Aos Sí

The Good People of Ireland's fairy mounds, neighbours to treat with courtesy

The Aos Sí, the "people of the mounds", are the hidden folk of Irish tradition. They are said to live in the sídhe: green fairy mounds, ringforts and lone hawthorn trees. Learned tradition names them the Tuatha Dé Danann, the divine race who withdrew beneath the hills when the Gaels arrived. Country tradition also spoke of fallen angels, and sometimes of the dead. They were seldom named aloud and were called the Good People.

They are neighbours, approached with courtesy and care. Country people gave them room, left their thorn trees and raths standing, and spoke of them kindly. They are said to be busiest at Samhain and Bealtaine, and on May Eve green branches, fire and cinders were used for protection. The belief lasted in rural Ireland into living memory, and some people honour them today.

Shop Aos Sí See the gallery

How to recognise Aos Sí

Green jacketW. B. Yeats records that the trooping fairies wear green jackets, while the solitary ones wear red.
Red cap and white featherA red cap, sometimes with a small white feather, echoes William Allingham's verse 'Green jacket, red cap, and white owl's feather'.
Sí mound or ringfortA grassy mound or ringfort (rath) marks the doorway to their world; Newgrange and other passage tombs are the best-known fairy mounds.
Lone hawthornA lone hawthorn (sceach), the 'fairy tree' of Ireland, stands beside or on the mound, and farmers traditionally left it untouched.
Ring of dancersA circle dancing on green sod in the moonlight recalls Croker's tale, and worn rings of grass are said to mark where they dance.
Slender, human-like figureThey appear as one of the trooping host, poised, courteous and a little aloof, since the tradition sees them as proud and easily offended.
Seasonal signsBonfire glow and hawthorn blossom suggest May Eve, while autumn leaves and apple divination suggest Samhain.

Names and titles

The Good PeopleThe polite name used instead of speaking of them directly, out of caution as much as affection
People of the MoundsThe literal meaning of aos sí, after the sídhe mounds where they are said to dwell
The GentryAnother respectful name used for them in rural Ireland
Green Jacket, Red CapThe costume of the trooping host in Allingham's folk verse and Yeats's notes
Mind the HawthornThe lone hawthorn is the fairy tree; cutting one is thought very unlucky