Sightings Archive
The archive collects documented reports: cases where a contemporary record survives — a newspaper article, a folklore-collection entry, a broadcast, a letter. It is not a list of leprechauns. It is a list of occasions on which somebody said there was one, preserved carefully enough that you can judge for yourself.
Survey map
United Kingdom cases are marked below. The Republic of Ireland is a separate country and is outside archive coverage; Irish and other overseas material is held in the International Reference Cases index.
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Map key
Map prepared by the webmaster in a paint program, working from a road atlas. Correspondence regarding the coastline is answered on the correspondence page. |
United Kingdom case files
| Ref. | Case | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| LUK/0004 | Co. Derry, 1936 — estate worker's pursuit | MULTIPLE WITNESS / PURSUIT / NO RECOVERY |
| LUK/0007 | Liverpool & Kirkby, 1964 — the Jubilee Park events | MASS REPORT / PUBLIC ORDER EVENT / ORIGIN UNDETERMINED |
Unclassified modern reports
The following reports are retained pending information which is no longer expected to arrive.
Basingstoke, 2004: Green movement observed behind garden centre. No follow-up possible; garden centre subsequently reorganised. INFORMATION INSUFFICIENT
Leeds, 2011: Three witnesses reported unusual laughter beneath a footbridge. A fourth witness reported ordinary laughter. INFORMATION INSUFFICIENT
International Reference Cases
| Ref. | Case | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| INT/0001 | Killough, Co. Westmeath, 1908 — the red-jacketed figure | MULTIPLE WITNESS / EXTENDED EVENT / ALTERNATIVE IDENTIFICATION PROPOSED |
| INT/0002 | Ballycullane, Co. Wexford, c.1933 — the Nolan account | SINGLE WITNESS / CONVERSATIONAL / TOOL OBSERVED |
| INT/0003 | Carlingford, Co. Louth, 1989 — the O'Hare clothing claim | PHYSICAL EVIDENCE CLAIM / PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY DECLARED |
| INT/0005 | Crichton, Mobile, Alabama, 2006 — the tree observations | MULTIPLE WITNESS / ARBOREAL / CONTEMPORARY SKETCH |
Classification policy
Each case receives a classification string describing the evidence, never the conclusion. The components in current use:
- SINGLE WITNESS / MULTIPLE WITNESS / MASS REPORT — how many people said so.
- INFORMATION INSUFFICIENT — the account cannot support any further category. This is the most common classification.
- MISIDENTIFICATION LIKELY — a mundane explanation fits the account better than the witness's interpretation does.
- ALTERNATIVE IDENTIFICATION PROPOSED — a specific mundane candidate was named at the time (see Killough's baboon). The archive records the proposal; it does not adopt it.
- PHYSICAL EVIDENCE CLAIM — objects were produced. Note that this describes the producing, not the objects.
- PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITY DECLARED — a commercial or tourist purpose was openly attached to the events. Applied without prejudice.
- ORIGIN UNDETERMINED — reserved for cases where every proposed explanation, including the sceptical ones, fails to cover the whole record. Used once.
Classifications are reviewed when new material arrives. The revision history in each case file records every change.
How common are reports?
Rarer than the internet suggests. Search results for "leprechaun sighting" are dominated by fiction, jokes, St Patrick's Day features, and reposts of the Mobile footage. The volunteer Fairy Census 2014–2017 gathered roughly five hundred fairy experiences; only a handful mention leprechauns specifically, and the 2017–2023 census repeats the pattern. These are self-selected collections and cannot be converted into an annual rate. The archive's review of the leprechaun material in both censuses was completed in July 2026.
The honest summary: leprechaun-specific reports appear occasionally; they are a small minority even among fairy reports; and large communal episodes such as Liverpool or Mobile are exceptional. A sparse archive with long quiet periods is what the evidence actually looks like. We are aware this makes for a slow website.
Reporting a sighting
Report intake is currently suspended. The archive previously accepted reports by post and, briefly and regrettably, by an online form. Submissions required date, time, location to the nearest sensible landmark, weather, distance, duration, dress, and activity; witnesses were asked whether they would consent to publication, and confidential reports were kept confidential. Reports intended as jokes were returned with thanks.
The suspension is administrative and reflects volunteer capacity. This website does not collect personal information; see the privacy notice. Records made contemporaneously and kept safe will lose nothing by waiting for intake to reopen.