Waxie Dargle - The Gold Prospecting Leprechaun has been panning for gold for centuries in the Dargle River which runs through County Wicklow in Ireland, entering the Irish Sea at Bray.

Precious metal mining has been carried out in Wicklow back to the days of the Fir Bolg and beyond. Did you know that the Royal Coach used by British Royalty on big occasions, such as coronations and the like, is adorned with Wicklow Gold?

Around 2000 Years BC, a new race of people arrived in Ireland. They consisted of 3 tribes, all descendants of the Greek Nemedians - the Fir Bolg, the Fir Domhnainn and the Gailion. The Fir Bolg sailed from Greece in Boats made from leather Bags which they had used to carry spoil while in slavery in Greece. That is why they were called the Fir Bolg or "Men of the Bag". Later, the three tribes coalesced under the banner of the Fir Bolg. They had great powers, including mysticism and mathematics and numerology. They set out Ireland as it is today, consisting of the four provinces with Tara as the seat of the High Kings. They promoted the esblishment of large areas of arable land and the cutting back of the forests. The Fir Bolg were ultimately overrun by a new invasion - the Tuatha De Dannan, who had even greater magical and mystical powers.

Anyways, back to our friend - Waxie Dargle, a direct descendent of the Tuatha De Dannan. Down the years, he has acted as a match maker of great regard. In his quest for excellence, he has studied all the various methods of forecasting and would be a leading World exponent of numerology. This he combines with other methodologies such as astrology and the Chinese Zodiac.

As all leprechauns are secretive, Waxie does most of his gold panning by moonlight. However, because of the cloudy weather, you cannot rely on the Sun too much in Ireland. The Moon is no great shakes either. Add to this the fact that the moon doesn't rise every night and you have a great need for a bit of artificial light. He needs light to catch the glint of the gold.

Waxie Dargle now uses a Head Band LED setup with a belt slung battery pack. Originally Waxie used bull rushes dipped in tallow but later discovered candles. Wax Candles have been made in Ireland for many centuries and one Dublin Company, Rathbornes, founded in 1488, still survives to this day. The workers from Rathbornes and another Dublin candle maker, Lalors, used to go "on a skite" to Bray every year.  A skite being a day's drinking and on one of these trips some of the candlemakers met our Waxie who showed his appreciation to the folk of candle industry by plying them with drink, food and music for the day. From then on, the Dublin candlemakers were called Waxie Dargles, after their trade, the town's river and their new friend, Waxie Dargle.

As you probably know, all leprechauns are terrible fibbers and this is where Waxie got involved. The incorrect version, originally put out by Waxie has been rebroadcast all over the world and the net and is wrong!

In actual fact what really happened was:

During the Summer, the gentry of Dublin would travel out to Bray and Enniskerry with their entourages and have picnics on the banks of the River Dargle - their Dargle.

The shoemakers and repairers in Dublin were known as Waxies, because they used wax to waterproof and preserve the thread they used in stitching the shoes. They had an annual skite but instead of going all the way to Bray, they only went as far as Irishtown which is located between Ringsend and Sandymount. In imitation of the gentry, they called their picnic the Waxies Dargle. The clue is in the use of the possessive form of Waxie. There is a engraved stone, marking the location of the Waxies Dargle "picnic" site near Gleesons Pub in Irishtown. If you ever go in there for a pint - ask for Wally and ask him to tell you about the brother and the breakfast egg. He might even show you the stone.

When in Ringsend, follow the Dodder River back up to the rugby grounds at Donnybrook, past Lansdowne Road. It was on that site that the annual Donnybrook Fair was held. It invariably ended up in faction fighting and the authorities had to ban it. From it came the term for a good old free-for-all row - the Donnybrook.

On the other side of the River and road, you will see the Donnybrook Bus Garage. Here in May 1955, Ray Famechon of France beat Billy Kelly from Derry for the European Featherweight Boxing Championship title. Behind the garage was the site of the first All-Ireland GAA final. 300 metres out the road, you will see the studios of the national broadcaster RTE, which has the unique distinction of being the only station, in the world, to have "dancing on radio".

The Waxies Dargle are celebrated in the well known Irish Drinking Song - Waxies Dargle. This backs up the Ringsend/Sandmount version of the story. For the words of the song - Please Click Waxies Dargle.

All down the years, mystics, astrologists and numerologists have abounded in Ireland leading up to the latest and greatest known, the great Nobel Prize winning Irish poet, William Butler Yeats.

To-day, our direct connection to Waxie Dargle, brings us access to his great information on Astrology, Chinese Zodiac and Numerology. So please feel free to check out our sections on the various disciplines.