Ghosts, piseógs and frightening folktales

Well-known seanachaí Eddie Lenihan recalls the dares and games of Halloween to Carl Dixon.

EDDIE Lenihan is a well-known seanachaí who came to national prominence in the 1980s with his 12-part RTÉ series Storyteller and Ten Minute Tales. He has also written numerous books and perhaps more importantly has recorded the tales of an older Irish generation, which otherwise would have been lost.

Lenihan has a particular interest in fairies and the beliefs that older generations had about them, and in 1999 he led a successful campaign to prevent a sceach, or fairy bush, from being destroyed by roadworks in Co Clare. The storyteller has also had an enduring fascination with haunted places, fairy paths and holy wells and his stories for both adults and children are by turns comedic, haunting and grotesque.