The Cellar Fairy
The Clurichaun haunts wine cellars. He is a small fairy, perpetually drunk, perpetually singing, and he regards the household’s alcohol supply as his personal provision. He rides the household’s dogs through the countryside at night — the dogs come back exhausted in the morning, having been ridden across fields in the dark by something invisible and cheerful. The Clurichaun comes back too, in good spirits.
His presence in a cellar is ambiguous. In a good mood, he can protect the wine supply — the stock mysteriously lasting longer than it should, the household better provided than it ought to be. In a bad mood, or simply when fully indulging, he drinks it all himself.
He is related to the Lucharacháin — the small supernatural people of Irish tradition — and some accounts treat them as the same being in different circumstances. The Lucharacháin is a craftsman with a trade. The Clurichaun has abandoned all of that in favour of full-time drinking. Whether they are genuinely distinct or the same creature on different days is a question the tradition does not conclusively settle.
Key facts about Clurichaun
- Name: Clurichaun; Cluricaune
- Type: Solitary fairy; cellar-haunter
- Behaviour: Perpetually drunk; haunts wine cellars; rides household dogs at night
- Effect: Protects wine supply (good mood) OR drinks it all (bad mood)
- Related to: Lucharacháin — possibly the same being; possibly a distinct type
- Division: Later folklore — first collected in the 19th century
Link/cite this page
If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content.
Link will appear as Clurichaun: https://irishgodsandgoddesses.net - Irish Gods & Goddesses, March 22, 2026