# 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:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/21 "2004-03-15T17:33:03Z")
His name is Liam, but his mates call him Don Quixote. He’s always tilting at Bushmill’s. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/22 "2004-03-15T19:07:47Z")
I got my folks Wise and Otherwise for x-mas. There are a lot of Irish sayings in there, but the only one I can specifically remember right now is: It’s hard to put pants on a cat. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/23 "2004-03-15T20:15:05Z")
My Irish grandfather used to tell me ther were two kinds of people in the world; Those who were Irish and those who wish they were Irish! " May the road rise up to meet you, May the wind always be at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rain fall soft upon your fields, And, until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of his hand." Peace! ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/24 "2004-03-15T20:47:54Z")
…And may you never accidentally try out your Latin on a Jesuit. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![verbenabeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c4cdca/32.png) [@verbenabeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verbenabeast)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2004, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/25 "2004-03-23T22:59:15Z")
**OttoDaFe** beat me to me favorite… Me dear Grandmother used ta say it… > [@](#): > > 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. then there’s > [@](#): > > Are there any of the girls here that have any Irish in them? Any of ya want a litttle MORE Irish in ya?! Which I first heard from Thin Lizzy singer Phil Lynott at a concert way back when… he prolly stole it from someone else, as I have stolen it from him, God rest him… ---
**Author:** ![JBENZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b77776/32.png) [@JBENZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBENZ)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2004, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/26 "2004-03-24T05:40:03Z")
“May the wind at yer back always be yer own.” Heard it (where else?) in South Boston. ---
**Author:** ![Badge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Badge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badge)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/27 "2004-03-27T12:46:32Z")
I’ve always thought that this was incredibly accurate: _The Great Gaels of Ireland Are the men that God made mad For all their wars are merry And all their songs are sad_ ---
**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 27, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/28 "2004-03-27T15:30:59Z")
Not a “saying,” but something I read years ago that illustrates the Irish mindset. Someone has put up a poster on a wall that says “Vote for Duffy.” Next to it someone (someone else, presumably) has scrawled, in huge letters, “And Ireland’s dead will rise and curse you!” ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/29 "2004-03-27T19:17:47Z")
An Irishman has an abiding sense of tragedy which sustains him through temporary periods of joy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Blaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2004, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/30 "2004-03-27T23:56:58Z")
Morning is the time to pity the sober. The way they’re feeling then is the best they’re going to feel all day. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/31 "2004-03-28T00:11:13Z")
“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.” I always thought this was a polka. —Irish, English, German, Polish, French, Norwegian, Native-American PictsiePat ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/32 "2004-03-28T01:35:22Z")
Ó lá go lá, mo thuras, An bealach fada romham. Ó oíche go hoíche, mo thuras, na scéalta nach mbeidh a choích’ (Translation: From day to day, my journey, The long pilgrimage before me. From night to night, my journey, The stories that will never be again.) * * * May your right hand always be stretched out in friendship. And never in want * * * If God sends you down a stony path, may he give you strong shoes ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/33 "2004-03-28T01:38:33Z")
May you live as long as you want, And never want as long as you live. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/34 "2004-03-28T05:46:46Z")
> [@Sonyadora](#): > > 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. Um…sorry, but that’s German. _Im Himmel gibt?s kein Bier, Drum trinken wir es hier. Denn sind wir nicht mehr hier, Dann trinken die andern unser Bier._ ---
**Author:** ![FreeRange\_Maniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/97f17d/32.png) [@FreeRange\_Maniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FreeRange_Maniac)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/35 "2004-03-28T07:35:51Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > May you live as long as you want, > And never want as long as you live. I always thought it was May you live as long as you want to, and want to as long as you live" Also The art of Irish diplomacy: telling someone to go to Hell in such a way as to make him look forward to the trip. And something my Irish mother always says: Sorry don’t feed the bulldog! ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/36 "2004-03-28T08:03:16Z")
Why did the Irish never try to conquer the world? We already have the best whiskey, and the most beautiful women. Tris ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049/37 "2004-03-28T23:42:18Z")
> [@Badge](#): > > I’ve always thought that this was incredibly accurate: > > _The Great Gaels of Ireland > Are the men that God made mad > For all their wars are merry > And all their songs are sad_ Reminds me of something from a Clancy Brothers album. Introducing one of the songs, one of them says, “Sheridan once wrote that Ireland is the land of happy wars and sad love songs.” Just then there’s some sort of disturbance; he interrupts himself and yells, “Hit 'em again, boy.” Pause. “That’s one of the happy wars starting.” Then he continues with his introduction. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-sayings-thread/234049.md?page=1)