This summer, a new statue the Púca of Ennistymon by sculptor Aidan Harte was unveiled in Co. Clare.
Storyteller Steve Lally told the tale of the pooka in a spooky episode of Samhain Stories on the RTÉ Jr Podcast - listen above.
Below, Steve remembers the day the Púca finally found a home...
The last time I was here, I was saddened by the news of the Púca being turned away from Ennistymon, like a forlorn child turned away from an unwelcoming door while looking for treats on Halloween night. But the Púca being the great trickster that he is, inevitably got the last laugh.
And he laughed loudest on Saturday 25th of June 2022 when he was unveiled at the Michael Cusack Centre in the Burren, Co. Clare.
I was delighted to be invited to the unveiling by the sculptor Aidan Harte, not only that, but to be given the honour of telling the Púca's story just before he was to be revealed.
I stayed with my old friend James Ryan, whom I've known since we met in Limerick College of Art back in 1995. James was also instrumental in the design and layout of my book Irish Gothic.
Well myself, James and his two boys headed off to the Burren and it wasn't long before we found ourselves lost on a 'Fairy Stray’. James knows the area well but the Púca had some ideas of his own and sent us off the beaten track until we eventually found the Cusack Centre in Poll a Phúca (The Púca’s Hole), Carron, The Burren, Co. Clare.
When we arrived, the place was packed and we had to park a good bit away from where the action was taking place.
There was an electric atmosphere and even though the rain was pouring down, there was well over 200 people there and if it had been sunny, there would have been many more.
I could feel the excitement in the air, the same excitement that I was feeling, knowing that I would eventually come face to face with Púca, whom I have both collected and told many stories about his exploits.
There was a concern that the Púca would bring a darkness about Ennistymon, but there was no darkness that faithful day in the Burren in County Clare. There was real sense of joy and celebration and there were folk of all ages and backgrounds there.
I met with the sculptor Aidan Harte for the first time in person standing beside his masterpiece hidden underneath a great sheet. I could see one of the Púca’s feet poking out from beneath it, and this only added to the anticipation.
Then I was introduced to Tim Madden, the Coordinator of Going WeLL Programme at the Cusack centre, Dónal Ó hAiniféin, Chair of the Board of the Cusack Centre and the deputy mayor of Clare, Fianna Fáil councillor Joe Killeen.
Before the speeches, the great Uilleann Piper Blackie O’Connell played the haunting tune Port na bPúcai (Sound of the Púcas), this really set the tone for the proceedings.
When the music was finished the sculptor Aidan Harte gave a speech about the sculpture, describing both the trooping and solitary fairies, the Púca being one of the latter. He talked about how his sculpture had been given names such as ‘The Scare from Clare’ and ‘The ‘Monster from Munster’. He described the Púca as ‘A Terrible Beauty’, referring to W.B. Yeats’s poem Easter 1916.
Of course Yeats was no stranger to the Sidhe or Fairy Folk, and it was in his collection Irish Fairy and Folk Tales (1888) that I first came across the story of the Kildare Pooka, which was originally collected by the Wexford folklorist Patrick Kennedy in his book Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts (1866).
As this story took place in Rathcoffey, Co. Kildare where I grew up, I included my own version in my books Kildare Folk Tales (2014) and in Irish Gothic: Fairy Stories from the 32 counties of Ireland (2018).
'Irish Gothic: Fairy Stories from the 32 Counties of Ireland' (2018)
It is a story very close to my heart and I have performed it many times over the years to audiences of all ages.
After Aidan spoke, there were speeches by Dónal, Tim and Joe. When the speeches were all over I was summoned to tell my version of the Púca story.
Before I began the audience joined me in a verse from William Allingham’s classic poem The Fairies (1883). Then the story began, the audience were fantastic and happily went with myself and the Púca on our journey beyond the ethereal wall into the fairy realm.
We shouted, screamed, laughed and hissed together summoning up the spirit of the Púca who waited patiently to manifest himself from beneath the great sheet that covered his enchanted form.
When the story ended, there was a great cheer and the Púca was unveiled using a hurley stick carved from the sacred Ash.
And there he was in all his otherworldly glory as the crowd applauded his arrival to his resting place from the lonely ruins and hilltops. Here he could now rest between his many journeys and adventures.
As everyone started to move and mingle, I was approached by old men expressing their excitement of hearing an old tale, the likes of which they hadn’t heard since they were children, and even admitted to being a wee bit scared.
A wee boy of about six years of age mumbled something to me, as I couldn’t hear him, I leaned down and he whispered ‘I will never be lazy again after hearing your story’, then he vanished into the crowd.
I listened to farmers and politicians about how none of them would ever dare cut down a fairy tree or disturb a fairy fort on their land. They regaled me with cautionary tales of others they knew, who paid a terrible price for such recklessness.
Before I left, Aidan presented me with a beautiful limited edition etching of the Púca (pictured above) and Tim Madden presented me with the Hurley that was used to unveil the Púca.
I in turn presented them with a couple of copies of my books featuring the Púca’s story.
There was such a sense of celebration and magic among the people who had for the first time bridged the gap between our world and that of the Good Folk making old men feel like children again and children feel like giants.
This magic radiating through a sculpture made from bronze, the same metal used by the Celts to forge their swords and shields for centuries. Bronze is also a preferred metal of the fairies as they fear iron and steel.
On the way back we paid a visit to Father Ted’s house near Kilfenora, Co. Clare and I of course took this for a photo opportunity. I smiled to myself as I imagined Ted and Dougal standing amongst the protesters in Ennistymon with their placards stating… ‘Careful Now!’ and ‘Down with this sort of Thing!’
Finally we paid a visit to the Sean Choill (Old Woods) Fairy Fort in Shanakyle, Co. Clare. This magnificent fort is fenced off to protect it as it’s near a sports field and playground. It is wonderful to see that people still hold these ancient sites in great regard and are willing to do what they can to make sure they are safe, as by doing so keeps us safe too. For you must remember that the Good Folk are always watching and listening…
I am looking forward to my next visit to the County Clare and to my old friends James Ryan and the Púca…
The Púca is on permanent display at the Michael Cusack Centre in the Burren, Co. Clare
