Changelings in Irish Folklore

The folklore of Changelings in Ireland is a dark and interesting one spanning over centuries. These stories typically came from rural Ireland, places where people held strong beliefs of fairies. It was thought that fairies would steal human children and replace them with their own, also known as changelings. Fairy doctors would declare children as changelings and they would meet a horrifically violent end, while their parents held hope of getting their real child returned. Characteristics of changelings included excessive crying, sudden disinterest in family, acting out etc. Often these children had mental or physical disabilities that were unknown and misunderstood during this period, as time went on and medical knowledge spread the beliefs of changelings faded. However this is a major part of Irelands folklore and there are still modern stories of changelings being written and told today.