What shall I say about the Irish?
The utterly impractical, never predictable,
Something irascible, quite inexplicable, Irish.
Strange blend of shyness, pride and conceit
And stubborn refusal to bow in defeat.
He's spoiling and ready to argue and fight,
Yet the smile of a child fills his soul with delight.
His eyes are the quickest to well up in tears,
Yet his strength is the strongest to banish your fears.
His faith is as fierce as his devotion is grand
And there's no middle ground on which he will stand.
He's wild and he's gentle, he's good and he's bad,
He's proud and he's humble, he's happy and sad.
He's in love with the ocean, the earth and the skies,
He's enamored with beauty wherever it lies.
He's victor and victim, a star and a clod,
But mostly he's Irish and in love with his God.
May your health be like the capital of Ireland--
Always Dublin!
May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.
Ireland, sir, for good or evil,
No other place under Heaven.
And no man can touch its sod
Or breathe its air without becoming
Better or worse.
Now sweetly lies old Ireland
Emerald green beyond the foam,
Awakening sweet memories,
Calling the heart back home.
May the luck of the Irish possess you.
May the devil fly off with your worries.
May God bless you forever and ever.
An Ghaeilge
Is mise an Ghaeilge
Is mise do theanga
Is mise do chultúr
D'Úsáid na Filí mé
D'Úsáid na huaisle
D'Úsáid na daoine mé
is d'Úsáid na lenaí
Go bródúil a bhí siad
Agus mise faoi réim.
Ach tháinig an strainséir
Chuir sé faoi chois mé
Is rud ní ba mheasa
Nior mhaith le mo chlann mé
Anois táim lag
Anois táim tréith
Ach fós táim libh
Is beidh mé go beo.
Tóg suas mo cheann
Cuir áthas ar mo chroí
Labhraígí mé
Ó labhraígí mé!
The Irish Language
I am Irish
I am your language
I am your culture
The poets used me
The nobles used me
The people used me
and the children used me
Proud they were
And I flourished
But the stranger came
He suppressed me
Something worse than that was
my own people rejected me
Now I am weak
Now I am feeble
But still I am with you
and I will be forever.
Raise up my head
Put joy in my heart
Speak me
Oh speak me!
May the luck of the Irish
Lead to happiest heights And the highway you travel
Be lined with green lights.
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.
May the enemies of Ireland never meet a friend.
An Irish method for tackling problems:
There comes a time when you must take the bull
By the tail and face the situation squarely.
In order to find his equal,
an Irishman is forced to talk to God.
What is Irish diplomacy?
It's the ability to tell a man to go to hell,
So that he will look forward to making the trip.
An old Irish recipe for longevity:
Leave the table hungry. Leave the bed sleepy.
Leave the table thirsty.
The reason the Irish are always fighting each other
Is they have no other worthy opponents.
God invented whiskey so the Irish wouldn't rule the world.
Here's to good Irish friends
Never above you
Never below you
Always beside you
Here's to women of the Irish shore;
I love but one, I love not more.
But since she's not here to drink her part,
I'll drink her share with all my heart.
Ireland, it's the one place on earth
That heaven has kissed
With melody, mirth,
And meadow and mist.
If you're enough lucky to be Irish...
You're lucky enough!
Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.
May your heart be warm and happy
With the lilt of Irish laughter
Every day in every way
And forever and ever after.
Now sweetly lies old Ireland
Emerald green beyond the foam,
Awakening sweet memories,
Calling the heart back home.
Bless your little Irish heart--
and every other Irish part.
Marry a mountain girl
and you marry the whole mountain.
--Irish Proverb
Ireland is where strange tales begin
and happy endings are possible.
God then made man.
The Italian for their beauty.
The French for fine food.
The Swedes for intelligence.
The Jew for religion.
And on and on until he looked at what
he had created and said,
"This is all very fine but no one is having fun.
I guess I'll have to make me an Irishman."
There's the joy of ole' Killarney, in these wishes meant for you;
There's a bit of Irish blarney, and a touch of magic too--
There's a wish of lots of laughter, and good luck, be sure o' that;
And a wish that all your dreams may come true in no time flat.
The race of men named the Gael,
Is a race God surely made mad.
For all of their wars are merry
And all of their loves are sad.
May you...
Work like you don't need the money,
love like you've never been hurt,
dance like no-one is watching,
and drink like a true Irishman.
The song playing on this page is
"A Soldier's Song" Ireland's National Anthem