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 Leprechauns are key figures in Irish mythology and if you find one of the little people of Ireland, then according to folklore, you may find his pot of gold.
In Irish folklore a Leprechaun is one of the faerie folk and are often associated with faerie forts, the ancient Celtic settlements. According to popular belief, this small elf like figure is pictured wearing traditional emerald green clothes and is often sporting a beard and smoking a pipe.
The Leprechaun is a cobbler by trade, but he has a secret stash of gold that he must reveal if you can capture him. But by his nature the Leprechaun is cunning and mischievous and will try anything not to hand over his gold.
In one tale, a young farmer captures a Leprechaun and forces him to hand over his gold. The Leprechaun says that the gold is hidden beneath a tree in the woods and shows him which one it is. The farmer ties his red scarf around the tree and after making the Leprechaun promise not to remove the scarf he heads to his farm to get a shovel. But when the farmer returns he finds that the Leprechaun has tied a red scarf around every tree in the woods.
The name Leprechaun is thought to have a number of origins, from the Irish Gaelic for shoemaker leath bhrógan to the Irish for pigmy, leipreachán.
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