Darby O'Gill is a fictional

Irishman The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been co ...

who appears in the writings of Irish author

Herminie Templeton Kavanagh Herminie Templeton Kavanagh (1861 – 30 October 1933) was an Irish writer, most known for her short stories. She was born Herminie McGibney, the daughter of Major George McGibney, of Longford, Ireland. She became Herminie Templeton after her ...

, including her books ''Darby O'Gill and the Good People'' (1903) and ''Ashes of Old Wishes and Other Darby O'Gill Tales'' (1926).

Film

In 1959, the

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

adapted Kavanaugh's works to the silver screen under the title ''

Darby O'Gill and the Little People ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' is a 1959 American fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions, adapted from the ''Darby O'Gill'' stories of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Lawrence Ed ...

''. In the film, O'Gill is an aging groundskeeper who engages in a friendly battle of wits with a

leprechaun A leprechaun ( ga, leipreachán/luchorpán) is a diminutive supernatural being in Irish folklore, classed by some as a type of solitary fairy. They are usually depicted as little bearded men, wearing a coat and hat, who partake in mischief. I ...

king, and is played by the actor

Albert Sharpe Albert Sharpe (15 April 1885 – 13 February 1970) was a Northern Irish stage and film actor. Life and work Albert Edward Sharpe was born at 8 Goudy's Court in Belfast on 15 April 1885, one of six children born to fishmonger John Sharpe, a Pres ...

. One of the

VeggieTales ''VeggieTales'' is an American Christian media, computer generated musical children's animation, and book franchise created by Phil Vischer and Mike Nawrocki under Big Idea Entertainment. The series sees fruit and vegetable characters retelling ...

videos, ''The Wonderful Wizard Of Ha’s'', has a protagonist whose name is Darby O’Gill (played by

Junior Asparagus This is a list of characters that appear in the ''VeggieTales'' franchise. Primary characters Bob the Tomato Bob the Tomato (introduced 1993) is the friendly but slightly high-strung host of ''VeggieTales''. Creator Phil Vischer has often cited ...

). However, the story itself is mainly a retelling of ''The Wizard of Oz''.

Music

At least two American Irish-music bands have taken O'Gill's name under which to perform. Darby O'Gill operates in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, while

center their performances in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Apart from the use of the name, the two bands have no connection.

References

Fictional Irish people {{Lit-char-stub