Little Sprouts Weekend: Week 9
You might have passed one hundreds of times without giving it much thought.
A hawthorn growing in a hedge.
A twisted little tree beside an old lane.
Or one standing by itself in the middle of a field.
But in Irish folklore, certain hawthorns were anything but ordinary.
Some became known locally as fairy trees or fairy thorns and were treated with particular care.
So this weekend, we're going looking for one.
Not to pick from it.
Not to disturb it.
Just to stop, look and wonder:
Can you find a tree that looks as though it might have a story?
At a glance
Best for: Ages 3–9. Younger children can simply look for red berries and thorny branches.
Time: 10–20 minutes
You will need: Nothing
Where: Hedgerow, country lane, park, field edge, woodland edge or local walk
Adult preparation: None, although knowing what a hawthorn looks like will help
Keep in mind: Hawthorn has sharp thorns. Look closely without encouraging children to push hands into branches or pick from the tree.
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Each is rooted in Irish nature, folklore and the changing season. Nothing elaborate. Nothing that requires preparation.
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This weekend's Little Sprouts adventure
1. Look for a hawthorn
Hawthorn (sceach gheal in Irish) is one of Ireland's native trees.
You'll often find it growing in hedgerows, along field boundaries and at woodland edges.
At this time of year, one of the easiest clues is its fruit.
Look for clusters of small deep red haws on the branches.
The leaves are small and lobed, and the branches can be very thorny.
2. Look for one that stands out
Once you've found a hawthorn, look around.
Is there one that feels different from the others?
Perhaps it is:
- growing alone in a field
- twisted by years of weather
- beside an old lane
- growing near a bank or mound
- much older-looking than the hedge around it
- standing somewhere that makes you wonder why it was left there
You are not trying to prove that you've found a historical fairy tree.
You're simply looking at the landscape with an old Irish story in mind.
3. Stop and really look
Stay a little distance from the branches and notice the tree.
Can you find:
- red haws?
- thorns?
- leaves beginning to change?
- moss or lichen on the branches?
- berries that birds have already eaten?
- a particularly twisted branch?
Then ask:
What made you notice this tree?
4. Imagine its story
Now look at the land around it.
What might this tree have seen?
People walking the same lane?
Animals moving between fields?
Storms?
Snow?
Children playing nearby?
Ask your Little Sprout:
If this tree could tell you one story about this place, what do you think it would say?
There is no right answer.
Let the story go wherever your child takes it.
5. Leave it exactly as you found it
This part fits both the old folklore and the modern adventure rather nicely.
Don't break branches.
Don't pick from the tree.
Don't tie anything to it.
Just look.
Then leave the tree exactly as it was.
If you found one interesting tree, stopped and wondered about its story, the adventure counts.
Can't find a hawthorn?
That's absolutely fine.
Choose one tree that catches your attention instead.
It might be very old.
Very small.
Bent by the wind.
Growing somewhere unexpected.
Or simply different from the trees around it.
Ask:
Why did I notice this one?
The goal this weekend isn't to find the perfect fairy tree.
It's to look at an ordinary tree as though it might have a story.
Enjoying this adventure?
So what is a fairy tree?
There isn't one simple rule saying that every hawthorn in Ireland is a fairy tree.
But hawthorn appears again and again in Irish folklore associated with the Aos Sí, fairy places and warnings about interfering with particular trees.
Sometimes it was a lone hawthorn.
Sometimes it grew on or beside a ringfort.
Sometimes one particular tree in a locality had its own story attached to it.
And those stories could be taken very seriously.
Heritage Ireland notes that special trees, usually hawthorns, feature among the places associated with the Aos Sí in Irish folk belief, and that lone hawthorns in particular could be left undisturbed.
A fairy tree recorded in Co. Limerick
We don't have to rely on modern retellings to find these stories.
The Schools' Collection, gathered from communities around Ireland in the 1930s and now preserved by the National Folklore Collection, contains many examples.
One was recorded near Clogheen in Co. Limerick.
The account describes a strangely shaped hawthorn that had been known as the “Fairy Tree” for generations.
Local tradition held that fairies danced around it on Midsummer's Eve, and the tree was treated with such respect that people were reluctant to interfere with it.
That doesn't tell us what every Irish person believed.
But it does preserve the story of one particular tree, in one particular place, and the beliefs associated with it.
When a tree stood in the way
Another story recorded in the Schools' Collection comes from Gleneely, Co. Donegal.
It tells of workers constructing a road who encountered a hawthorn directly in their path.
Several workers reportedly refused to remove it because they regarded it as a fairy tree and feared what might happen if they interfered with it.
Again, this is folklore rather than evidence that supernatural events occurred.
But it tells us something very real about the power such beliefs could have.
A tree could become more than a tree.
It could become a place people were reluctant to disturb.
Why hawthorn?
Hawthorn is already a striking tree.
In spring it can be covered in white blossom.
By autumn, those flowers have become clusters of red haws.
It grows easily in hedges and field boundaries and can survive for many years, becoming twisted and gnarled as it ages.
The Tree Council of Ireland notes that a single hawthorn can sometimes be left standing in a field as a “fairy thorn”, particularly where an archaeological site may be nearby.
So the folklore and the landscape can sometimes overlap.
An old tree.
An old boundary.
A ringfort.
A story.
And generations of people deciding it was better to leave that tree alone.
Fairy tree or ordinary hawthorn?
This is one of the nicest questions to leave open for children.
From a nature point of view, it is a hawthorn.
It has roots, leaves, flowers, berries and thorns.
Birds eat its haws.
Its branches provide shelter.
In spring its blossom feeds insects.
And at the same time, humans have attached stories and beliefs to particular hawthorns for generations.
Both things can be interesting.
We don't need to tell children that fairies definitely live underneath the tree.
And we don't have to dismiss the story either.
Instead we can say:
“People once told stories about trees like this. Why do you think this one might have inspired a story?”
That question leaves room for nature, history and imagination at the same time.
Look at the haws
If you find a hawthorn this weekend, take a look at its berries.
Those little red fruits are called haws.
The Tree Council of Ireland notes that they colour hawthorn branches through autumn and into winter and are a favourite food for birds.
So while we're looking at the tree because of its folklore, something very ordinary and important is happening there too.
The tree is feeding wildlife.
Can you spot:
- a bird visiting the branches?
- berries that have disappeared?
- fallen haws beneath the tree?
- a berry with marks on it?
Sometimes the most interesting story happening at a tree is happening right now.
Questions to wonder about together
Try whichever ones interest your child:
-
Why do you think people told stories about certain trees?
-
What makes this tree look different from the others?
-
How old do you think it might be?
-
Who or what might use this tree today?
-
If this tree could remember one thing, what would it remember?
And:
Would you have left the fairy tree standing?
One thing to notice before Sunday ends
If you don't manage a proper walk, keep this one tiny.
Find one tree.
It doesn't have to be a hawthorn.
Stop beside it.
Look at its shape.
Look at where it is growing.
Then ask:
If this tree could tell one story about this place, what would it be?
That's it.
No collecting.
No craft.
Nothing to finish.
Just one familiar tree, looked at a little differently.
Sometimes a story begins simply because somebody stopped long enough to notice.
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Each week, Little Sprouts Weekend brings you one small seasonal adventure to enjoy together.
One story. One little adventure. One thing to notice before Sunday ends.
It's created for families with children aged 3–9, with simple ideas designed to work without a garden, specialist knowledge or a big shopping list.
When you join, you'll also receive Four Stories for the Turning Year — a free collection of Irish nature myths, one for each season.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a fairy tree in Ireland?
“Fairy tree” is a name used for particular trees associated in Irish folklore with the aos sí or fairy places.
Hawthorn is especially strongly represented in these traditions, and lone hawthorns or trees growing near ringforts could attract their own local stories.
This does not mean every hawthorn was considered a fairy tree.
Are fairy trees always hawthorn trees?
No. Irish folklore can associate other trees and natural places with supernatural traditions too.
However, hawthorn is particularly closely connected with fairy-tree traditions, and recorded folklore contains many accounts involving lone hawthorns or “fairy thorns”.
How can children recognise a hawthorn?
Hawthorn is a thorny native tree commonly found in Irish hedgerows and field boundaries.
In autumn, look for small lobed leaves and clusters of deep red fruits called haws.
Children should look rather than reach into branches because the thorns can be sharp.
Should you touch a fairy tree?
For this Little Sprouts adventure, families don't need to touch, cut or collect anything from the tree.
The activity is simply to notice the hawthorn, observe what is growing on it and explore the folklore connected with certain trees.
Is the fairy tree tradition real Irish folklore?
Yes. The National Folklore Collection's Schools' Collection contains numerous recorded accounts involving fairy trees, fairy thorns and beliefs about interfering with certain hawthorns.
These records document what people said and believed in particular communities; they should not be interpreted as proof that everyone in Ireland held exactly the same beliefs.
