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It depicts a recumbent animal having body and legs like those of a dog with the characteristic depth of rib and strength of thigh. The tail, long and curved, shows a definite tuft. The rear of the haunch, and still more the tail, are in exceptionally low relief, apparently due to the loss of a thin flake from the face of the slab.
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. 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
The original Irish term contains the stem dubh, meaning "black" in Irish. [ 4 ] Dullahan was later glossed as "dark, angry, sullen, fierce or malicious being", [ a ] [ 8 ] encompassing both etymologies, though Thomas Crofton Croker considered the alternative etymology more dubious than the dubh "black" ("dark") etymology.
The culture of Ireland includes the art, music, dance, folklore, traditional clothing, language, literature, cuisine and sport associated with Ireland and the Irish people. For most of its recorded history, the country’s culture has been primarily Gaelic (see Gaelic Ireland ).
The ninth century Cormac's Glossary derives the Old Irish word for "wren", drean, from druí-én, meaning "druid bird", and says it is "a bird that makes prophecies". Another early Irish text, the Life of Saint Moling, calls the wren "the magus bird, because some take auguries from it". [13] The origin of wren day and the wren hunt is obscure.
Irish folklore (Irish: béaloideas) refers to the folktales, balladry, music, dance and mythology of Ireland.It is the study and appreciation of how people lived. The folklore of Ireland includes banshees, fairies, leprechauns and other mythological creatures, and was typically shared orally by people gathering around, sharing stories.
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 .
This is explained in the traditional Irish ballad, An Poc ar Buile (the Mad Puck Goat). Scholars speculate that the fair's origins stem from Pre-Christian Ireland , from the Celtic festival of Lughnasa which symbolised the beginning of the harvest season , and that the goat is a pagan fertility symbol.