Scéal an Phúca – Creative Writing

Ciorcal Beo members took part in a collaborative writing workshop with the theme of the Púca.

The Púca is a folkloric figure in Irish culture. It’s a shape-shifting trickster. Perhaps one of the sídhe, or in another accounts only comes out at Samhain when the sídhe ar away. If you’re walking home alone in the dead of night, it might pick you up on its back and terrorise you with a ride through the countryside. It may drop you back where it found you, or indeed only bring you back next Samhain.

Sculptor Aidan Harte created a statue personifying the Púca. It was commissioned by Clare County Council for being placed in Inis Díomáin / Ennistymon. However, the sculpture kicked up controversy and was never welcomed to Ennistymon. It now happily sits in Carron in the Burren. (Read about it on the Guardian.)

The word “púca” isn’t found in Old Irish, and came into the language through English, from the work “puck”. (Breatnach, 1993).

We have lots of placenames in Ireland with the Púca. That includes Abhainn Pholl an Phúca, Caisleán an Phúca and Aill an Phúca. So the púca is eternalised in the landscape.

In the song An Poc ar Buile, we have the mad puck goat running through the countryside (the song is featured in our course Sing in Irish):

Do ritheamar trasna trí railleogach,
Is do ghluais an comhrac ar fud na muinge,
Is treascairt do bhfuair sé sna turtóga,
Chuas ina ainneoin ina dhroim le fuinneamh.

Here’s the creative writing prompt we used, feel free to do the same in your own time.

Tip: use the paste tense plural of verbs to tell the story, like Ritheamar agus Chuamar.