150 Incredible And Unique Irish Sayings And Irish Blessings

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I love Irish sayings! For hundreds of years, Irish people worldwide have shared these pieces of wisdom, including Irish blessings and even Irish prayers. Maybe you are looking for an old Irish blessing or some funny Irish sayings. Well, I have put together the best Irish sayings and Irish wisdom. I hope you enjoy it and be sure to share. 

Irish sayings by occasion

• Irish blessings (23)
• Irish proverbs about life and luck (61)
• Irish sayings about friends, family and home (11)
• Funny Irish sayings (6)
• Irish sayings about love and weddings (10)
• Irish toasts for raising a glass (8)
• Irish sayings for St Patrick’s Day (6)

Looking for something specific? I have separate posts for Irish birthday blessings, Irish Christmas blessings, Irish New Year blessings, Irish proverbs, Irish greetings and how to say cheers in Irish.

Irish blessings

The classic “May the road rise up to meet you” family. These are the ones to write in a card, read at a christening or say over a pint.

1. May the road rise up to meet you.
2. May you get all your wishes but one so that you will always have something to strive for!
3. May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.
4. May the cat eat you, and may the devil eat the cat.
5. May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.
6. May you only grow old in the face. Be treasured and cared for with grace. Lovely Irish blessing
7. May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, the foresight to know where you are going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far.
8. May the saddest day of your future be no worse than the happiest day of your past.
9. Grandchildren are gifts of God. It is God’s way of compensating us for growing old ~ Irish Sayings.
10. May the roof above you never fall in, and those gathered beneath it never fall out.
11. May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty!
12. May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up.
13. May you be at the gates of heaven an hour before the devil knows you’re dead!
14. God is good but never dance in a small boat.
15. God made time, but man-made haste.
16. The one thing we Irish have is the ability to laugh at ourselves. God bless us all. –Ann Kennedy
17. “May peace and plenty be the first to lift the latch to your door, and happiness be your guest today and evermore.” —Irish blessing
18. Dia leat! (This blessing is said when someone sneezes. It is pronounced Dee-ah laht.) 
19. May there be rain at your funeral.
20. May God level the road for his soul
21. “May you be poor in misfortunes and rich in blessings.”
22. May the roof over your head be always strong.
23. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

Irish proverbs about life and luck

Old Irish wisdom, most of it older than anyone can trace. Short, dry and usually right.

1. Don’t be breaking your shin on a stool that’s not in your way.
2. There’s no need to fear the wind if your haystacks are tied down.
3. Tis better to spend money like there’s no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there’s no money!
4. A kind word never broke anyone’s mouth.
5. A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.
6. He is bad that will not take advice, but he is a thousand times worse that takes every advice. —Irish proverb
7. A little fire that warms is better than a big fire that burns.
8. You’ll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind.
9. There is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
10. Lie down with dogs and you’ll rise with fleas.
11. Always remember that hindsight is the best insight to foresight.
12. The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune.
13.  In every land, hardness is in the north, softness in the south, industry in the east, and fire and inspiration in the west.
14. Men are like bagpipes – no sound comes from them until they are full.
15. Life is like a cup of tea; it’s all in how you make it! Irish Saying 
    
16. Ireland is a land of poets and legends, of dreamers and rebels.” –Nora Roberts.
17. If you buy what you don’t need, you might have to sell what you do.
18. If your messenger is slow, go to meet him.
19. If it’s drowning you’re after, don’t torment yourself with shallow water.
20. A man’s got to do what a man has got to do. Women must do what they can’t
21. Do not resent growing old. Many are denied the privilege.
22. Here’s to eyes in your heads and none in your spuds.
23. Forgetting a debt doesn’t mean it’s paid.
24. I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.
25. Beautiful young people are acts of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.
26. Two people shorten the road.
27. A face without freckles is like a sky without stars
28. A misty winter brings a pleasant spring, a pleasant winter a misty spring.
29. He who has water and peat on his own farm has the world his own way.
30. A cabin with plenty of food is better than a hungry castle
31. Beware of the anger of a patient man
32. Wisdom is the comb given to a man after he has lost his hair.
33. It’s better to pay the butcher than the doctor
34. Although wisdom is good in the beginning, it is better at the end.
35. However long the day, the evening will come – Irish Sayings
36. Don’t fear an ill wind if your haystacks are tied down
37. The man who has luck in the morning has luck in the afternoon.
38. For the whole world is Irish on the Seventeenth o’ March! –Thomas Augustine Daly
39. The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself. – Douglas McArthur
40. Oh, March 17th, the day when the whole world is Irish for 24 hours. – Famous Irish quote from Stephen Palmer
41. Being Irish is very much a part of who I am. I take it everywhere with me. –
    Colin Farrell
     
42. Through the storms of life, may the only thing brewing be your coffee – old Irish sayings 
43. There is no luck except where there is discipline – Irish Proverb 
44. There is luck in leisure.—short Irish sayings about luck
45. When people don’t believe in you, you have to believe in yourself.  —Irish quotes from Pierce Brosnan
46. “Ireland has one of the world’s heaviest rainfalls. If you see an Irishman with a tan, it’s rust.” – Irish quotes from Dave Allen. 
47. Some Irish Gaelic sayings: Is fearr Gaeilge briste, ná Béarla clíste.Pronounce: Iss faar Gay-el-geh brish-teh naw Bay-er-lah clish-teh Broken Irish is better than clever English.
48. An té a bhíónn siúlach, bíonn scéalach.Pronounce: On tay a vee-on shoo-loch(k), bee-on skay-loch(k)He who travels has stories to tell.
49. Some funny Irish sayings: It is not a secret after three people know it.
    
50. Every cock crows boldly in his own farmyard.
51. The one who opens his mouth the most, it is he who opens his purse the least.
52. He who’s not strong, has to be able to run well 
53. Is minic a chealg briathra míne cailín críonna.
    Many a prudent girl has led astray with sweet words – old Irish saying
54. Is fearr an t-imreas ná an t-uaigneas.
    The argument is better than the loneliness.
55. Mo stór
    Pronounce: Muh store 
    My darling (also)
56. Irish Greetings: Tá mé go maith:
    • Pronunciation: taw may goh mah
    • Meaning: This response means “I am well.”
57. Pronunciation: taw may goh mah
58. Meaning: This response means “I am well.”
59. Irish Birthday Greetings: Lá breithe shona duit!
    • Pronunciation: law breh-heh hun-uh ditch
    • Meaning: This is a traditional way to say “Happy Birthday!” in Irish.
60. Pronunciation: law breh-heh hun-uh ditch
61. Meaning: This is a traditional way to say “Happy Birthday!” in Irish.

Irish sayings about friends, family and home

For the people who matter. Good for a retirement card, a housewarming or a wedding speech.

1. A best friend is like a four-leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have.
2. You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was
3. Who keeps his tongue keeps his friends.
4. It is often that a person’s mouth broke his nose.
5. A family of Irish birth will argue and fight, but let a shout come from without and see them all unite.
6. Here’s to you and here’s to me, I pray that friends we’ll always be, but if by chance we disagree, the heck with you and here’s to me.” –Irish Toast.
7. The old person is a child twice – old
8. A friend’s eye is a good mirror
9. The only sure thing about luck is that it will change.~Wilson Mizner
10. You can take a man of Ireland, but you can’t take out the Irishness of the man. – Tyson Fury
11. It is often a blind person caught a hare.

Funny Irish sayings

The Irish way of saying something serious without looking like you mean it.

What butter and whiskey won’t cure, there is no cure for – Irish saying

1. Every man is sociable until a cow invades his garden.
2. Never scald your lips with another man’s porridge.
3. All the world’s a stage, and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.
4. It is better to be a coward for a minute than dead for the rest of your life
5. The cat is always dignified until the dog comes by – Irish saying
6. Here’s to a fellow who smiles When life runs along like a song. And here’s to the lad who can smile when everything goes dead wrong. Irish Saying

Irish sayings about love and weddings

Irish blessings for a bride and groom, an anniversary or a Valentine’s card. There are more in my post on Irish sayings about love.

1. May your heart be light and happy, may your smile be big and wide, and may your pockets always have a coin or two inside!
2. A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.
3. It’s easy to halve the potato where there’s love.
4. Here’s to me, and here’s to you. And here’s to love and laughter. I’ll be true as long as you. And not one moment after.
5. The best things in life are the people we love, the places we have been and the memories we have made along the way.
6. If he went to a wedding, he’d wait for the christening.
7. We may have bad weather in Ireland, but the sun shines in the hearts of the people, and that keeps us all warm. – Marianne Williamson
8. Marry a woman from the mountain, and you will marry the entire mountain
9. Some Irish wedding sayings: Is maith an bhean í ach níor bhain sí a bróga di go fóill.
   She is a good wife, but she has not taken off her shoes yet. (she hasn’t been tested yet)
10. Traditional Irish house blessing:
    God bless the corners of this house
    And be the lintel blessed.
    Bless the hearth, the table too
    And bless each place of rest.
    Bless each door that opens wide
    To stranger, kith and kin;
    Bless each shining window-pane
    That lets the sunshine in.
    Bless the roof-tree up above
    Bless every solid wall.
    The peace of Man, the peace of love,
    The peace of God on all.

Irish toasts for raising a glass

Say “Sláinte!” first, then one of these. My full list is in top 10 Irish toasts.

1. Nuair a bhíonn an fíon istigh, bíonn an ciall amuigh.Pronounce: Nuh-ar a vee-on fee-on iss-chih, bee-on an keel am-wih.When the wine is in, the sense is out (There’s no sense to someone who’s drunk)
2. A pint of plain is your only man. It’s the refrain of Flann O’Brien’s comic poem about a workman whose luck keeps running out. Here’s the story behind it.
3. Let’s be drinking! Beimid ag ól!
   (Pronounced Beh-mid egg ole)
   – One I have used before, haha 
4. “May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience, and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint!”
5. Irish Toasts: May the winds of fortune sail you,
   May you sail a gentle sea.
   May it always be the other guy
   who says, ‘this drink’s on me.’
6. I drink to your health when I’m with you, my friend,
   I drink to your health when I’m alone,
   I drink to your health so often,
   I’m starting to worry about my own!

7. May your glass be ever full.

   May the roof over your head be always strong.

   And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

8. May your glass be ever full.

Irish sayings for St Patrick’s Day

Shamrocks, leprechauns and luck. For the 17th of March, see also 17 Irish blessings for St Patrick’s Day.

1. For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way: Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day.” —Irish blessing.
2. May your thoughts be as glad as the shamrocks.
   May your heart be as light as a song.
   May each day bring you bright, happy hours that stay with you all year long.
3. The leprechauns made me do it! – Unknown
4. Every St. Patrick’s Day, every Irishman goes out to find another Irishman to make a speech to. –Shane Leslie
5. St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic. – Adrienne Cook
6. Yeah, it’s St. Paddy’s Day. Everyone’s Irish tonight. – Norman Reedus, ‘The Boondock Saints
7. May your troubles be less, your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door.
8. May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends beneath it never fall out.
9. There are only two kinds of people in the world: the Irish, and those who wish they were.

Which of these Irish sayings is your favourite?

Hard to decide; so many have such significant meanings. Be sure to share these Irish sayings with friends, enemies, and those who need them.

If you enjoyed Irish sayings, you would love my post on the 17 Irish blessings here.  If you are still after a few more Irish sayings, then this post on Irish sayings about love will melt your heart. The article also includes Irish toasts. 

You can also enjoy this short video I made of Irish sayings.

I also enjoyed this Irish proverb; you can click on it to share it on your Pinterest board:

Or, for some more great Irish proverbs, read this post. And if you want famous lines from named Irish writers, here are 50 Irish quotes and who really said them.

Thanks for reading,

Stephen

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