Transcript – Informant speaking
Father: “Well, of course there’s the leprechauns, and the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Let’s go for an obvious one. Let’s go for low hanging fruit.”
Mother: “They were supposed to be tricky little Devils, so they were. But it was, if you could manage to capture one, I think you were ent- you were supposed to be able to get 3 wishes. But you had to be very careful about how you phrased it, because it could come back to bite you, you know?”
Father: “Just like Aladdin, right?”

Background
As you can likely tell, this story was told almost as a joke. It was during a conversation between me and my parents on Irish folklore. Both of them grew up in Northern Ireland, hence their connection. For the most part, they weren’t too attached to the tale. They mostly just found it funny, and were both giving off what they’d heard about these creatures. Neither of them believe in their existence.

Context
It should be noted that both my parents have thick irish accents. It should also be noted that I’ve been to Ireland with both of them before, many times. Not once have I heard anyone actually mention leaprocons there. They seem to be this strange idea that the majority of the rest of the world places far more value in than the culture itself. In this sense, they’re more of a joke to most Irish people, including my parents.

Thoughts
It was really funny to actually hear my dad talk about leprechauns though. But what I find interesting on the description of these creatures is their tragically comic element (giving people their literal wish) gives off the same humor and vibe as a lot of the legends on Finn MacCool and Tír Nan Óg. It feels playful, but with a real tragic element to it.