Happy St Patrick’s Day Messages, Wishes and Captions (Plus How to Say It in Irish)

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St Patrick’s Day is the one day when half the world wants to be Irish and the other half wants to text someone who is. Stuck for words? Help yourself.

I’m from Co. Cork, and I wrote these myself, apart from a few old sayings. There’s no “top o’ the mornin'”, because you won’t hear it in Ireland. Copy them, tweak them and sign your own name.

Jump to:

• Short wishes for texts
• Messages for family
• Messages for friends
• For colleagues and the work group chat
• Funny St Patrick’s Day messages
• What to write in a card
• Captions and quotes for Instagram and Facebook
• For someone far from Ireland
• Happy St Patrick’s Day in Irish
• When to send it and how to sign off
• FAQ
• More St Patrick’s Day reading

Short St Patrick’s Day wishes for texts

Quick ones for a text or WhatsApp. Craic means fun.

• Happy St Patrick’s Day! Hope it’s a good one.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day! Wear something green and mind yourself.
• Thinking of you this St Patrick’s Day. Enjoy every minute.
• Happy Paddy’s Day! Have a mighty one.
• Wishing you luck, laughter and a dry day for the parade.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day. May your tea be strong and your troubles be few.
• Sending you a big green hug from home. Happy St Patrick’s Day.
• A little green hello from me. Happy St Patrick’s Day.
• Happy Paddy’s Day! Hope the sun shines on you, wherever you are.
• Wishing you a St Patrick’s Day full of good craic and good company.

St Patrick’s Day messages for family

A short line to Mam, the grandkids or the cousins in Boston beats a long one nobody reads.

• Wishing all my family a very happy St Patrick’s Day. Health, love and a bit of luck to every one of you.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day, Mam. Everything good in me started at your kitchen table.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day, Dad. Thanks for the stories, the songs and the patience.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day to the best brother in the world. Don’t tell the others I said that.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day, Nana. We’re all wearing the green for you today.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day, Grandad. Every March I think of you and your stories of home.
• To my grandchildren: Happy St Patrick’s Day. Never forget where your people came from.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day to the whole family, near and far. The kettle’s always on.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day to my children. You’re my luck, every day of the year.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day to my wife (or husband). Of all my luck, you’re the best of it.
• To the cousins scattered around the world: Happy St Patrick’s Day. Same family, different time zones.

St Patrick’s Day messages for friends

Friends get away with a bit more cheek. Use it.

• Happy St Patrick’s Day to my oldest friend. Here’s to many more years of nonsense.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day! Friends like you are rarer than a sunny day in Galway.
• Wishing you a great St Patrick’s Day. You’ve been good luck to me for years.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day. If you’re going out, text me. If you’re staying in, text me too.
• Happy Paddy’s Day to the friend who’s first on the dance floor and last to leave.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day! Wish we were at the parade together. Next year, so.
• To my friend who’s Irish for one day a year: you’re one of us today.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day! Thanks for being the friend who always answers the phone.
• Happy Paddy’s Day. Mind the face paint. It shows up in photos for years.

For colleagues and the work group chat

Keep it light. Everyone can be Irish for a day, so nobody feels left out.

• Happy St Patrick’s Day, everyone! Wear a bit of green if you have it.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day to the team. Thanks for all the hard work this month.
• Wishing you all a happy St Patrick’s Day. Céad míle fáilte to anyone who’s Irish for the day.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day! There’s green cake in the kitchen. First come, first served.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day to our customers. Thank you for your loyalty all year round.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day to our colleagues in Ireland. Enjoy the day off. Some of us are working.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day! Today’s meeting is cancelled. Not really, but I hope you smiled.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day! Prize for whoever wears the most green on today’s call.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day. May your inbox be light and your coffee be strong.

Funny St Patrick’s Day messages

For the friend who’d be insulted by anything sincere. I have more in my St Patrick’s Day jokes.

• Happy St Patrick’s Day! It’s Paddy, not Patty. Patty is a burger.
• I’m not saying I’m lucky, but I know you. Happy St Patrick’s Day.
• Can’t find a four-leaf clover? A three-leaf one still counts. We call it a shamrock.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day. Don’t pinch me, I’m wearing green on the inside.
• Happy Paddy’s Day. My Irish dancing is coming on well. My knees are not.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day. Not one snake in sight. Patrick did a great job.
• Go easy on the green food dye. Nobody wants green teeth in the family photo.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day. I found a pot of gold, then the electricity bill came.
• Happy Paddy’s Day! The only day you’ll stand in the rain for three hours and call it fun.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day! Today I’m Irish. Tomorrow I’m just tired.

What to write in a St Patrick’s Day card

A card lasts longer than a text, so go warmer. Add a line of your own news. That’s the bit they keep.

• Wishing you a happy St Patrick’s Day and a year full of good luck.
• May your day be full of laughter, your home full of friends and your heart full of Ireland.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day. May good news find you and stay a while.
• Thinking of you on St Patrick’s Day, with love from all of us.
• To a very special person on St Patrick’s Day. Céad míle fáilte, always.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day! May the road ahead be easy and the company be good.
• With warm wishes this St Patrick’s Day, from our home to yours.
• Wishing you green fields, fresh air and kind hearts. Happy St Patrick’s Day.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day. May the year ahead bring you more good days than you can count.

For a card with a laugh, try this old Irish toast. Its last line is recorded in the USC Folklore Archives:

May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

More in my Irish toasts and blessings.

St Patrick’s Day captions and quotes for Instagram and Facebook

Short ones work best under a photo. One shamrock emoji is plenty.

• Wearing the green today. ☘️
• Irish today, Irish tomorrow, Irish always.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day from my corner of the world.
• Four seasons in one parade. Happy St Patrick’s Day.
• Sláinte to everyone celebrating today. ☘️
• Green jumper, grey sky, great day.
• Proof I wore green. Please don’t pinch me.
• Parade face on. Umbrella ready.
• Grandad would be proud. Happy St Patrick’s Day.
• Green, white, orange and a bit of rain.
• Home is wherever the shamrock grows.

Messages for someone far from Ireland

This is the day the emigrant feels it most. In 2020 the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, put the Irish-born and Irish-descended worldwide at around 70 million (gov.ie). In the US alone, 32.4 million people claimed Irish ancestry in 2024 (US Census Bureau).

• Happy St Patrick’s Day from the other side of the world. Wish I was home.
• To everyone at home: have one for me. Happy Paddy’s Day.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day, Mam and Dad. I’m far away, but my heart’s in the kitchen with you.
• I left Ireland. Ireland never left me. Happy St Patrick’s Day.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day to the family in Ireland, from your cousins in America. We haven’t forgotten you.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day to everyone back home. We’re celebrating a few hours behind you, as usual.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day from Sydney. We started before you, so we’ve kept you a seat.
• Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin (neel ayn TIN-chawn mar duh HIN-chawn fayn). There’s no place like home. Happy St Patrick’s Day.
• To our son abroad: we’re wearing the green for you today. Come home soon.
• Happy St Patrick’s Day to the grandkids in America. You’re as Irish as the rest of us.
• Where in the world are you celebrating today? Wherever it is, Happy St Patrick’s Day.

That last one’s a real question. Tell me in the comments.

How to say Happy St Patrick’s Day in Irish

St Patrick’s Day is Lá Fhéile Pádraig. The fh is silent.

The official dictionary, focloir.ie, gives two textbook greetings. Most people use a third, built like Nollaig Shona (Happy Christmas), and so does the Irish government.

My sound guides are rough, and accents vary. In Munster, duit sounds like “ditch”. In Connacht it’s closer to “gwitch”. teanglann.ie has real audio.

• Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit! (law AY-leh PAW-drig SUN-ah ditch) Happy St Patrick’s Day, to one person.
• Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh! (law AY-leh PAW-drig SUN-ah DEE-iv) The same, to more than one person.
• Lá Fhéile Pádraig faoi mhaise duit! (law AY-leh PAW-drig fwee WASH-eh ditch) The focloir.ie version.
• Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig! (BAN-ukh-tee nuh FAY-leh PAW-drig) St Patrick’s Day blessings.
• Sláinte agus saol chugat! (SLAWN-cha AH-gus sayl KHUG-ut) Health and long life to you.
• Éire go brách! (AIR-eh guh BRAWKH) Ireland forever.
• Is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte. (iss far un TLAWN-cha naw nuh TAWN-cha) Health is better than wealth.
• Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine. (er skaw uh KHAY-leh uh WAR-un nuh DEE-neh) People live in each other’s shelter.

Céad míle fáilte (kayd MEE-leh FAWL-cha) means a hundred thousand welcomes, not a thousand, whatever the tea towel says (teanglann.ie). We’re generous like that.

When to send it, and how to sign off

The date

17 March, every year. It’s traditionally the date of Patrick’s death, says Britannica. In 2027 it’s a Wednesday.

It’s a public holiday in the Republic (Citizens Information) and a bank holiday in Northern Ireland (GOV.UK).

Mind the time difference

US clocks go forward on 14 March 2027, two weeks before Ireland’s. So on the day, New York is only 4 hours behind Ireland, Chicago 5 and Los Angeles 7 (timeanddate.com).

Sydney is 11 hours ahead, so its St Patrick’s Day starts at 1pm on the 16th, Irish time.

Shamrock or four-leaf clover?

The shamrock has three leaves, and it’s the symbol of the day. The four-leaf clover is just lucky. Mix them up in a card to an Irish granny and you’ll hear about it.

How to sign off

• Sláinte (SLAWN-cha): cheers. Safe for anyone.
• Beannachtaí (BAN-ukh-tee): blessings. Good for cards.
• Grá mór (graw more): lots of love. For family.
• Go raibh maith agat (guh rev mah AH-gut): thank you, if they wrote first.

Happy St Patrick’s Day messages FAQ

How do you say Happy St Patrick’s Day in Irish?

The common form is Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit (law AY-leh PAW-drig SUN-ah ditch), or sona daoibh to a group. The dictionary also gives Lá Fhéile Pádraig faoi mhaise duit.

Is it St Paddy’s Day or St Patty’s Day?

St Paddy’s. Paddy comes from Pádraig, the Irish form of Patrick, as the Paddy Not Patty campaign explains. Patty is short for Patricia, or a burger.

What do you write in a St Patrick’s Day card?

A warm wish, a blessing and a line of your own news. “May the luck of the day stay with you all year” suits almost anyone.

Can you say Happy St Patrick’s Day if you’re not Irish?

Of course. It’s a day for everyone, and the Irish are glad of the company. Just skip the “top o’ the mornin'”.

What is a good St Patrick’s Day quote?

The old Irish proverbs travel best. “Is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte” means health is better than wealth. “Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine” means people live in each other’s shelter, which suits any friend’s card.

More St Patrick’s Day reading

• Irish Blessings for St Patrick’s Day
• Irish Toasts for St Patrick’s Day
• Irish Sayings, Blessings and Proverbs
• The Best St Patrick’s Day Jokes
• Surprising St Patrick’s Day Facts
• How Many Days Until St Patrick’s Day?
• Why the Shamrock Is the Symbol of St Patrick’s Day

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