Carlingford Leprechaun Cavern
Carlingford Leprechaun & Fairy Cavern, great family entertainment.

Carlingford Leprechaun & Fairy Cavern and Folklore Park 

Welcome to the Carlingford Leprechaun & Fairy Cavern, all visitors will be greeted by McCoillte (Kevin Woods), the Leprechaun Whisperer who will introduce you to the story of "The Last Leprechauns of Ireland". The visit includes 15 minutes of storytelling and an introduction to how the last remaining leprechauns of Ireland became a protected species by the E.U.

Following the storytelling you then visit below the ground where leprechauns and fairies converge in the morning as the sun rises, There are tunnels, one links with the fairy glen in Rostrevor, Co. Down and the other with Foy mountain and the home of Ireland's last remaining leprechauns. McCoillte, the Leprechaun Whisperer will continue with his storytelling and entertainment. (The underground Leprechaun & Fairy Cavern is situated in the Carlingford Folk Park).

Carlingford Leprechaun Fairy Cavern
Just along the shore, beside the underground cavern of the Last Leprechauns of Ireland you’ll find the Carlingford Folklore Park, an admission free park for people to visit and enjoy, there are seating areas and a small playground with fantastic views of Carlingford Lough, the Mountains of Mourne and Slieve Foye. 
Dotted throughout the Carlingford Folkpark are storyboards with miniture replicas and art installments which help you learn about the local myths and legends.

The Leprechaun Whisperer and the Carlingford Leprechauns

Carlingford Leprechaun SuitThe underground leprechaun and fairy cavern has its origins in a story that happened in 1989 when a Leprechaun suit with four gold coins in the pocket was found on Foy mountain above Carlingford in Co Louth. Beside it were some bones and an area of scorched earth. The man who found it, a local publican PJ O’Hare told a friend of his McCoilllte (Woods) what he had found. McCoillte was very sceptical about the existence of such beings and set out to prove that Leprechauns did not exist.

He held the first National Leprechaun Hunt on Slieve Foy mountain to see if any could be found. He hid five ceramic ones with 1000 pounds under each and sold leprechaun hunting licences for 10 pounds. Hunters found the money but no real leprechauns.
P.J. died some years later. The suit and bones were put in a glass case in his pub but no one ever knew what had happened to the gold coins. McCoillte (Woods) his friend was mending a stone wall some years later when he found a little leather purse hidden in it with four gold coins in the purse. He took them to the mountain where the suit was found and to his astonishment he saw three leprechauns. He was transfixed and could not communicate with them. They disappeared below a rock and he was able to move again. He returned home to tell his story but could find no believers. He returned to the mountain again the following day and this time he met one Leprechaun but this time he could communicate with him. 
The leprechaun told him his name was Carraig and that he was the last of 236 leprechauns who lived in Ireland. There had been millions of them but they had died out because people stopped believing in them. They needed someone from human kind to protect them otherwise they would die out altogether. The time was now right to make their existence known. 
Carraig told McCoillte their life story and what had happened to them. McCoillte published Carraigs story in a book "The Last Leprechauns of Ireland"
In 2009 McCoillte got them protected by the EU under a habitats directive and started the leprechaun hunt. The Carlingford National Leprechaun Hunt is now an annual event and a firm favourite with families and believers! McCoillte does it to get more people to believe in Leprechauns as it is only belief that will keep them alive. McCoillte speaks to them regularly.  

Suitable for groups of up to 20
Tour takes an hour.

Cost is €7 per child which includes a Leprechaun
Adults accompanying children €3.50
Adults without children €5

Message from McCoillte: If your children are younger than 5 years old and do not have a child accompanying them that has lost at least one tooth then they are really too young to get any value out of this. Adults should enjoy it at any age!

Opening Times; Tour at 2.00pm & 3.00pm Saturday & Sunday outside of school holidays.

Summer School Holidays July & August open Tuesday to Sunday, tours at 2.00pm & 3pm.
To visit at any other time please phone Kevin +353 (0)87 257 0539.

Mobile: +353 (0) 87 257 0539
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
Website: www.thelastleprechaunsofireland.com 
Address: Shalom Buildings, Ghan Road, Carlingford, Co.Louth
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