Looking Back: Almost 2,000 Leprechaun Hunters Descended on Carlingford in 2015

A forgotten Dundalk FM interview recalls the weekend when pipers, prospecting licences and crowds of treasure seekers transformed Carlingford and the slopes of Slieve Foy.

Original Dundalk FM preview published 25 March 2015 • Hunt held Sunday, 29 March 2015

In March 2015, Dundalk FM reported an unusual development in north Louth: multicoloured leprechauns had apparently been sighted arriving in Carlingford.

The explanation was almost as colourful as the sighting. The medieval village was preparing for its annual National Leprechaun Hunt, a family event that brought folklore, tourism and a touch of theatrical mischief to the slopes of Slieve Foy.

Dundalk FM published its preview on 25 March 2015, featuring Frances Taylor speaking to presenter Caoimhe O’Malley. Four days later, on Sunday, 29 March, an estimated 1,900 people descended on Carlingford for the hunt.

Licensed to hunt: prospective treasure seekers could purchase a novelty “Ye Olde Carlingford Leprechaun Prospecting Licence”. Designed like an aged parchment and priced at €8 per person, the licence included rules for the hunt and space for an official stamp. Tickets and information were available through the Cooley Peninsula Tourist Office.

Visitors assembled in the village before being led towards the mountain by a band of pipers. Once the hunt began, participants searched through the heather, around rocks and behind bushes for miniature leprechaun figures. Each figure was connected to a cash prize.

Students from Champlain College’s Dublin programme were among the international visitors who joined the search. Two members of that group, Adam Vernali and Karisa Desjardins, found prize-carrying leprechauns and returned from the mountain with some extra euros—if not the legendary pot of gold.

Carlingford’s “Leprechaun Whisperer”

The modern event grew from folklore promoted by Carlingford native Kevin Woods, who became widely known as Ireland’s “Leprechaun Whisperer”.

The Carlingford story began after local publican P.J. O’Hare reportedly found a miniature green suit, small bones and four gold coins on Slieve Foy. Woods recognised that the discovery could be developed into a story and visitor attraction for the medieval village.

Woods later recalled that one of the early hunts involved hiding £1,000 beneath four ceramic leprechauns and selling hunting licences for £10. What began as a playful tourism idea developed into a nationally known event attracting visitors from Ireland and overseas.

According to the legend promoted around the attraction, Ireland’s remaining leprechauns live in caverns and tunnels beneath the Cooley Mountains. Later versions generally placed their number at 236, with an elder named Carraig communicating with Woods. The story was presented in a spirit of folklore, imagination and fun.

A new cavern for 2015

The hunt was not the only leprechaun-related development in Carlingford that year. In January 2015, Louth County Council granted planning permission for Woods’ underground Leprechaun and Fairy Cavern on Ghan Road.

The council described it as a unique visitor facility with the potential to attract national and international tourists to County Louth. By the time of the March hunt, the cavern had become another part of Carlingford’s growing association with leprechaun folklore.

The event complemented the village’s traditional attractions: its medieval streets, castle, abbey, harbour and dramatic location between Slieve Foy and Carlingford Lough. The leprechaun story added a playful layer to that historical and natural appeal.

Whatever one believed about the “little people”, the tourism impact was real. The event brought approximately 1,900 people into a relatively small village in one day and generated attention for Carlingford in Irish and international media.