# Irish sayings thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 13, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049 "2004-03-13T06:06:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/1 "2004-03-13T06:06:26Z")
We’re close to my favorite holiday, St. Patrick’s Day. I’m of Irish descent…and think those drunken Irish sayings just rock. I’ll start: – An Irishman is never drunk as long as He can hold onto one blade of grass and not Fall off the face of the earth. – I drink to your health when I’m with you, I drink to your health when I’m alone, I drink to your health so often, I’m starting to worry about my own. – I have known many, liked not a few loved only one so this toast’s for you! And, with the terrorist attack on Spain in mind: – May the grass grow long on the road to hell for want of use. Add your favorites, and I hope y’all have a safe and happy St. Patrick’s Day! ---
**Author:** ![acaveman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@acaveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acaveman)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/2 "2004-03-13T06:09:29Z")
\*\*WE’RE THE WINDY CITY IRISH WHERE THE CRAIC IS ALWAYS BEST WHERE EVERY DAY IS PADDYS DAY AND EVERYONE’S A GUEST SO IF YOU’RE IRISH ON THE NORTH SIDE OR IRISH ON THE WEST WELCOME TO THE SOUTH SIDE COME JOIN OUR IRISH FEST CHORUS: WE’RE THE SOUTH SIDE IRISH AS OUR FATHERS WERE BEFORE WE COME FROM THE WINDY CITY AND WE’RE IRISH TO THE CORE FROM BRIDGEPORT TO BEVERLY FROM MIDWAY TO SOUTH SHORE WE’RE THE SOUTH SIDE IRISH WE’LL SING IT OUT ONCE MORE OUR PARENTS CAME FROM MAYO FROM CORK AND DONEGAL WE COME FROM SABINAS ST. KILLIANS AND ST. GAUL ST. LEO VISITATION LITTLE FLOWER AND THE REST THE SOUTH SIDE PARISHES THEY’RE MIGHTY THEY’RE THE BEST WE LIVE ON THE SOUTH SIDE MAYOR DALEY LIVES HERE TOO HE’S THE GREATEST IRISH LEADER THAT CHICAGO EVER KNEW AND HE WAS ALWAYS SO PROUD OF HIS SOUTH SIDE IRISH ROOTS SO HERE’S TO HIS HONOR TO HIS MEMORY WE’LL BE TRUE SING THE SONGS OUR FATHERS SANG AS THEY WERE GROWING UP REBEL SONG OF ERIN’S ISLE IN A SOUTH SIDE IRISH PUB AND WHEN IT COMES TO BASEBALL WE HAVE TWO FAVORITE CLUBS THE GO GO WHITE SOX AND WHOEVER PLAYS THE CUBS \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/3 "2004-03-13T06:42:14Z")
My eyes, my eyes!! Heh. Thanks, **acaveman!** If the whole human race lay in one grave, the epitaph on its headstone might well be: `It seemed a good idea at the time.’ –Dame Rebecca West (1892-1983) Irish-born author and journalist May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, May good luck pursue you each morning and night. –Irish saying ---
**Author:** ![acaveman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@acaveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/acaveman)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/4 "2004-03-13T07:17:23Z")
sorry. On my site [size=5 only results in 5 on a scale of 20 based off of 2. Sorry. 🙂 Good thread. The quotes are fitting. Someone please fix. We’re the South Side Irish… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/5 "2004-03-13T20:01:54Z")
May those that love us, love us. And those that don’t love us, May God turn their hearts. And if He doesn’t turn their hearts, May He turn their ankles So we will know them by their limping. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/6 "2004-03-13T20:03:27Z")
“It’s not a meal without a potato” (Not a joke - my Gran held this as a God-given truth) ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/7 "2004-03-13T20:46:44Z")
[An Irish Mother’s Letter to her Son.](http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Docks/3235/printablepages/irish.html) I swear, my grandmother would say simarly odd things and mean them. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/8 "2004-03-13T20:52:22Z")
Oooh, forgot this one: "Tea? Tea? Tea? Tea? Tea? Tea? Tea? Tea? Tea? Tea? Tea? Tea? Tea? " ---
**Author:** ![VanLandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/eb9ed0/32.png) [@VanLandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanLandry)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/9 "2004-03-13T20:56:32Z")
From a Bass commercial currently running… A few things you’ll never hear an Irish person say on St. Patricks Day… “The Americans are right… we should just call it Soccer.” “No one in my family has ever owned a pub” “Personally, I think Oscar Wilde is waay overrated” “Y’know… I’ve never been in this pub before” “Actually, I’ve never found redheads attractive” “Liam, that’s quite a golden tan you got goin’ there.” “You guys want to go clubing later” There were a couple more but those are the ones I remember. ---
**Author:** ![bittersweet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@bittersweet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bittersweet)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/10 "2004-03-13T21:04:30Z")
This is one I like very much: \*\*An Old Irish Blessing \*\* May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand. * * * And this one is just plain funny: \*\*The Mouse on the Barroom Floor \*\* Some Guinness was spilled on the barroom floor when the pub was shut for the night. Out of his hole crept a wee brown mouse and stood in the pale moonlight. He lapped up the frothy brew from the floor, then back on his haunches he sat. And all night long you could hear him roar, ‘Bring on the goddam cat!’ * * * I want to visit Ireland so badly I can _taste_ it. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/11 "2004-03-13T21:37:07Z")
My Irish-American Great uncle had one that definitely applies to him: “If you want an Irishman to make a speech just put a doorknob in his hand”. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/12 "2004-03-13T21:45:37Z")
Is May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead? Irish? ---
**Author:** ![Sonyadora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Sonyadora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonyadora)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/13 "2004-03-13T21:56:51Z")
In Heaven there is no beer. That’s why we drink it here. And when we’re gone from here, Our friends will be drinking all the beer. In order to converse with his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2004, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/14 "2004-03-13T23:22:47Z")
> [@j66](#): > > Is > > May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead? > > Irish? it’s a ‘corruption’ of the Irish Blessing listed earlier - “may the road rise to meet you” … only instead of saying “may God hold you in the palm of his hand” you’d say “and may ye be in heaven a half an hour before the divil knows ye’r dead!” Slainte! ---
**Author:** ![SwimmingRiddles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SwimmingRiddles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingRiddles)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/15 "2004-03-14T00:21:47Z")
My mother is wont to say “You can’t be Irish without knowing the world will break your heart by the time you’re 30.” It was profound at first, but now it’s just annoying. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/16 "2004-03-14T02:08:07Z")
> [@Lobelia Overhill](#): > > it’s a ‘corruption’ of the Irish Blessing listed earlier - It’s always been my favorite; does that mean I’m corrupted? ---
**Author:** ![daniel801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@daniel801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daniel801)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/17 "2004-03-14T02:36:40Z")
**SwimmingRiddles** , I believe that’s from what Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said after JFK’s assassination: “To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will break your heart.” Others: Being Irish, my enduring sense of the human tragedy sustains me through temporary bouts of joy. –W.B. Yeats Quid distat inter sottum et Scottum? (What separates a fool from an Irishman?) Tabula Tantum. (Only the table.) –During dinner, Emperor Charles the Bald’s question, then Eriugena’s response God invented whiskey to keep the Irish from ruling the world. –Ed McMahon ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/18 "2004-03-14T03:48:09Z")
> [@j66](#): > > It’s always been my favorite; does that mean I’m corrupted? kuh, if you have to ask … ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/19 "2004-03-14T06:32:43Z")
The reason the Irish fight among themselves is that they have no other worthy opponents. ---
**Author:** ![NothingMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b77776/32.png) [@NothingMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NothingMan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/20 "2004-03-14T17:36:53Z")
As me dear departed Irish great-grandma used to opine: “May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, the foresight to know where you’re going - and the foresight to know when you’ve gone too far!” I have found the phrase to be even more appropriate whilst drinking copious amounts of whiskey. Have a great St. Paddy’s Day all! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049.md?page=2)