A Hundred Thousand Welcomes

We’ve all heard of the charming Irishman, with the gift of the gab, who steals away the hearts of fair maidens in the tales of old. The Irish certainly do have a way with words! Here are some our favourite bits of Irish wisdom and old fashioned curses…

WISDOM

Gaelic: Is minic a bhris béal duine a shrón

English: Many a time a man’s mouth broke his nose

Gaelic: An té a bhíónn siúlach, bíonn scéalach

English: He who travels has stories to tell.

Gaelic: Is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte.

English: Health is better than wealth

Gaelic: ‘Is fearr airgead a chaitheamh mar nach bhfuil amárach ann ná a chaitheamh anocht mar nach bhfuil aon airgead ann!

English: ‘Tis better to spend money like there’s no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there’s no money!

Gaelic: Is fearr lán doirn de cheird ná lán mála

English: A handful of skill is better than a bagful of gold

Gaelic: Is í an eagna an cíor a thugtar do dhuine tar éis dó a chuid gruaige a chailliúint.

English: Wisdom is the comb given to a man after he has lost his hair.

INSULTS

Gaelic: Go n-ithe an cat thú is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat

English: May the cat eat you, and may the devil eat the cat

Gaelic: Go ndéana an diabhal dréimire do chnámh do dhroma

English: May the devil make a ladder out of your spine

Gaelic: Ualach sé chapall de chré na h-úire ort

English: May six horseloads of graveyard clay fall upon you

Gaelic: Féadfaidh tú na beacha a fháil ach níl an mil

English: May you find the bees but not the honey

One of the best all-time Irish curses ever levied is from the rebel song Nell Flaherty’s Drake:
May his pipe never smoke,
may his teapot be broke,
and to add to the joke
may his kettle not boil,
may he lay in the bed
’till the moment he’s dead
may he always be fed on lob-scouse and fish oil,
may he swell with the gout,
may his grinders fall out,
may he roar, bawl and shout,
with the horrid toothache.
May his temples wear horns,
and all his toes corns,
the monster that murdered Nell Flaherty’s drake.

We hope you have enjoyed this small selection of Irish sayings and curses. If you’d like to learn some more, we recommend you fly free to Dublin on our: Shamrock Express offer with Adventure Canada (departs 7th June 2019) and start collecting your own.

Bibliography sources: http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/Quotes/ProvbsSayings.html | https://www.dailyedge.ie/irish-insults-ranked-1355761-Mar2014/ | https://www.gaelicmatters.com/famous-irish-sayings.html | https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/abroad/54-irish-curses-you-won-t-have-learned-in-school-1.3011527

Images courtesy of the Irish Tourist Board/Tourism Ireland – Brian Morrison, Holger Leue, Molly Gallivans.