Fairy Tale Spotlight: Darby O'Gill and the Good People (Part 1 of 3)

So we begin a new series. This time, we will be discussing some interesting points made by a book written in 1903 called "Darby O'Gill and the Good People" by Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. It was also made into a movie (Darby O'Gill and the Little People) by Disney in 1959. This book covered some very open-minded points in Irish folklore. I am not really as interested in giving a synopsis as much as I want to comment on what the book talked about. Since the book is genuinely good and worth reading, I'll steer clear of an outright spoiling of it.

"Darby O'Gill and the Good People" is written in three fairly long chapters and each one deals with a different aspect of Irish fairy lore. The "Good People" mentioned in the title is the main focus and everything that happens in the three chapters branches off from them. The Good People are actually little people, or manikin as I have called them in a past blog.

My friend and fellow author Shawn O'Toole suggests the reason they are called "Good People" is probably done so that the fairies are not offended. If you met these little people, you might not expect they could be offended by anything. They seem to enjoy hearty dance and jovial music. They are very accommodating to visitors and try and make people comfortable. But don't be fooled! The Good People are anything but good.

The first thing that set off alarm bells is the fact that they do not like the mentioning of God--the Christian God, mind you. The king of the Good People, Brian Conners, did his best to make Darby O'Gill happy which prompted the good and Christian man to respond with, "God bless ye." Brian was extremely put off by this. Even though Darby was being friendly, the term struck the little person in the opposite way. This suggests that the Good People are actually demons of a sort. The author was very astute in understanding this.

Like the manikins I talked about in an earlier blog, the Good People go by a certain set of laws and legalities that they must abide by perfectly. When Darby finds himself trapped in his lair, the king explaines to him that he must stay their forever. If he tries to leave, they must silence him permanently. However, Brian promises Darby that he will do his best to keep him comfortable during his long stay.

Well, if Brian really meant this, why did he later try and trick Darby into leaving? I'm serious. Multiple times, Brian Conners politely would suggest that Darby could leave if he really wanted to. He even lies and says that he is more lenient on rules for people he likes. The truth was that if Darby ever did leave, these Good People could do very bad things to him. This is a quality that actually happens in humans, and it is arguably one of the worst kinds of evil.

Just a couple of days ago, I met a person at work who was very pleasant and happy. He smiled constantly and wanted to speak to everyone. However, I notice that his son always seemed uncomfortable when around him. This guy is a regular, by the way. I always felt like there was something wrong with him. At first, I thought he might simply have a mental disorder. But there was something very dark that finally came out on my last sighting of him.

This man is actually horrible to his son. He treats him with great disdain and makes him feel miserable. But the worst of it is that he does it with a skip in his step and a smile on his face. His personality is a very jovial one. It is very misleading. At first glance, you might think he is just a happy-go-lucky fellow. But deep within is a passionate passive aggressiveness that he enacts against anyone he feels he can hurt. I saw him do it to his own son and he tried to get me in on it. I ignored him completely even as he asked me to step in and take his side. Interestingly, that is a very good strategy when dealing with Good People.

These creatures tend to draw you in with their happy and pleasing natures. But it's a trick. They are trying to draw you into a trap. Once you are in, you are binding yourself to their rules. Unless you are very clever or of a like-minded sort, you probably will not be able to get away unscathed. The man I met at work seems the type who could outsmart a little person just fine. That doesn't mean he is a good person. It means he is just as ruthless.

The man's son is beholden to his father through no fault of his own. He is in a trap that he can't seem to get out of. His only way out is for his father to die or for him to simply run away. The latter is unfortunately not likely. Passive aggressiveness is a very powerful trap when it comes from a father. It is much like the spell these little people cast. I am extremely sorry for the son in this case.

The story of the father and son is a good example of how the Good People still seem to have an effect on humans today. Sometimes fairies of lore seem to materialize as normal human beings by way of inspiration. It is much like how the satyrs inspired the free love movement. The Good People are actually bad, but the badness is wrapped in a smiling, happy demeanor. Do not be fooled. They are evil. And they want to hurt you. And when they do hurt you, they will do so as they drink, laugh, and dance.

More on the Good People in the next blog.

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