The leprechauns started by a man called Seamus Leprechauns got kicked out of his house by his wife and he ha to live in the mountains and make cloths out of moss and steal bags of gold from travellers
a pot of gold
According to a legend, if you catch a leprechaun you must be told where he/she hid a pot of gold.
A leprechaun is an Irish imp or goblin. Leprechauns are usually depicted as small dwarves resembling elderly little men. The legend is that a leprechaun can be made to reveal his buried treasure (gold) if he is caught by a human.
The popular legend of the leprechaun runs thus: if a leprechaun is caught, he must grant his captor three wishes and/or his pot of gold. Walt Disney solidified this legend in popular thought by releasing the movie "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" which features a battle of wits between a crafty but simple old man and the jovial but witty king of the leprechauns.
The legend of finding a pot of gold with a leprechaun at the end of a rainbow comes from Irish folklore. Leprechauns are mischievous fairies known for hiding their pots of gold at the end of rainbows. The belief is that if you catch a leprechaun, they will grant you three wishes in exchange for their freedom. This myth has been popularized in stories and traditions, especially around St. Patrick's Day.
Darby O"Gill and the Little People based on the Leprechaun legend in part.
The Irish people love to tell stories.
Leprechaun
You should never let him go -but nobody has been able to hold on to one yet.
LEPRECHAUN - one of the small mythical Irish people
Supposedly, after a Leprechaun has been caught, the person must watch them at all times in order to receive the golden prize that is promised by legend. The Leprechaun is a very tricky creature, and will try to convince you to look away from it so it can make a clean escape. Even a second of looking at something else, a simple glance in another direction, is enough to give the Leprechaun a chance to get away. If the Leprechaun gets away from you, regardless of whether or not you saw it, OR caught it, there will be no prize for you, only the memory of this little shoemaker farie.
from being the first leprechaun