The Fairy Lore & Landscapes Project is a comparative ethnographic research project led by Dr Jenny Butler, University College Cork. Dr Butler holds a PhD in Folklore and Ethnology and is a leading specialist on Irish folk religion, festivals, and other cultural traditions. Dr Butler has been a Government of Ireland Research Scholar (2001-2004), a Dobbin Scholar (2010) and a Charlemont Scholar (2017).
The Fairy Lore and Landscapes Project comprises an exhibition, an ethnographic documentary, and a comparative study in the form of a book, and an interactive database is planned.
The ongoing comparative ethnographic research project examines traditions connected to fairies and how related beliefs, legends and attitudes are connected to landscapes. The project investigates fairy lore as an aspect of intangible cultural heritage in its connection to materiality in landscapes, sites, and sense of place, in relation to Ireland, Iceland and Newfoundland in Canada.
Different stages of the project have been funded by the Royal Irish Academy, the Ireland-Canada University Foundation, the Newfoundland – Ireland Partnership (Department of the Taoiseach), and by University College Cork’s College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences Research Support Fund.
Official Project Hashtag #fairylands