dying. It also serves as a lantern—its decaying phosphorescence enough for his vision. 

All gates fly open for the Dullahan, locked or not. So it’s no use resisting. You don’t want to be too eager, though. Folk tales abound of those who watch from their windows for a glimpse of the Dullahan only to get blood in their eyes.