Aibell (Irish) variations Aoibhill, Aiobhell
    Queen of the Munster fairies and a guardian spirit who dwelled at Craig Liath (the grey rock). Her name means “beautiful�? She possessed a magic harp which legend states that those who  heard it did not live long afterwards. Aibhinn, also spelled Aibhill, means lovely one. She is a sister of Aine.She is both the fairy queen of Munster, Irelands southern province, and thequeen of 25 County Clare, Munster, Banshees.  She was seen washing clothes in a stream before disasters and told of Brain Boru, a king-hero's death. Aine and Grain, her sister and/or alter ego, were the most revered of thepre-christian gods.

Aillén Mac Midhna (al-yen mac mee-o-na) variations Aillen Mac Miona (Irish)  A fairy musician from Annwn who came out of his cave each year to play his timpan (belled  tambourine) at the feast of Samhain (Halloween). Every year he would burn down the palace of Tara after enchanting the residents with music. Eventually Fionn Mac Cumhail resisted the music by pressing his spear to his own forehead and then beheading Aillén.

Ailill - a king in North-east Ireland, father of Etain Eschrade

Áine (aw-ne) (Irish)
    A faery queen and goddess of love and fertility. She is associated with the moon and has occasionally been seen combing her hair in the middle of a lake. Daughter of high king, Eogabail, the foster son of sea god Mannanán Mac Lir. Her sister is Fenne or Finnen. Aine, when seen in Lough Gur, had similaties to a mermaid. She was the wife of Manannan, a sea-god. She was also the wife of Echdae, the sky horse. Cnoc Aine and Lough (lake) Gur, in Munster, having strong connections to Aine had a strong place in Munster mytholgy. At mid-summer people, and in different processions fey, would carry torches to the summit of Cnoc Aine and then around the fields for luck with crops and cattle. This rather joyous occansion did have a somber undertone. This being the night where the suns power lessens was sometimes called Aine's funeral. She was occasionaly seen at these celabrations, sometimes as an old woman.  Other names for Aine were Aine Cli, Aine of the light, and Aine Cliar, The Bright. (Thank you Marigold !!))

Ankou (Ahn-koo)
     Sometimes called the King of the Dead. He collects souls upon their death and escorts them to the land of the dead. Traveling with his own subjects he is a feared fairy that is mainly seen on  November Eve.

Annwn (a-noon) (Welsh) - "Land of Shadows". The otherworld.

Asrai
     An ancient water fairy in female or male form that lives in the sea. They are rarely seen and only at night. They are sometimes called sea ghosts because of their extremely pale, translucent skin. Legend states that they must not be exposed to the sun lest they dissolve into  a pool of water

Banshee - see Bean-Sidhe or Bean-Nighe

Bean-Sidhe - ( ban-shee )
     This fairy woman is feared by humans because her wails and moaning foretell the impending  death of someone near. She has been described as very beautiful, pale with long hair and  fearsome red eyes which some say is from her constant weeping.

Bean-Fionn
     Also called Jenny Greentooth, she is a malevolent fairy who lives underwater in streams and  lakes. She can be either beautiful or hideous and is known to reach up from her watery depths  and drag young children under the water with her.

Bogie
     A male hobgoblin who is only up to evil and capricious acts of wrongdoing. He enjoys  tormenting any traveler who is unfortunate enough to cross his path. Also called bogy,  bug-a-boo, bogle or boggart.

Brigid (Irish)
    a much beloved triple goddess of healing, smiths, fertility and poetry. Daughter  of Dagda, her name means "fiery arrow".

Brownie
     A scruffy small brown male fairy who wears dirty, torn clothing and likes to live with humans. They like to help with chores but also like to be left alone. They expect small rewards and will  abandon a home when there is no extra milk and cakes left for them. The Brownie is generally helpful unless they are crossed then they become mean and ill-tempered

Cait Sith (cait shee)
    a Highland fairy cat that is as large as a dog, with a white spot on it's breast.

Changeling
     Some fairies love beautiful human babies and will steal them and leave an old, near-death fairy in their place. Humans have been known to place iron bars on or in their baby cradles to protect them from such thefts.

Conare - son of Tethba/Mess Buachalla by a man who first appeared to her as a bird, stepson of   Eterscelae, a prince of Temuir
 

Corrigan
     These female fairies are enchanted to forever roam the earth as beautiful blonde women by day and repulsive old hags by night. Legend states that if a mortal man loves the old hag and beautiful woman equally the enchantment is lifted.

Daoine Sidhe (deena shee)
     The Tuatha De Danann who chose to stay in Ireland after the invasion of the  Milesian, and took refuge under the hills. Trooping, Seelie Court is one of Scotland's Sidhe. Faery Folk of Ireland, sopposedly fallen angels. Inhabitants living underground,  underwater, in green raths or under the loughs or sea. Of these derive Heroic Faery and the Medieval Fairy. Ireland has two races, a visable race called the Celts and the invisible Faery People or the Sidhe.

Donn - son of Midir and Etain
 

Druids
    The Druids were important figures in Celtic Ireland and held positions as advisors, judges and teachers. Draoi-id means “oak knowledge". They were male and female and it tookup to 20 years to learn all of the Druidical laws. Evans-Wentz in the book Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries states that they were magicians and prophets and they could foretell the future and interpret the secret will of the fairies.

Duergarrs (Doo-ay-gahrs)
     A male dwarf fairy approximately 2 feet tall. They are unfriendly to humans and guard fairy paths and hills.

Echu Arim - husband of Etain after she was reborn, father of Etain the
younger and father and grandfather of Tethba/Mess Buachalla

Ellyllon
    The name given to the Welsh elves. They are tiny, diaphanous fairies whose food is toadstools and fairy butter, a fungoid substance found in the roots of old trees and in limstone crevices. Their queen is Mab.

Elves
     Elves are small and thin with pointed ears and sinewy bodies. Despite their small stature they  are very intelligent and industrious and play a major part in the land of fairy.

Midir - husband of Etain, her second husband after she was reborn.
 

Etain - (aideen) a Irish fairy queen from the Tuatha Dé Danaan wed to King Midhir. Daughter of Ailill, wife of Midir. Turned into a butterfly by
Fuamnach who then caused for strong winds to blow her all over Ireland until exhausted she fell into the cup of Etars wife. She concieved Etain and she was reborn again into a kings family. She married Echu Airem. After her marriage Midir found her and won a kiss from her in a game with Echu. Midir turned them both into swans and fled. Pursued and almost defeated by Echu, Midir lets him chose among 50 identical women including Etains and Echus daughter. Since Echu chose his own daughter Etain was able to stay with Midir.

Etain the younger - Daughter of Etain and Echuu Airem. Midir giving Echu a chance to reclaim his wife had him chose from 50 identical women. Echu
unknowlingly chose his own daughter causing an incestous relationship.

Etar - his wife concieved Etain after she drank from the cup that Etain as a
fly fell into.

Ethné (Irish)
    exiled from the Tuatha Dé Danaan. She wanders the hills in vain listening to the disembodied voices of the fairies so she can return.

Fairy Trees
    All trees are sacred to fairies but the ones most mentioned in fairy lore include: Oak, Ash, Apple, Hazel, Rowan, Holly, Willow, Elder, Alder, Hawthorn and Blackthorn.  Willows have been known to uproot themselves on dark nights and follow solitary travelers through the woods. Hazel nuts were thought to instill wisdom and fertility and apples: power and youth.

Fairies / Faeries
    The word "fairies" now encompasses all of the inhabitants of Fairyland including the Daoine Sidhe of the Highlands. The Tuatha Dé Danaan of Ireland. The Tylwth Teg of Wales. The Seelie and Unseelie-Court and the Trooping and Solitary fairies. Other names given to the fairy race include: Daoine  Maithe ‘the good people�? the Sidhe race, the Gentry, the "People of Peace", "the still-folk",  the "silent moving folk", the Sith , the Fair-Family, Fair-Folk, and the Fées.

Fer I or Fer Fi, means Man of Yew. A brother of Aine. He is a red-haired dwarf and hearing him laugh was said to bring good luck. On his three stringed harp he only played three songs, Wail, Sleep and Laughter.

Fir Darrigs (Fear Durgs)
     Also called Rat Boys. They are very unpleasant fairies with fat ugly features, hairy skin and long snouts which make them look like large rats. They like to trick humans and other fairies  out of their possessions and they love to eat rotten fish and food.

Flower Fairy
     18th Century fairy is now gentle spirit of earth, child-spirits.They punish the bad and remain in peace with those who do good by them. They now have all sorts of rememdies and superstitions to ward off these evil fairies. Or to protect their homes and childred from such.

Fuamnach - First wife of Midir, after Midir took Etain as another wife she
cursed Etain and turned her into a butterfly.

Gancanagh (Gon-cawn-ah)
     A legendary beautiful male fairy who enjoys seducing mortal women to fall in love with him  and then disappearing only to leave them to search for him until their deaths.

Gentry - The most noble tribe of all the fairies in Ireland. A big race who came from the planets and usually appear in white. The Irish used to bless the Gentry for  fear of harm otherwise.

Ghillie Dhu (Gillee Doo)
     These are Scottish solitary tree fairies who disguise themselves as leaves and love to play pranks on human travelers who unknowingly have ventured into their forest. Their clothing is made of leaves and moss.

The Glastig (clee-stickh)or Glaistig
     An infamous water fairy who is believed to no longer exist. A beautiful woman fairy of human size who is part goat and attempts to lure mortal human males to be her companion and is friendly until they notice her goat hooves. Then she either drowns them or drains them of their blood. Her nature is typically faerie-perverse for she can also be benign and gently tend children or old people. She will also sometimes herd cattle for farmers.

Gnomes or Dwarves
     Earth fairies who age very quickly. They seem to have been born old and they live for hundreds of years. They are very intelligent and they make their homes in hollowed out trees  or partly underground. They vary in personalities and temperament.

Gwragedd Annwn (Gwer-geth Ai-noon)
     A beautiful blond water fairy of human size who is helpful and kind to humans. She lives near lakes.

Gwyllion (gwithleeon)
    The evil mountain fairies of Wales. They are hideous female spirits who waylay and mislead travelers by night on the mountain roads. They were friends and patrons of the goats, and might indeed take goat form.

Goblins and Hobgoblins
     A name given by humans to the mean, mischievous elves who sometimes haunt their homes.

Heroic Faery
     1113 CE Knights and ladies of the medieval romances, and Celt Legends  Aurthur became Heroic Faery; King of Faerie. King Aurther, voyaging in his magickal ship Prydwen, visited many islands inhabitated by Faeries,
Arthur had been sent to the Island Avalon mortally wounded to be tended to by four Faerie Queens. Of which he is said to still waits deep within the hill waiting.
 

Huldrafolk
    Dark elves that cause deformaties with a lick of their dark brown tongues. Can cause a human to turn against the world of mortals.

Kelpie
     Scottish water faerie. Although sometimes appearing in the guise of a hairy man, this is more often  seen in the form of a young horse. The Kelpie haunt rivers and streams and, after letting unsuspecting humans mount him, will dash into the water and give them a dunking. Each-Uisge (ech-ooshkya) or  Aughisky (agh-iski) as he is known in Ireland, inhabits seas and lochs and is far more dangerous.

Killmoulis
    A particularly ugly Brownie who haunts mills. He is characterized by an enormous nose and no mouth. To eat he presumably stuffs the food up his nose. Although a Killmoulis works hard for the miller, he delights in practical jokes and can therefore be a hindrance rather than a help.

Knockers
     Dwarf fairies who live underground and are expert miners

Leanan-Sidhe (lan-awn-shee) the Fairy Mistress
     similar to the Lhiannan-Shee, except she is given a more benevolent description by Lady Wilde in Ancient Legends of Ireland: ‘The Leanan-Sidhe, or the spirit of life, was supposed to be the inspirer of the poet and singer, as the Ban-Sidhe was the spirit of death, the foreteller of doom.�?Her inspiration comes at a price, in that poets and artists fueled by her die an early death.

Leprechauns
     A solitary male fairy with the cunning ability to steal or find treasure. He loves riddles and dares others to find the treasure that he has hidden, sometimes so well that he himself cannot  find it.

Lhiannan-Shee (lannan-shee)
     A beautiful vampiric fairy who has been said to either drain her victims of blood or collect it in  a cauldron where she performs spells and rituals to keep herself youthful and beautiful.

The Lorelei
    A lovely young woman faery who sings, luring men to their deaths. They are found by cliffs near the sea.

Lunantisidhe
    Pointed ears and long teeth, they are said to hate humans with a fervent passion.  Fierce protecters of blackthorn trees.

Medieval Fairy
     Moving away from Ireland and into England, tales of such magick and sorcery  Wizards and Witches, Morgan LeFay & Avalon. The Fairy size was now varying, from small fairies to hideous monsters. Monastic Chroniclers took down in writing accounts of battles, crusades and politics. Gathered by the monks of  the new religion. Majority of these chroniclers where churchmen, so the record of Faery has become the fairy we know in modern tales. Arriving from Aurthurian Legends of this race. The recordings of the Daoine Sidhe indicate them enjoying the pleasures and occupations of medieval chivalry.
 

Mermaids
     Also called the merpeople, merrows. A generally gentle female fairy who lives in the sea with a human torso and fish tail. They sometimes travel upstream and have been known to take human lovers to their underwater kingdoms.

Merman
     A male counterpart of the mermaid. They also have human torsos and fish tails but  are not as interested in humankind as the mermaids. They are wilder with pigs eyes, red noses  and green hair and tend to enjoy the stormier aspects of the sea.

Merrows - The Irish Merpeople are called Merrows and they can be distinguished from other sea-dwelling faeries in that they wear red feather caps to propel themselves down to their homes in the depths. Should  their caps be stolen, they can no longer return to their watery homes. The female Merrow are very beautiful and, like other mermaids, appear before storms as an omen, but they are gentle by nature and often fall in love with mortal fishermen. This can partly be explained by the extreme ugliness of the male Merrows. Despite their alaming aspect, the males too have their redeeming features as they are generally jovial in character.

Mórrigán (Irish)
     a major triple goddess of war, death and slaughter. Her name means great queen. She is interchangeable with Macha, Badb and Nemain. Her favorite shape is that of the crow or raven.

Nucklelelavees
    Foul smelling faeries that enjoy chasing humans as well as other faeries. They arise out of the sea and bleed black blood when cut.

Orculli
    Bad smeling faery that enjoys eating human flesh. Said to be large and clumsy.

Phookas
     A destructive fairy that travels in a pack, they have the body of a goat or horse and the head of  a human male. Fairies and humans fear them and avoid them at all cost.

Pixies
     A small, winged fairy with a large head, pointy ears, nose and eyebrows. They are mischievous and love fancy clothing made to resemble their favorite flowers. They love dancing, singing and merry making.

Robin Goodfellow or Puck
     This male fairy looks like a satyr with a boys head and the body of a goat. He is playful and  loves to play his pipes throughout the forests which entices all the animals and fairies alike to follow his melodious music.

The Seelie-Court
     Seelie means “blessed�? and this court consists of all the noble and kind fairies whose inner code of fair and good ethics contrast that of the Unseelie Court.

 Selkies
     Selkies appear as seals but are able to shed their sealskins and walk on land in female or male form. If a human can capture this skin, the Selkie can be forced to become a fine, if wistful, wife. However, should she ever find her skin she immediately returns to the sea, leaving the husband to pine and die. The males raise storms and upturn boats to avenge the indiscriminate slaughter of seals.

Spriggans
     A fairy monster who is able to inflate himself and float along the countryside. They sometimes appears as rocks or stones and create havoc on those who cross their paths.

Tara
     The ancient hill fort that became the capital of the Tuatha Dé Danaan. It was a meeting place  for fairy kings and visiting dignitaries.

Tir Nan Og or Tir Na N-og (teer na nogue)
    "Land of the Young" an earthly paradise where time stopped and the grass was always green and the flowers blossoming. A land of beauty where there was much music, feasting, loving and hunting.

Trooping Fairies
     Fairies are sometimes divided into two classes which includes the trooping or solitary fairies.The trooping fay can be large or small, friendly or sinister. They tend to wear green jackets, while the  Solitary Faery wear red jackets. They can range from the Heroic Faery to the dangerrous and malevolent Sluagh, or tose Diminutive Fairies who include the tiny nature spirits that make the fairy rings with their dancing and speed the growth of flowers.

Tuatha Dé Danann  (Too-ah-day Thay-nan)
     Also called the Gentry. They are the earliest fairies. Their goddess was Dana. They are the origin of the fairy race.

Tylwyth Teg (terlooeth teig)
     A Welsh name for the “fair race�? Given to represent all fairies whom they believed lived in matriarchal clans. The most unusual name for Welsh fairies, though they are sometimes called Bendith Y Mammau, in an attempt to avert their kidnapping activities by invoking a euphemistic name. They are fair-haired, and love golden hair. They dance and make fairy rings. They are like the Daoine Sidhe,  and dwell underground or underwater. The fairy maidens are easily won as wives and will live with human  husbands for a time. Because of the strange passage of time in Faeryland it is dangerous to visit them. They give riches to their favorites, but these gifts vanish if they are spoken of.

The Unseelie Court
     These are the damned or unblessed of the fairy race and they consist of all that is evil and  ignoble in fairyland.

Will-o�?the-Wisp
     Also called Fairy Lights, Elf-fire, Hobbedy’s Lantern or Night Whispers. Small winged fairies whose glowing lights can be seen at dusk in the meadows and grassy hills.