by Steve Lally
Fairy doctors were believed to be the direct link between the Fairy World and the World of Mortals. They were also known as wise men and women, also fairy or herb men and women. It was said that to become a fairy doctor, one would need to spend a minimum of seven years living amongst the Sidhe, learning their ways and customs. According to Simon Young:
If you had a problem with your fairy neighbours and you needed advice, you would talk to your local fairy doctor. Fairy doctors also dealt with non-fairy illnesses and tracked down stolen objects. They worked too against witches and stood in as veterinarians.
Like any resource, whether it be spiritual, natural, financial or medical, history has proven that human beings will exploit it for their own ends. Thankfully there are some people who use these resources in a positive manner and are genuine. The fairy world is not exempt from such exploitation by humans, and while so many of the fairy doctors were genuine some were not’.
In an article by Simon Young entitled ‘True Fairy Stories? Nineteenth Century Irish Fairy Folklore’, (Tradition Today, 2018) he also describes a terrible case involving a fairy doctor. In 1834 a young girl called Brown from Co. Kilkenny fell ill in the fields with brain fever. She was given over to the care of a doctor, but the physician could not help the poor child with his limited and rudimentary methods. At this point the family called in a fairy doctor, Edward Daly, who doubled as a house painter and was famous for having lived many years with the fairies (fourteen to be exact). Daly entered the sickroom drunk (fairy doctors are often described as being tipsy on the job) and announced to the girl (or, as he claimed, the fairy): ‘Ha, my old boy, it’s well I know you, and so I may for I was long enough with you and you know that well too, and many’s the time I whistled a jig tune for you when I was with you.’ He spoke as if he had recognised the fairy lurking within the young girl.
Daly treated his patient on several occasions. He dragged the half-naked girl out of the bed by her hair, flogged her with a wet towel, punched her and stamped upon her. The girl died, possibly because of Daly’s ministrations, and a court case resulted. One of the fascinating things to come out of this case is the support given by the family to Daly throughout, while they were furious with the physician who had bled their girl: fairies hate blood.
The mother had physically interposed herself between her son and Daly when the boy wanted to rescue his sister from a beating. Then, even after the girl’s death, the family was reluctant to testify in court against Daly, partly, one suspects, from belief in his methods, and partly from fear: though Daly had sensibly decamped before the trial began. One witness left the courtroom saying: ‘I did not tell the whole of it to the jury nor I wouldn’t for fear I’d be made a fairy of myself.’
It is said that many of these fairy doctors were more conmen and women than wise men and women. It was easy for these charlatans to prey on the poor and uneducated; many of them could read and write, which added to their authority. They used the concept of a changeling (a child left behind by the fairies in the place of a stolen human child) to both explain away and diagnose conditions such as mental illness, deformity and physical disability. This is not so different to the methods of Matthew Hopkins – the Witchfinder General (c.1620–1647); he is believed to have been responsible for the deaths and torture of over 300 men and women between the years 1644 and 1646. Hopkins was immortalised by the great Vincent Price in the Michael Reeves’ 1968 classic film Witchfinder General. A far cry from Darby O’Gill and the Little People.
The following story is the harrowing account of a child at the mercy of a fairy doctor. It is a true story from 1850, told in all its gruesome detail from the actual time of the occurrence. It was taken from The Fairy Investigation Society’s website.
This extraordinary instance of Irish superstition has just occurred in the town of Roscrea. The facts are as follows: a poor little girl, aged 6 years, named Mary Anne Kelly, daughter of Thomas Kelly, a resident of Roscrea, has been for six months past in a dying state, under care of the dispensary physician. An old hag who professed to be one of those rare characters, a ‘fairy woman’, persuaded the parents of the child that she was ‘fairy struck’ and offered to cure her if they would comply with her directions. To those terms they agreed.
The child was to be placed on a shovel at night, in the open air, in the name of the Devil, after having a prayer or invocation in the same name said over her. In the course of the night the mother was to say to her, ‘Mary Anne, if you are able to come in, do so.’ This was done for three nights in succession, on the last of which the child died, a victim to the credulity of her father and mother. While enduring the cold of the nights, the cries of the little sufferer were the most piteous; and who can but wonder that a woman – and that woman a mother – should not be softened by the distressing cries of the child of her bosom, who had been born blind, and although 6 years of age, had never walked?
On Sunday last, Mr O’Meagher, the coroner, held an inquest on the body of the child. The following persons were sworn on the jury, viz., John Delaney (foreman), William Corcoran, Michael Doherty, Patrick Cahill, Richard Quin, Thomas Healey, John Corcoran, Jeremiah Maher, Wm. Saunders, Joseph Glennon, James Phelan, jun. and Solomon B. Matthews. Bridget Peters, the ‘fairy doctress’ and Mary Kelly, the mother of the deceased, were present in the custody of the police.
The first witness produced was Mary Maher, who stated that the ‘fairy woman’ administered herbs in milk to the child and said that it did not belong to Mary Kelly, as it was a fairy. Mary Kelly’s own child she represented as having been taken away by the ‘Good People’; she also stated that she would either ‘kill or cure’ the child. She blistered the child, and steeped it in water, after which she put the child out on the shovel in the air for three nights.
The ‘fairy woman’ used to say to the child, ‘Mary Anne, get up and come in.’ The mother and she helped the child in. The ‘doctress’ said that on the last night the child would be very black, as there would be some fairies beating it; and that she would either live or die after it. The witness also added that the ‘witch’ had been in the house of the mother of the child for several weeks for the purpose, and that she heard Mary Kelly, the mother, say to the doctress, ‘Why don’t you do it quick?’
On the third night, the witness, who was a servant in the house, was ordered to put out the child on a shovel, and having refused to do so, she was discharged. Another woman named Mary Whitford deposed that she heard Bridget Peters, the ‘fairy woman’, say that she had stuped the child three times and had given her ‘verbena and foxglove’. Surgeon Powell deposed that he knew the deceased child, who had an affection of the brain and was very delicate. He was of the opinion that death was caused by the treatment of Bridget Peters and Mary Kelly. The coroner charged the jury, who returned a verdict of Manslaughter against both prisoners, who were then committed to gaol to abide their trial at the next assizes of Nenagh.
Tipperary Assizes (North Riding) Nenagh, Friday, March 21. A Fairy Doctress – Superstition. Bridget Peters, a decent-looking woman, was indicted for having caused the death of Mary Anne Kelly, by administering large quantities of foxglove. Messrs Scott, QC, and Sausse, QC, prosecuted.
It appeared that the deceased was a child about 6 years of age, and had been delicate almost from its birth, being affected with a softening of the brain, and partial paralysis. The father of the child was a pensioner from the army, living in Roscrea, and in comfortable circumstances, and Dr Powell, a medical gentleman of experience, had been in the habit of attending the deceased, but had no hopes of her ever recovering. The prisoner is what is called a ‘fairy doctor’, and the mother of Mary Anne Kelly having consulted her, she promised to recover her, or not charge anything unless her skill was successful.
The consequence was that this unlicensed general practitioner made up some mysterious preparations in a cauldron, putting in a variety of herbs, including foxglove, which acts very peculiarly on the nervous system, and Vervain, which is
regarded as a very wonderful medicine by those who are superstitious.
But the prisoner, after examining the child, very significantly nodded her head, and told Mrs Kelly that is not her child, but a changeling, and that something must be done to recover the missing girl, who was with the fairies; accordingly, after every dose of the doctress, she had the deceased stripped by Mary Maher, the servant in the family, and carried out naked on a shovel and laid on a dunghill, the poor patient calling out mamma, and in a state of great alarm.
The shock of such exposure, and this while under the depressing influence of foxglove, caused a great shock to the system, and on the morning of the 4th of September, another dose having been administered, the poor victim of this superstition died, although the prisoner concealed the fact until evening, pretending that she was in a sound sleep and getting on well. A book called Culpepper’s Manual, with a statement of how the planets acted on each drug, was found on the prisoner, and had evidently been often consulted by this ‘knowing woman’. The jury found the prisoner guilty of witchcraft on the 13th of September 1850.
Co. Waterford: In Irish it is known as Phort Láirge, meaning, ‘Larag’s Port’. The English translation comes from the Old Norse Vedrarfjord. Co. Waterford is colloquially known as ‘The Déise’, after an ancient Gaelic tribe of the same name who settled in Munster between the fourth and eighth centuries. This county has an ancient past full of Megalithic tombs and Ogham Stones. The remains of its Viking heritage still exists with Reginald’s Tower (the first building in Ireland to be built from bricks and mortar). St Declán converted ‘The Déise’ to Christiany in the fifth century and built a monastery in Ardmore, Co. Waterford. It is believed there was a fort, which was a stronghold for the Fir Bolg (the Men of the Spear), in the centre of Waterford town. This race of powerful warriors were eventually defeated and wiped out by the Tuatha Dé Danann.
THE FAIRY TEACUPS (CO. WATERFORD)
This terrific story was collected by Philomena Walsh and was told to her by Joseph Walsh. We found it in the The Schools’ Collection, Vol. 0652, p.247 in the National Folklore Collection, University College Dublin. It is from Passage East, Co. Waterford. The school it was collected from was An Pasaiste Thoir, Port Lairge. The details available in the archive inspired us to write a version of our own. We elaborated a little to benefit the story, but names and places remain the same.
Maurice Power was an old man who lived beside Crooke Church near Passage East in Co. Waterford. This is a story about an experience he had when he was a much younger man.
One evening he was coming home from a fair a little bit worse for wear, but in great form. He decided to stay back for a few drinks and so on his return home he was a little merry, swaying a little from left to right, but causing no trouble – just happy in himself and minding his own business. He finally reached Kill St Nicholas crossroads and just as he was passing by the Lis (a field) he heard music.
At first, he thought his mind was playing tricks and maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part because he sure wasn’t ready to turn in for the night. He was mad for a bit more craic and sure hearing music was only a true delight for him. So, Maurice did what many a person would do on the way home from having a few drinks – he followed the music... he followed the craic! As far as he was concerned the night was hardly over.
Lis was a field that was familiar to Maurice, and so he felt safe when entering it and he was curious to know who the musicians were. Were they locals or travelling through the area and stopped off for a tune? Well Maurice nearly died when he saw who it was. Right before him were the ‘Good People’. He had heard stories growing up but he had never met a fairy in the flesh. They were nice to Maurice and invited him to join their gathering. Maurice felt comfortable enough to take them up on their offer and so he sat with them and enjoyed the beautiful music. They were dancing and laughing, and Maurice was quickly swept along by the whole feeling. He soon noticed that the fairies were drinking from little teacups and Maurice had never seen anything as small and dainty in his whole life, and when he saw them he thought how his young daughters would love to play with little teacups like those.
When the fairies’ backs were turned Maurice took a few of the teacups and slipped them into his pocket and carried on partying with the fairies. The fairies were still in great form and dancing away so Maurice felt he got away with stealing their teacups. This is usually unheard of because there isn’t much that passes a fairy. So he thought he was clever and was probably the only man alive who managed to outwit the fairies. They are usually careful and watchful and not many manage to fool a fairy.
Maurice was beginning to sober up and started to realise what was actually happening – he was in a field at a fairy gathering and he was the only one who wasn’t one of them, and he began to feel a little fearful and also he remembered that he had stolen something from them and even if he had wanted to return the teacups he knew it would have been a bad idea because the wee folk could turn on him, and Maurice had heard stories growing up about the fairies. Good stories, of course, but bad stories too and he didn’t want his experience to end up a bad one. So, Maurice was polite and thanked the fairies for having him and he made his excuses and left.
This time he walked a little faster back out the gate and went towards home. He knew his wife and kids would be getting up soon – that’s if they weren’t up already. When he returned home his wife was waiting. She was both angry and worried about where he was all night. He told her the story and out of a mix of inbuilt fear and respect for the fairies she gave him the benefit of the doubt and his story was so convincing and so intriguing she had little choice but to believe him. His story had such detail and as he was telling it she could almost see the little folk – their little feet dancing and their green and red soft velvet jackets and their table with all sorts of food and drink and the music, well she could almost hear the music as Maurice described it. His wife was convinced he was with the fairies and when the children got up he told them the very same story and their little eyes lit up and they too were taken to somewhere else. Then he got to the part about the teacups – he said the fairies had given him a few teacups to take home with him for his little girls.
At this point the girls were giddy with excitement. These little girls wouldn’t have had many toys and certainly didn’t have china teacups to play with. Maurice was in his element – he had the full attention of his little girls, they were holding onto his every word and behind them stood his wife, who was also impressed by the way he was with their little girls. For that moment he felt like the most wonderful father and husband in all of the world. So, he reached into his pocket and out he took his treasure and to his horror all that he found were cockleshells. The girls began to cry and the mother was disgusted and felt he had made the whole story up. He went from being the king of the castle to being no one. They were so annoyed at him.
Maurice was upset and angry with the fairies and himself so he went for a lie down. When he awoke he had a strange pain in his head, a pain like he had never had before. He put his hand to his head to rub his scalp when to his horror he found that his beautiful, thick, black glossy hair was gone. He was completely bald. His hair never grew back. He felt the fairies obviously punished him for stealing from them. Maurice never betrayed the fairies again and he never, ever followed the sound of fiddles again. He came straight home to his wife and children and every day when he looked in the mirror it was a reminder to always respect the ‘good folk’ for they are always watching. Never forget you cannot fool a fairy.
4
THE PROVINCE OF CONNACHT
Co. Galway: The county was named after the River Gaillimh, which means ‘Stony’. Co. Galway is a favourite and well-known stomping ground for the Sidhe. The Fairy Hill of Knockma in north Galway is meant to be the home of Maebh, Queen of Connacht and old world goddess of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Here you will also find Finvarra’s Castle. In folklore Finvarra was the King of the Connacht Fairies. It is
said that the Connacht Fairies fought here with the Ulster Fairies over who would be blessed with the best crops.
From its mainland to the Arran Islands, Galway is a place of song, music and stories. It is the home of the Claddagh Ring and off the coast of Galway is the strange and mythical island called Hy Brasil, which is cloaked in mist except for one day every seven years. Even when the mist has gone it is still almost impossible to reach its shores. Lady (Isabella Augusta) Gregory, the founder of The Abbey Theatre and great collector of Irish mythology and folklore, was born in Roxborough, Co. Galway.
FAIRY FARMERS (CO. GALWAY)
As part of our research for this book, we interviewed various people regarding stories about the fairies. One of these people was the farmer Pat Noone from Curragh Kilconnell, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway.
Steve’s own grandmother, who was from Galway, was a great storyteller herself and as a child he loved to go and visit her with his parents. She passed away a long time ago when he was still a child, but her stories stayed with him to this day.
We were delighted to get in touch with Pat Noone, who was very forthcoming and helpful in giving us a wonderful story about his own encounter with the good folk. The conversation started off with Pat explaining to Steve that there were seven Celtic bronze ceremonial swords found on his land in 1840; his grandfather had spoken of them for he had been told of their existence by the old people. The swords were eventually found by the English at the turn of the last century, when they were putting down the railwayaw. So it was already established the land that his farm was on was considered sacred. Pat’s family have farmed this land for generations and they have a great love and respect for the land, nature and indeed the fairy folk.