Irish Sayings About Love: Phrases, Blessings and Quotes in Irish

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Personally, I love a great love story. So I have done some digging and compiled this list of Irish sayings about love.

Every Irish spelling here has been checked against Ó Dónaill’s dictionary on teanglann.ie and the New English-Irish Dictionary on focloir.ie.

Jump to:

• How to say I love you in Irish
• Irish terms of endearment: mo ghrá, a stór and a chuisle
• Anam cara meaning: an old word with a new sense
• Irish sayings about love and marriage
• Irish wedding blessings and toasts
• Irish blessings for Valentine’s Day
• Love quotes from Irish writers
• What to write in a card
• St Valentine’s relics in Dublin
• The Claddagh ring
• Irish love sayings FAQ

How to say I love you in Irish

These are the ones people ask me for most, for cards, rings and tattoos. The pronunciations are rough, and Donegal, Connemara and Kerry will each say them a little differently.

Irish doesn’t usually say “I love you” with a single verb. Love is something you have “at” you for someone.

Irish	Say it	Meaning
Is tú mo ghrá	iss TOO muh GHRAW	You are my love. The one to learn first.
Tá grá agam duit	taw GRAW AG-um ditch	I love you. Literally “there is love at me for you”.
Mo ghrá thú!	muh GHRAW hoo	I love you! Ó Dónaill’s dictionary gives this one directly.
Tá mé i ngrá leat	taw may ih NGRAW lat	I’m in love with you.
Tá mo chroí istigh ionat	taw muh KHREE ish-TIG UN-ut	My heart is in you. As strong as it gets.
Beidh grá agam duit go deo	bay GRAW AG-um ditch guh JOH (beg in Munster)	I’ll love you forever.

The “gh” in ghrá is soft and throaty. A plain “graw” will still be understood.

Irish terms of endearment: mo ghrá, a stór and a chuisle

These are the pet names, used the way you’d say “love” or “darling” in English.

Irish	Say it	Meaning
mo ghrá / a ghrá	muh GHRAW / a GHRAW	my love; love, dear
a stór	a STORE	darling. Stór means treasure.
a chuisle mo chroí	a KHUSH-la muh KHREE	pulse of my heart; my heart’s beloved
a ghrá geal	a GHRAW gyal	my dearest. Literally “bright love”.
grá mo chroí	GRAW muh KHREE	love of my heart; my darling
mo mhuirnín	muh WUR-neen	my darling, my sweetheart
a thaisce	a HASH-ka	my dear. Taisce is another word for treasure.
m’anamchara	MAN-um KHAR-a	my soul friend (see below)
grá go deo	GRAW guh JOH	love forever. Grammatical, but a modern pairing rather than an old set phrase.

Why “mo ghrá” but “grá”? Irish changes the start of a word after certain little words. After “mo” (my) or the calling word “a”, grá becomes ghrá and croí becomes chroí. It’s called lenition, and it’s where most online spellings go wrong.

Mo ghrá meaning

Mo ghrá simply means “my love”.

When you’re speaking to the person directly, you’d more often say “a ghrá”. Think “love” at the end of a sentence in Cork: “Put the kettle on, a ghrá.”

A chuisle mo chroí meaning

Cuisle means a vein or a pulse. So a chuisle mo chroí is literally “pulse of my heart”. Ó Dónaill’s dictionary glosses it as “my heart’s beloved”.

A lot of people find this one through the film Million Dollar Baby (2004). In it, the phrase is spelled “mo cuishle”, and the film gives it as “my darling, and my blood”.

Lovely sentiment, shaky spelling. The correct Irish is mo chuisle (my pulse), or a chuisle when you’re calling someone.

Old anglicised forms

You may know some of these English spellings from old songs:

• machree is mo chroí, “my heart”.
• acushla or macushla is a chuisle or mo chuisle, “pulse” or “darling”.
• asthore is a stór, “treasure”.
• mavourneen is mo mhuirnín, “my darling”.

Anam cara meaning: an old word with a new sense

Anam is soul and cara is friend. Put together, anam cara means “soul friend”. Standard Irish writes it as one word, anamchara, and “my soul friend” is m’anamchara.

You’ll see “mo anam cara” all over the internet, including, I’m afraid, on an older version of this page. Before a vowel, mo shortens to m’.

Ó Dónaill’s dictionary gives anamchara as “spiritual adviser”. In the early Irish church, a person’s anamchara was a spiritual guide, someone you confided in and confessed to.

The romantic “soulmate” sense is mostly modern. It took off after Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom by John O’Donohue, a poet and philosopher from Co. Clare.

The book came out in 1997 and became a word-of-mouth bestseller, as the Guardian’s obituary of O’Donohue put it. O’Donohue died suddenly in his sleep near Avignon, France, on 4 January 2008, aged 52.

Today focloir.ie does list anamchara as the Irish for soulmate. So the meaning has moved, and that’s fine. Just don’t call it ancient romance.

Irish sayings about love and marriage

The ones marked “popular” are sayings I couldn’t trace to a written source.

Irish	Say it	Meaning
An bpósfaidh tú mé?	un BOHS-hee too may	Will you marry me?
Tabhair póg dom	TOOR pohg dum	Give me a kiss.
Níl aon leigheas ar an ngrá ach pósadh	neel AYN LYE-us er un NGRAW okh POH-sa	The only cure for love is marriage.
M’anam ionat!	MAN-um UN-ut	My dearest! Literally “my soul in you”.
Ní bheidh do leithéid arís ann	nee vay duh leh-HAYD a-REESH own	Your like will never be seen again. Also carved on gravestones, so mind the context.
Nuair a bhíos tuirse orm is tú mo scíth	NOO-ir a VEE-us TUR-sha OR-um iss TOO muh SHKEE	When I’m tired, you are my rest. A popular saying.
Pós bean oileáin agus pósfaidh tú an t-oileán ar fad	pohs ban IL-awn AH-gus POHS-hee too un TIL-awn er fod	Marry an island woman and you marry the whole island. A popular saying.

Which of these Irish sayings about love is your favourite? For me, it has to be An bpósfaidh tú mé?, as it would be a great way to propose.

Irish wedding blessings and toasts

Feel free to use these in your speeches. A line of Irish in a wedding toast goes down well.

In Irish

Go maire sibh bhur saol nua (guh MWIR-uh shiv vur seel NOO-a). May you live long in your new life. Gaelchultúr, the Irish-language training company, gives it as a wedding wish.

Comhghairdeas libh! (KOH-ar-jus liv). Congratulations, said to more than one person. Ideal for the happy couple.

Sliocht sleachta ar shliocht bhur sleachta (shlukht SHLAKH-ta er HLUKHT vur SHLAKH-ta). May you have children, and your children have children. Gaelchultúr calls it a wedding tongue twister, and they’re not wrong.

Croí folláin agus gob fliuch (kree fuh-LAWN AH-gus gub FLUKH). A healthy heart and a wet mouth. It’s a toast, so the wet mouth means a drink in your hand.

Fad saoil agat, gob fliuch, agus bás in Éirinn (fod SEEL AG-ut, gub FLUKH, AH-gus BAWS in AY-rin). Long life to you, a wet mouth, and death in Ireland.

It’s a popular toast wishing a long life, plenty of drink and burial at home.

In English

The best-known Irish blessing of all is “May the road rise to meet you”. It isn’t strictly romantic, but it’s a fine way to close a wedding speech. The traditional core goes like this:

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.

I’ve a whole page on what “May the road rise up to meet you” means.

And for the lighter end of the speech, there’s this anonymous joke toast. I got a good ole chuckle from this little Irish saying.

Irish blessings for Valentine’s Day

Rather than sharing hundreds of Irish blessings with you, I thought it would be better to give you a few good ones. Valentine’s Day 2027 falls on a Sunday.

This one is widely called a traditional Irish blessing. Nobody seems to know where it started, so call it a popular one:

May you always have walls for the winds,
a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire.
Laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,
and all your heart might desire.

A few short Irish lines work well on their own in a Valentine’s card:

• Grá go deo (GRAW guh JOH): love forever.
• Is tú mo ghrá (iss TOO muh GHRAW): you are my love.
• Beidh grá agam duit go deo (bay GRAW AG-um ditch guh JOH): I’ll love you forever.
• Grá mo chroí (GRAW muh KHREE): love of my heart.

For a laugh rather than a swoon, my favourite Irish saying for St Patrick’s Day works just as well in February. Who burns in the sun and smiles in the rain? The Irish!

Love quotes from Irish writers

Plenty of “Irish love quotes” online are by Burns, Brontë or Rossetti. “You are the poem in my heart” is often pinned on Yeats, but I can’t find it in any of his poems or plays.

Here are real lines from Irish writers, checked against the original texts.

W.B. Yeats

“He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven” first appeared, as “Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven”, in The Wind Among the Reeds (1899).

The speaker would spread the heavens’ cloths under his love’s feet, but he’s poor. So he spreads his dreams instead, and ends:

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

“When You Are Old” (1892) is widely read as written for Maud Gonne. These are the two lines people quote.

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face…

You’ll find more of his in my 12 Irish love poems.

Oscar Wilde

“Who, being loved, is poor?” That’s Hester in A Woman of No Importance (1893).

“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” That’s Lord Goring in An Ideal Husband (1895). It’s a joke about vanity, so maybe not for the wedding card.

James Joyce

“Love loves to love love.” From Ulysses (1922). Short enough for a ring.

J.M. Synge

In The Playboy of the Western World (1907), Christy promises Pegeen she’ll “feel my two hands stretched around you, and I squeezing kisses on your puckered lips”. Romantic, and a bit cheeky.

George Bernard Shaw

“First love is only a little foolishness and a lot of curiosity.” Broadbent says it in John Bull’s Other Island (1904).

Later writers

Patrick Kavanagh’s “On Raglan Road” and Seamus Heaney’s love poems are still in copyright, so look them up. They’re worth it.

What to write in a card

The simplest formula: one line of Irish, the English underneath, then your own words. Keep the Irish short.

A few ideas:

• Valentine’s: “Is tú mo ghrá. You are my love. Still, after all these years and all those dishes.”
• Anniversary: “Nuair a bhíos tuirse orm is tú mo scíth. When I’m tired, you are my rest.”
• Wedding: “Go maire sibh bhur saol nua. Long life and happiness in your new life together.”
• Far away: “A chuisle mo chroí. Pulse of my heart, no matter how many miles.”

And if anyone asks where you found them, you could just mention “I got it from Stephen at irisharoundtheworld.com”. Haha, joking, of course!

St Valentine’s relics in Dublin

Remains said to be St Valentine’s are kept in Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin’s city centre.

According to the Carmelites, the Carmelite priest John Spratt visited Rome in 1835. Pope Gregory XVI gave him the relics. Spratt was also the man behind the building of Whitefriar Street Church.

The Carmelites say the relics arrived in Dublin on 10 November 1836. They were carried in solemn procession to Whitefriar Street, where Archbishop Murray received them.

After Spratt died, interest faded and the relics went into storage. According to the Carmelites, they came back to prominence during a renovation in the 1950s and 60s, with a new altar and shrine. The statue is by Irene Broe.

Britannica lists a vessel tinged with his blood among the relics at Whitefriar Street.

The Carmelites say 14 February is always a busy day there, with couples coming to pray at the shrine.

Who was St Valentine?

Nobody’s sure. Britannica says he may be one or two legendary 3rd-century martyrs: a Roman priest or a bishop of Terni.

He was taken off the general Church calendar in 1969 for lack of reliable information, but he’s still a saint.

The Claddagh ring

The Claddagh ring shows two hands holding a crowned heart: love, loyalty and friendship.

Britannica says it comes from the Claddagh, an old fishing village beside Galway city. The most popular story credits Richard Joyce, a Claddagh man said to have learned goldsmithing as a captive in Algiers in the late 1600s.

By custom, worn on the left ring finger with the heart facing out, it means engaged. Facing in, it means married.

I’ve the full story, and how to wear it, in my guide to the Claddagh ring meaning.

Irish love sayings FAQ

How do you say “I love you” in Irish?

The most common ways are Tá grá agam duit (taw GRAW AG-um ditch) and Is tú mo ghrá (iss TOO muh GHRAW), “you are my love”.

What does a chuisle mo chroí mean?

It means “pulse of my heart”, or “my heart’s beloved”. Cuisle is a pulse or vein. The film Million Dollar Baby spelled it “mo cuishle”, but the correct Irish is mo chuisle or a chuisle.

What does mo ghrá mean, and how do you say it?

Mo ghrá means “my love”. Say it muh GHRAW, with a soft throaty “gh”. Speaking to the person directly, you’d usually say a ghrá.

What does anam cara mean? Is it an old Irish phrase?

It means “soul friend”. The word anamchara is old, but it meant a spiritual guide in the early Irish church. The romantic soulmate sense spread after John O’Donohue’s 1997 book Anam Cara.

What is a traditional Irish wedding blessing?

“May the road rise to meet you” is the best known. In Irish, Go maire sibh bhur saol nua (may you live long in your new life) and Comhghairdeas libh (congratulations) are lovely in a card or speech.

Are St Valentine’s remains really in Dublin?

Relics said to be his are kept at Whitefriar Street Church. Pope Gregory XVI gave them to the Carmelite John Spratt, and they arrived in 1836. Couples visit the shrine every 14 February.

Thanks for stopping by, and have an amazing day.

Stephen Palmer

More Irish love and romance reading

• 12 Irish Love Poems
• Claddagh Ring Meaning: How to Wear It
• The Celtic Love Knot
• Top 10 Irish Toasts
• Best Valentine’s Day Wishes
• May the Road Rise Up to Meet You: Meaning

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