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The modern Irish word for 'water' is uisce (see whiskey), although dobhar is also used in placenames. Dobhar is a much older form and cognates are found in other Celtic languages (e.g. Welsh dŵr or dwfr, Cornish Dowrgi 'waterhound/otter' ). Cú is 'hound' in Irish (see for example Cúchulainn, 'Culainn's hound').
The red deer (Cervus elaphus) is Ireland's largest wild mammal and could be considered its national animal. A stag appeared on the old £1 coin. The wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) enjoys an exalted position as "King of All Birds" in Irish folklore, but is the villain in the tale of Saint Stephen
A banshee (/ ˈ b æ n ʃ iː / BAN-shee; Modern Irish bean sí, from Old Irish: ben síde [bʲen ˈʃiːðʲe], "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, [1] usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening.
This lore bears similarities to other Irish folk creatures, such as the daoine maithe (good people) or the slua sí (fairy host), said to target humans on the road or along their regular "passes". These human encounters of the púca tend to occur in rural, isolated places, far from settlements or homes .
The island of Ireland, with border between Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland indicated.. Symbols of Ireland are marks, images, or objects that represent Ireland. Because Ireland was not partitioned until 1922, many of the symbols of Ireland predate the division into Southern Ireland (later Irish Free State and then Ireland) and Northern Ireland.
The grey wolf (Canis lupus) was an integral part of the Irish countryside and culture, but is now extinct. The last wild wolf in Ireland is said to have been killed in 1786, 300 years after they were believed to have been wiped out in England and 100 years after their disappearance from Scotland .
The each-uisge (Scottish Gaelic: [ɛxˈɯʃkʲə], literally "water horse") is a water spirit in Irish and Scottish folklore, spelled as the each-uisce (anglicized as aughisky or ech-ushkya) in Ireland and cabbyl-ushtey on the Isle of Man. It usually takes the form of a horse, and is similar to the kelpie but far more vicious.
The mermaid in Irish folklore (sometimes called merrow in Hiberno-English) has been regarded as a seal-woman in some instances. In a certain collection of lore in County Kerry , there is an onomastic tale in Tralee that claimed the Lee family was descended from a man who took a murdúch ('mermaid') for a wife; she later escaped and joined her ...