10 Irish Superstitions and Customs: Fairy Rings, Luck Pennies, and the Folk Beliefs Still Alive Today
Quick Reference: Irish Superstitions
- Where they come from: pre-Christian Celtic belief system, layered with Catholic ritual after the 5th century. The two have coexisted for 1,500 years.
- Most-cited: the Good People (the sidhe), fairy rings, the luck penny.
- Still alive today: giving “the boot” (a coin) on first sale of the day, cutting a cross into soda bread, hanging rosemary at thresholds.
- Tool: the Almanac’s Halloween protection herbs guide for the Samhain connection.
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Few cultures have held onto pre-Christian folk belief as stubbornly as the Irish. A 21st century Irish farmer will still drive his tractor around a fairy ring rather than plough through it. A market trader will still slip you a “luck penny” with your change on the first sale of the day. The cross cut into a loaf of soda bread is still cut by grandmothers across the country. This guide is the 10 superstitions that survive from the Celtic era into modern Irish life, where each one comes from, and the folklore-research backed reasons many of them have outlasted the modernization that erased similar traditions elsewhere.
Why Irish Folk Belief Has Outlasted Modernization
Per the National Folklore Collection (Duchas) at University College Dublin, three reasons explain why Irish folk belief survived the 19th and 20th century waves of urbanization that erased similar traditions elsewhere.
- Geographic isolation. Rural Ireland remained agricultural through the 20th century. Folk practice continued in working farm life, not just memory.
- Compatibility with Catholic ritual. Pre-Christian gestures (cross on bread, threshold herbs, blessed wells) were absorbed into Catholic practice rather than erased.
- Active folklore collection. From 1937 the Schools’ Folklore Collection recorded 740,000 manuscript pages of folk belief from schoolchildren across Ireland, preserving practices that would otherwise have been lost.
- Diaspora reinforcement. Irish-American, Australian, and Canadian descendants kept the traditions alive abroad and continue to feed them back into Ireland today.
10 Irish Superstitions in Detail
Below are the original 10 superstitions with the folklore context for each.
1. The Good People
Many Irish people believe in leprechauns and fairies. If you ever speak of them, always refer to them as “the good people” or they will play pranks on you!
2. Fairy Rings
It’s bad luck to destroy a fairy fort or to disturb a fairy ring, especially in the spring, when “the good people” are believed to be most active. In Ireland, fairy forts are the remnants of stone circles, ancient dwellings from the Iron Age. Fairy rings are a natural circles of mushrooms or trees.
3. Fisherman’s Coal
When a fisherman is boarding the boat, throw a piece of coal at them for good luck! (And for even more luck, check out the Farmers’ Almanac fishing calendar!)
4. Soda Bread Cross
When you’re making Irish soda bread, mark it with a “cross” to let the devil out! (Be sure to check out our authentic Irish Soda Bread recipe.)
5. Luck Penny
If you’re buying something at fair, give a “luck penny” to the seller in addition to the sale price. To seal the luck, the seller must then spit on your hand and slap you! This superstition originated with the selling of livestock in ancient Ireland.
6. Ears Burning
”Are your ears burning?” It means that people are talking about you! If your left ear is warm, they’re saying nice things. But if it’s the right, they’re saying the opposite. It’s remembered with the rhyme, “Left for love, right for spite.” (If both ears are burning, you’ve had too much Irish whiskey.) While the origins of this ancient expression are murky, it is an example of a superstition that is wholeheartedly embraced by the Irish and has permeated many cultures.
7. Use the Same Door
Don’t enter one door and exit out another (for instance, entering through the front door and exiting out the back). It’s believed that this removes the luck from the home.
8. Give ’em the Boot!
If your husband or wife is leaving, throw a boot (or shoe) after them and you’ll live together forever. (Because you’ll have already given them the boot!)
9. Rosemary Herb
Plant rosemary near your front door to keep evil away. Through the ages, rosemary has been regarded by the Irish as well as many different cultures as a magical herb for protection.
10. Counting “Crows”
If you see magpies (similar to crows), the number of them has significance, as told by the nursery rhyme:
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret never to be told.
Seeing one magpie represents sadness whereas seeing multiple means that riches are coming to you. If a woman is pregnant and happens to see three magpies, it is a sign that the baby will be a girl. If she sees four, it will be a boy. Sometimes three or four magpies are put on cakes at baby showers in Ireland to reveal the baby’s gender!
Fun fact: The 1990s band Counting Crows is named after this superstition.
Do you believe in any of these Irish superstitions? Let us know in the comments below!
Want to read about more superstitions? Check out these.
Irish Superstitions FAQ
What is the most common Irish superstition?
Belief in the Good People (na daoine maithe), the sidhe or fairy folk. Still widely cited in rural Ireland. The most-followed practical superstition is probably the prohibition on disturbing a fairy ring (a circular patch of mushrooms or grass) in a field; many Irish farmers still plough around them.
What is a fairy ring?
A natural circle of mushrooms or distinct ring of greener grass in a field. Mycologists explain the rings as the radial growth pattern of fungal mycelium underground. Irish folklore reads them as the dancing grounds of the Good People; disturbing one brings bad luck for years.
Why do Irish people cut a cross into soda bread?
Two layered traditions. The Catholic reading is to bless the loaf before baking. The older pre-Christian reading is to let the fairies out so they do not curse the bread. The practical baking reason is that the cross opens during baking and helps the loaf rise evenly. Many Irish bakers consider all three reasons valid simultaneously.
What is a luck penny?
A small coin given by the seller back to the buyer at the conclusion of a sale (especially livestock, household goods, or first-of-day sales). Old Irish folk practice, still widely followed at livestock auctions and farmers markets. It ensures continued good fortune for both parties.
Why hang rosemary at the threshold?
Rosemary is one of the most-cited Irish protection herbs alongside thyme and sage (see our Halloween protection herbs guide). It was hung over doorways and burned on the hearth to ward off bad luck, illness, and (at Samhain) restless spirits.
Are Irish superstitions taken seriously today?
Yes and no. Most modern Irish people will tell you they do not literally believe in fairies, but will still walk around a fairy ring rather than through it. Folklorists call this practice “holding two truths”: the supernatural reading is folkloric, but the gesture continues out of respect for ancestors and continuity.
This article was published by the Staff at FarmersAlmanac.com. Any questions? Contact us at questions@farmersalmananac.com.
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
- Farmers' Almanac Staff
No. 6 Burning Ears… Left or Right is good at night.
I WHOLE HEARTEDLY BELEIVE THAT ENTERING ONE DOOR AND EXITING ANOTHER AS IT WILL BRING BAD LUCK WHEN THE GOOD LUCK EXITS THE HOME WITH YOU. I WAS ALWAYS TOLD THAT YOU MUST ALWAYS EXIT THE DOOR YOU CAME IN, IF YOU DIDN’T IT WOULD ALLOW EVIL SPIRTS IN. ALSO, THE EARS BURNING!
Yessss!!! I believe this too expect if you’re walking with a friend & walk thru the door while splitting the pole, u would lose friendship with that person. I would make them turn around an walk in thru the same door with me cuz uhuhhh. I’m not losing anymore good friendships that I have w my ppl ???.
My mother never let me or anyone she was with walk on different sides of anything vertical. I never knew why and I don’t think she did either. It was just one of those bad luck things.
Except^^^ sorry.
I believe all of them.My maiden name is MURPHY..And Murphy’s law,yes it will happen to me..if anybody!!
I am Irish. I believe most them a lot more. I was raised y Irish family. My parents taught me so much about the believers. But I have learned more today. I have two Grand Children born in St. Patrick’s Day. I have a dwinter that is so into being Irish that she got her a Shamrock tattoo. Her daddy is Irish but he isn’t in know ING about the history like I am. Thanks for posting this information. May the Sun Be in your face and the Wind at your back