On March 15, 1895, Brigid Cleary was killed by her husband in Co. Tipperary. He believed she was a ‘changling’ substituted in her place by fairies. He poured lamp oil over her clothes and set them on fire.
The word “fairy” comes from pagan methology meaning ‘a deer’s companion’ who were endowed with powers of fortunetelling. It also comes from the word “fatigue” which was synonymous with ‘wild woman’ or a woman of the woods, water and the natural world who can change their appearance. One never messes with the fairies. They live in fairy rings that one can see all over Ireland, and you can visit them but never interfere with these fairy mounds or with the ‘fairy tree’ which is the hawthorn. This tree must never be cut down for fear of disturbing the ‘little people’ who live underneath. Bad things happen to those who ignore these rules.
