Analysis of “The Legend of Knocksheogowna” by T. Crofton Croker
“The Legend of Knocksheogowna” is a fun short story of Irish folklore written by T. Crofton Croker in the early 1800’s. The story tells about a farmer whose cattle are cursed by nightly visits from a mischievous fairy. Each night, she turns into strange and horrible beasts, frightening the cows and any men standing watch. The farmer doesn’t know what to do, but finds hope in a man named Larry Hoolahan, who tells the farmer that he isn’t afraid and will watch the cows. Larry takes up the position, and stands bold when the fairy arrives. When she sees that she can not frighten Larry, she gains respect for him, promises to leave the cows alone, and vanishes.
For such a short story, “The Legend of Knocksheogowna” provides a lot to be unpacked and a glimpse into the rich world of Irish folklore. Throughout this analysis, I’ll be diving into the deeper meaning of the text. If you’re new to Irish folk lore, don’t worry, this article is the perfect place to jump in.
Is Knocksheogowna real?
The story begins by introducing the setting, a hill found in Tipperary Ireland. It introduces a hill that looks like a “conical nightcap” and suggests that the place used to be a place where fairies resided. Croker published this story back in 1825, which caused me to wonder, is this place actually real?
With a quick bit of research, it’s easy to discover that “Tipperary” is an actual place in Ireland, a county in the Munster Province to be exact. In the upper part of Tipperary is a hill that has most recently served as a bike park. (Though it has been closed since 2019) This hill is named “Cnoc Sí Ghabhna,” though the spelling has been altered to “Knockshigowna” for English readers.
Did you know?
“Cnoc” means hill in Irish. Early Irish people used a lot of landmarks to help them convey locations to one another. Because of this, many locations in Ireland share the first part of a similar beginning of “cnoc,” or “knock,” for English speakers.
The Fairies Wrath
After setting the scene, the story introduces a herdsman that “spent his days and nights among the heard” near the “head of the hill.” As it happened, this was also the site of an “old fairy ground,” and this upset the fairies. As an act of retaliation, the chief of the fairy clan, a female fairy, decided to go out during harvest night and take on several frightening forms.
Note:
While the story introduces the fairies, it sometimes refers to them as “the good people.” This is due to a superstition that you should never upset a fairy, and you never know when they might be listening. By calling the fairies “good people” they ensure they don’t upset any nearby fairies.
The fairy woman’s actions ended up scaring the man and driving cows mad. It got so bad that the cattle wouldn’t eat and they started getting hurt and dying. The problem gets so bad that “not a man could be found for the sake of money to go through the horror of facing the fairy.” As the fairy sees the effect she is having, she rejoices. The farmer was losing hope, when he came across a man named Larry Hoolahan who says “were there as many fairies on Knocksheogowna as there are potato blossoms in Eliogurty, I would face them.
The Character of Larry Hoolahan
Irish folktales often feature a person who breaks the norm and is willing to work with or against the fairies. In the case of Larry Hoolahan, he differs from others because he isn’t afraid. He’s words suggest that it’s not because he doesn’t believe they exist, but because he is truly a brave man. (Though, like the farmer, many fairy believers would likely call him foolish.)
Brave or otherwise, Larry goes to the top of the hill and plays his pipes. The fairy comes, but instead of getting scared, he simply says, “go on, jewel, if you dance, I’ll pipe.” This part of the story is one of the strongest pieces of evidence that Larry wasn’t foolish. Instead of calling the fairy rude names, he calls her “jewel.” In a subsequent line we learn that Larry “knew well how” to play the pipes.
It’s well known that fairies enjoy music, especially if played well. The story doesn’t say it outright, but Larry seems to understand the fairies, which could be the reason why he isn’t afraid of them. He knows that by smiling, playing well, and being kind, fairies tend to return the favor. His ability to interact is shown again when the fairy takes the form of a white calf in hopes of getting Larry to let his guard down.
“But Larry was not so deceived.” Instead of waiting for the fairy to spring her trap, Larry, quite literally gets the jump on her. Seeing her opportunity, the fairy jumps, soaring over 10 miles across the valley and over the river Shannon, then dumps Larry onto the ground. Many men would have been frightened by this, but again, Larry exhibits a better understanding of the creature.
“By my word,” Larry says, “Well done! Tha. was not a bad leap for a calf!” Instead of getting scared, Larry treats the fairy like a friend. At last, the fairy warms up to him and takes him back the same way he came. Once back on the hill, she promises to leave the heard alone so long as he lives. Like many great Irish stories, this one ends on a mysterious note. Instead of wrapping up the tail by confirming that the fairies never came back, Croker writes: “but whether the fairies returned to the hill of Knocksheogowna after [Larry’s] death is more than I can say.
The Nature of Fairies:
Irish fairies are often said to be neither good nor evil. In this story, the fairy exhibits this quality well. She doesn’t scare the herdsmen without reason, she does it because they came to her home. Likewise, when she sees that Larry is a “bold fellow” she seems to take a liking to him, and so stops haunting the hill.
Conclusion
Though “The Legend of Knocksheogowna” is only a few pages long, it is an excellent example of many classic Irish folktale tropes. It depicts fairies as mischievous beings that are still somewhat reasonable. Even though there is a general fear amongst the fairy believers, those that know and respect the fairies seem to get favorable treatment. A perfect of example of this can be seen in the movie “Darby O’Gill and the Little People,” but I’ve already written another blog about that one, so you can click here to learn more if you’re interested.
Otherwise, you might want to consider reading the full story of “The Legend of Knocksheogowna” by clicking here.
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