Far darrig

A far darrig or fear dearg is a faerie of Irish mythology. The name far darrig is an Anglophone pronunciation of the Irish words fear dearg, meaning Red Man, as the far darrig is said to wear a red coat and cap. They are also sometimes known as Rat Boys as they are said to be rather fat, have dark, hairy skin, long snouts and skinny tails. According to Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, the far darrig is classified as a solitary fairy along with the leprechaun and the clurichaun, all of whom are "most sluttish, slouching, jeering, mischievous phantoms". The far darrig in particular is described as one who "busies himself with practical joking, especially with gruesome joking". One example of this is replacing babies with changelings. They are also said to have some connection to nightmares.

In books

In Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry series, the fear dearg makes an appearance in the book Divine Misdemeanors, where he asks Merry to give him a proper name.

In the Callahan's Crosstime Saloon book series, The Callahan Touch introduces a character, Ernie "The Lucky Duck" Shea, who is the crossbreed son of a far darrig and a pooka. His strange heritage leaves him with an unusual effect on the probability of events around him – flip three coins simultaneously, for example, and they are likely to land stacked up on edge.

In Kevin Hearn's book Shattered, part of The Iron Druid Chronicles, Fir Darrigs attack the main character. They are described as follows, "Rat-face, red-coated, and only three feet tall, Fir Darrigs have a five-foot vertical leap and a quick hand with the shillelagh; their single-digit IQs couple with that to make them think they are eight feet tall and four times as fearsome."

In video games

In the PlayStation 3 game Folklore (video game), a Far darrig appears with the alternate name Fir Darrig as an NPC who gives out quests.

See also

• Redcap
• Leprechaun