Most museums collect and preserve information about real historical events, people, and eras. But there are museums devoted not to existing objects, but to ideas that have become famous and conquered the world. The National Leprechaun Museum in Dublin tells the stories of the most famous character of Irish folklore and offers a playful, immersive experience of fairy tale adventure.
The Leprechaun was allowed to walk around the world by Irish immigrants who now live on every continent. Fairy-tale gnomes in green have populated children's books, cartoons, movies and computer games. In the 21st century, leprechauns have turned into movie monsters, not at all like folk characters.
A fabulous Irishman with a pot of gold
The Leprechaun is the hero of Irish fairy tales, a creature of fairies and evil spirits. He is neutral to humans, shunning them. People themselves in fairy tales look for leprechauns because they have gold, and if you catch a leprechaun, he can grant a wish.
Leprechauns are depicted as a dwarf, a dwarf in green clothing and a hat. For an Irishman, the color of his clothing depends on the region in which the myth is composed. The Irish national costume is not always green: but for immigrants from Ireland living in other countries, the national costume has ceased to be a garment and has become a symbol. And the symbols of Ireland are trefoil and green, so in pictures and cartoons the leprechaun is dressed like the members of St. Patrick's Day parades: a green hat with a high brim and a green camisole suit.
Other signs of leprechauns:
- A red beard.
- Pot of gold.
- Damaged trunk.
- Old age.
Leprechauns are neither aggressive nor lazy, they love to sleep and they love gold: in some tales they always carry gold with them, in others they hide pots of gold in wells. You can find this gold if you follow the rainbow to the other end. In Ireland, leprechauns were often depicted repairing shoes with an aging face.
As for the red beard, this is a late attribute: the world stereotype is that a true Irishman must be red.
Museum of the History of the Green Men
Leprechauns are not only characters of local Irish fairy tales, but also heroes of many works, a symbol of Ireland, so they deserve their own museum in Dublin.
The museum opened in 2010 in the center of the Irish capital. The tour lasts from 1 hour to 1.5 hours. In the first rooms, the guide tells tales of leprechauns and the story of the national character's unprecedented success around the world. Then visitors are escorted into a fairy tale, where they are made to feel like a dwarf - climbing on a huge chair, walking under a table, hiding from the rain under a huge umbrella. And then the sightseers go to the forest with the giant trees to go down to the well and start searching for the fabulous gold. The key is to find the opposite end of the rainbow.
Modern museum visitors, especially children, are always armed with cameras. At the leprechaun museum, you are allowed to take pictures, and the pictures turn out to be funny and charismatic. After the tour, visitors will find souvenirs: lots of little men in green and pots of gold.
