Irish Fairies and Elves (Tuatha Dé Dannan)

Kerry Sullivan (ancient-origins.net); Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

The Tuatha Dé Danann as depicted in John Duncan's "Riders of the Sidhe" (1911)

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Tuatha Dé Dannan: Enchanting Predecessors of Irish Fairies, Elves

Goddess Danu (worldspirituality.org)

[The Tuatha Dé Dannan are the "Peoples or Tribes of the Goddess Danu."] Most people do not believe in elves. Elves?

The little people -- along with fairies, banshees, and werewolves -- are often tossed into the "fantasy" category and left to molder unless a video game or children’s book decides to make use of them for commercial purposes.

Whatever you believe to be true, stories of fantastic creatures are present in most ancient cultures, particularly in European regions such as Germany, Scandinavia, and Ireland.

Widespread disbelief and discrediting of the  existence of these mystical folk have rendered serious research into the origins of elves almost nonexistent.

However, recent scientific and historical analyses of the folklore of Ireland reveal that elves are not completely fictional but are actually based on on real-life beings.

The Etymology of Elf

The Fomorians, John Duncan's interpretation of "the bad elves" of Irish mythology (PD)

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First, for clarity, it should be noted that the word "elf" is not indigenous to Ireland.

This word derives from a term used in Common Germanic, the ancestor language of modern German, English, and several Scandinavian languages. "Elf" became a label for the Irish fairies when the English began to write about and record Irish folklore.

 

Originally, "elf" was used to describe all fairies. Over time, the term came to stand for a specific subset of fairies: those that are small and possess supernatural powers.
 

Other common characteristics of elves are the ability to shapeshift [transform at will] or the possession of great wealth. More
 

Seeing Fairies: Authentic Modern Reports

This is NOT a children's book. It is a compilation of real-life accounts of fairy experiences, mostly from the 20th century. These reports come from people in all walks of life who have seen fairies of various types...
 

Seeing Fairies (M. Johnson)

In 1950 Marjorie T. Johnson became Honorary Secretary of a resurrected Fairy Investigation Society, which had been founded by Capt. Quentin C. A. Craufurd, and she collected accounts of fairies and also angelic beings from many of the members.

In 1955 the Scottish author and folklorist Alasdair Alpin MacGregor collaborated with her in sending letters to the national press asking for further true experiences, and many more were received. The result is this book, published here in English for the first time. More