Irish folklore in the context of "Welsh folklore"

A leprechaun (Irish: lucharachán/leipreachán/luchorpán) is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. In later times, they have been depicted as shoe-makers who have a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

Leprechaun-like creatures rarely appear in Irish mythology and only became prominent in later folklore.

The Gaelic revival (Irish: Athbheochan na Gaeilge) was the late-nineteenth-century national revival of interest in the Irish language (also known as Gaelic) and Irish Gaelic culture (including folklore, mythology, sports, music, arts, etc.). Irish had diminished as a spoken tongue, remaining the main daily language only in isolated rural areas, with English having become the dominant language in the majority of Ireland.

Interest in Gaelic culture was evident early in the nineteenth century with the formation of the Belfast Harp Society in 1808 and the Ulster Gaelic Society in 1830, and later in the scholarly works of Robert Shipboy MacAdam, John O'Donovan and Eugene O'Curry, and the foundation of the Ossianic Society. Concern for spoken Irish led to the formation of the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language in 1876, and the Gaelic Union in 1880. The latter produced the Gaelic Journal. Irish traditional sports were fostered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, founded in 1884.

The aos sí (pronounced [iːsˠ ˈʃiː]; English approximation: /iːs ˈʃiː/ eess SHEE; older form: aes sídhe, áes sídhe [eːsˠ ˈʃiːə]) is a supernatural race in Irish folklore, similar to elves. They are said to descend from the Tuatha Dé Danann or the gods of Irish mythology.

The name aos sí means "folk of the sí"; these are the burial mounds in which they are said to dwell, which are seen as portals to an Otherworld. Such abodes are referred to in English as 'shee', 'fairy mounds', 'elf mounds' or 'hollow hills'. The aos sí interact with humans and the human world. They are variously said to be the ancestors, the spirits of nature, or goddesses and gods.