Are Leprechauns American?

[@GandalftheGreyKC]

I enjoyed the presentation. It seems to me that the idea of the leprechaun has followed a similar arc to that of Santa Claus (American commercialism) and that discussions like this are important to highlight and recall the origins.

[@TheBmanOBA]

Got to be one of the BEST videos I've seen you guys put together! Educational, factual, entertaining, and well produced! 10/10

[@davidgaver8659]

I enjoy the idea of leprechauns I think they're cute and bassador of irish-american and even Irish culture as all

[@richarddaugherty8583]

Thanks, Eric! A whole bunch of information I had no idea about! And myself being of Irish heritage to boot!

[@oryxes]

Same!

[@sean_in_the_cle]

Thanks, Eric! Interesting tidbit: In many parts of Ireland, rainbows DON’T have pots of gold at the end of them. Rather, rainbows frequently ended at a river or stream. If so, leprechauns would come, find pretty river stones, hold them up to the rainbow’s light and could then change them to gold. Similar end result, different methodology.

[@kerplunk8011]

this needs to be presented every year in prep for St Patty's Day.

[@celtichammerclub1155]

This is great! I didn’t know this! Great info.

[@ryank1273]

Another thing, can you possibly do a video on how American firefighters started out with the pipes and drums? I know that P&D came from Irish and Scottish tradition, but I want to hear it from you guys. And the fact that the first organized fire brigade originated in Scotland.

[@Beardychiel]

Great episode. Wonderful information.

[@Kythilian]

Fantastic video and information Erik!

[@davidguymon1673]

For the record I'm Irish and Scottish and I love the Leprechaun movie. I need to watch them again.

[@pcarmical]

Fantastic video. Loved it,

[@ljosephdumas3113]

Great presentation. Shows how an icon can be turned from negative to positive (Yankee Doodle); also, as an English major, THANK YOU for getting "fleshed out" correctly versus the all-too-common "flushed out!" :-)

[@pipsheppard6747]

Being descended from a host of Ulster Scots, I don't particularly find an interest in this. However, I am always impressed by the depth of knowledge Eric brings to discussions of culture and the like. I repeatedly learn something new in all of the videos when Eric gets to "shine." Good job, Eric!

[@BrianBorumaMacCennetig367]

Because you're not Irish your origins are within Northumbria in England. "Ulster" is Irish not yours to culturally appropriate.

[@pipsheppard6747]

@@BrianBorumaMacCennetig367 Your tribalism appalls me.

[@BrianBorumaMacCennetig367]

You engage in tribalism yourself bud.

[@EmeraldVideosNL]

Very interesting! Perhaps a video about how St Patrick shouldn't be abbreviated to Patty (a girl's name), there's a reason many Irish were called Paddy. Just my pet peeve.

[@alzathoth]

a young lass once told me that the reason why Guinness is so good is because leprechauns stir the vats at night... ;)

[@stevemckraut59]

You know, the first observance of St. Patrick's Day in America wasn't in Boston. It was in St. Augustine, FL in 1600. The first parade was in 1601.

[@tibulcain4904]

Thank you Eric! I constantly get stereotyped as being Irish because of my big red beard. As far as I can tell, i had only 1 Irish ancestor who moved to Galla, Ohio in the time frame the Irish famine/ blight was said to have happened. I'm mostly scottish somehow (most of my great grandparents were all kinds of Mac's with traceable roots to Scotland). Point being, I feel like I can use this to edu-tain some people who consistently give me a hard time around this time of year.

[@BrianBorumaMacCennetig367]

"All kinds of macs" Mac being the Irish surname prefix for son. It's not exclusively scottish and it orginated in Ireland.

[@brucecollins641]

@@BrianBorumaMacCennetig367 mac/mcs and o's originated in scotland,adopted by irish nationalists to distance themselves from their anglo- norman roots. they dropped the norman prefix fitz in favour of the scottish macs/mcs and o prefixes.

[@BrianBorumaMacCennetig367]

@@brucecollins641 Complete nonsense.

[@brucecollins641]

@@BrianBorumaMacCennetig367 o'donnel/donal mac/mcdonnell. are scottish. the wee apostrophe after the o replaces the f.....same with o'neil.....of the clan donald/of the clan neil. the mac/mcs and o's were adopted by the irish in the mid 1800s as irish nationalists thought it would be good for ireland. look at the dates they were adopted then started to rise. they were adding the prefixes to any name. most o them noy traditionally clans. even the mythical king brian buru only had the prefix o attached centuries after his death. doanal/donnell is how we pronounce donald in scotland.

[@BrianBorumaMacCennetig367]

@@brucecollins641 Incoherent gibberish clearly an uneducated bigot who makes up nonsense for attention and to support his bigoted desires. Not based in reality at all.

[@Oooo-bi7bi]

Never seen people dressed as them .Until KZbin.

[@crocketgsxr6]

Darby O'Gill is on Disney+ and you're welcome

[@celtichammerclub1155]

I also didn’t know Darby O’Gill was written by a Kavanagh!!!

[@bobgraham4970]

too bad there wasn't a leprechaun with a kilt

[@ryank1273]

Or plays bagpipes.

[@galoglaich3281]

@@ryank1273 They play the bagpipes alright the uillean bagpipes not that scottish noisebag ,its a much more sophisticated instrument

[@BrianBorumaMacCennetig367]

The Scottish bagpipes orginated in Ireland first recorded in the 9th century, they don't appear in scotland until the 14th century. Google the Great Irish warpipes, they're two drones the scottish added a third drone to distinguish from the Irish origins of the instrument.

[@brucecollins641]

@@BrianBorumaMacCennetig367 the 2 drone bagpipes most likely came from europe into england then up to scotland where the scots added a 3rd drone. alternatively, they could have been brought over from the frankish regions of europe by the gauls/galls who settled in scotland. the uillean (originally union pipes) are a 1760s adaptation of the scottish smallpipes and northumberland parlour pipes. kilts also scottish adopted in the late 1800s by irish nationalists. fun fact......the leprechauns copied from the italian leprecus.

[@ryank1273]

This just makes St. Patrick's day more confusing... you just brought up that they are actually American, we see it as a Irish holiday, and I've heard that some parades play Scotland the Brave!

[@timomastosalo]

No, they're not totally American. It's more like the Irishness in the USA adapted to the local needs - became a dialect, an accent; if you will. But it never really separated from the real Irsih roots - newcoming Irish immigrants after that have found it easy to land to... it seems. Don't know really I'm not Irish - feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, Irish heritage folks. Finnish Americans (I'm a Finn of the mother country) have made an even more drastic change in the Finnish culture of the New World. They invented a holiday not existing in the Old World Finland, St. Urho's Day. Urho Kaleva Kekkonen (aka UKK), was a Finnish president from the 50's till -81 (about 25 years!), chosen twicw the normal way, and after that by the law of exception Finnish law has for a case of emergency. Which was then the fear of Soviets. Theere was a risk of them meddling into Finnish politics in the 60's &70's, if Finland changed the president. Their leaders new UKK (who fought against them in WWII), they didn't want a change. So, the funny thing about the Communists of the Soviet country was they practically demanded Finland to have a King :) We Finns joke of that era as our country being 'Kekkoslovakia', his family name turns to Kekkos… something in many grammatic forms, and that punned name makes Finland sound eastern block. Well, Finland was a democratic electoral country - an American ambassador told in his memoirs after UKK's era, that he had keep the free commerce going towards the West, and key political places, like the army and judges were Western minded: he gave the Socialists and Communists positions in the media and culture - room to talk, but not to steer the ship. For many he was the hero saving Finns from Communism, for some he was too left, for some he was too right (he was from the Center Party, the party for the countryside, mostly). I think he achieved what his motto was with the previous president Paasikivi (Nat. Coalition Party, moderate Right) while UKK was the prime minister: 'Whatever it takes, just as the head stays on the surface'. So a survivalist strategy. Both men were realists, have lived through the war as adults. Paasikivi was 1st hesitant if he could trust Kekkonen to take over after him. Just as Kekkonen was afraid of Koivisto taking over after him in the 80's - he was a Socialist (moderate Left). But if anything, he took Finland even mor towards West, towards Right, in the 80's, most of which he was the president (normal 2 seasons). It seems for most American Finns Kekkonen was seen as a hero who saved the country from the Red Beast, hence the naming him as the St. Urho. That's already the Irishness rubbing on to them: Finnish Protestants, Lutherans don't go naming people as Saints, openly - they think it's God who says that: we just can't know that. In the end it will be revealed. If there was a Saint corresponding to Patrick, Padraig, it woukd be St. Henry - he was the 1st Bishop of Finland, Siad he died as a martyr by a pagan, but it was actually for eating the family winter storage to an alarming level in one peasant's house. The peasnat who killed him was actually a Christian too. The nurder weapon was the most Finnish it could be, the axe. Now it's in many country ensignia in that part of the country. So the American Finns wanted to have the UKK day, St. Urho's day. Offocially because there wasn't a particular Finnish Heritage Day before that. They saw the Irish example, and wanted one corresping to that. I think the biggest reason for that holiday of the American Finns (and Canadian Finns - about as numerous bunch. Canada is more like Finland than the USA), was not that they didn't have enough festivals - but that they were jealous the Irish had such a splendid drinking day, and they wanted a similar one. Or at least that's how we Finns joke about it. Finns enjoy those holidays most where they can drink. I don't, not anymore after the Lord changed my life - life is more valuable than diluting the brains in chemicals etc. But what comes to the Finnish culture, that attitude to the festivals is so obvious, I'd be odd if I didn't mention that approach to the festivals. The Independence Day in Finland is not a drinking day in Finland (well, except for many at homes): there are no public happenings with drinking. It's a somber holiday with a Ball in the Presidential House, because independence reminds us Finns of our bloody wars, including WWII & the Civil War (1917-1918) right after the declaration of independence. So it brings up the the remembrance of the dead fathers, sons and brothers - yet celebrating life by dancing. Both elements are kind of present when young Cadets in their best dress uniform dance with the ladies in that Ball - letting the men take a rest, and maybe talk (and sip some). So that festival was not available to 'festify' like the St. Patrick's Day - thus came the St. Urho's Day. I don't remember the imagery they use.

[@ryank1273]

@@timomastosalo Gonna be brutally honest with you, I read some of your comment, and thought to myself "holy crap, I never asked for such a long comment, let alone have the Finnish history as well". I'm not the type of person that really likes history, unless it has anything to do with the two World Wars, or anything Celtic. Thanks for sharing what you know!

[@straycat1674]

I’m sorry, but I think of Warwick Davis!!!

[@spikeyferret8613]

I would love leprechauns more if as a ginger ppl would stop calling me one😭😭😭

[@pijnto]

interesting most of the Irish I know don't refer to Leprechauns they call them Little people

[@galoglaich3281]

Pijinto Yes but somehow we see the leprechaun thing as offensive,yet its only a slightly different american take on irish folklore

[@patrickcronin1165]

ND football would different without it leprechaun

[@marcosross790]

Thank God they didn't dress leprechaun in kilts..

[@luketracey3269]

🍀😘

[@luketracey3269]

Hehe

[@tireachan6178]

As an Irishman I never really liked the leprechaun phenomenon. Most American's are dissapointed when they hear my accent but realise I am neither short nor ginger. Why does he sound like a leprechaun but looks like a man? It's Been a gimmick played so hard it's often the first thing a foreigner thinks about Ireland unlike Uncle Sam or John Bull which are just associated characters with their respective nations. Fantastic explanation of the phenomenon though. Came to this channel initially for the kilts but I stayed for the knowledge.

[@timomastosalo]

It's the fairy tale effect, like Santa and all other childhood heros. They're like the Mickey Mouse etc. for the people brought up by fairy tales. So they want that childhood image - not a real every day human being :) I associate this with man's often unconscious pull towards God: the unspoiled purity of Angels and the devine. Which is of course attainable, but through a different door: the door hidden out in the open, in plain sight - namely Jesus.