Solitary and Trooping Fairies

In Celtic myths, Ireland is the residing place of numerous amounts of fairies but there are two main types, Solitary fairies and leprechauns and gregarious Trooping fairies.  Solitary try to avoid large gatherings, unlike Social, or Trooping, fairies who entice the large groups and socializing.  Some of the well-known Solitary fairies are Far Darrig, the malicious practical joker, Far Gorta, who appeared during times of famine, and the headless coachman whose black vehicle was a sign of death, Dullahan.  A more evil fairy, Leanhaun Shee, was dangerous and would drain life from her human lovers.  Trooping fairies were similar in the fact that they are either threatening or very captivating, although they are closely associated with features of landscape such a lakes, caves, mounds, etc.  They construct fairies rings as their daily work, making circles of dark green grass in pastures and meadows and often circled with mushrooms.  These fairy rings marked places where they staged their night time dances.  Solitary and Trooping fairies are typically distinguished but the color of their jackets.  Solitary fairies would commonly wear red jackets, whereas Trooping fairies all wore green jackets.

Joe, Jimmy. "Timeless Myths." Faeries. N.p., 24/11/2004. Web. 1 Nov 2010.
            <http://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/faeries.html>.