Lucky Charm Luck-e Charm
I learned way more about leprechauns and Irish mythology doing this installation than even some Irish people would ever want to know. Why? Because I got real-life experience being a candy-raving lucky-hug leprechaun at a Saint Patrick's Day rave party. These creatures may seem laughable at first, but as I can personally attest, a leprechaun's existence is more hardcore than you could possibly imagine.
According to legend, all leprechauns possess a hidden pot of gold. Leprechauns are shoemakers by trade, usually found amid the sounds of hammering their ornate brogues or shoes (perhaps for dancing). If a leprechaun is captured and threatened with violence, he will reveal the secret location of his treasure. That is, if it's captor keeps their eyes on the leprechaun at all times. If the captor takes their eyes off the leprechaun or is tricked into looking away, even for a moment, the leprechaun will vanish immediately, along with the knowledge of the hidden treasure's location.
Naively, I thought I could put some idealistic, candy-raving hippy twist on this leprechaun myth. My plan was to dress up like a cute little leprechaun for the event, people would hug me, and in homage to old-school rave culture, I would give them a map-point style map showing them the location of the treasure. "The treasure" being chocolate bars in gold wrapping paper in a tupperware pot located in some dark corner of the venue. No big deal. I anticipated people coming up to me in an orderly fashion, hugging me, and I'd give them a map. But not so, within seconds, amid the hammering of high-speed techno music, I was mobbed. I couldn't believe it. It felt like the whole event was upon me. Then people started yelling threats like, "give me a fuckin' map, or I'll kick your ass!" I thought, What the hell is going on? Then, in a candy-raving moment of clarity, I got it: people thought "the treasure" was not candy bars, but drugs, duh! So the only way for me to escape, was to get people to look away from me by throwing the maps in one direction, while I ducked and ran out of the venue in the other direction, just like an old-school leprechaun. So I tell you, from direct personal experience, when it comes to hidden treasure: this leprechaun myth is no myth at all, it's for real.
by TJ Richter
© March 17, 2001 Theodore J Richter
