120 Irish Proverbs and Sayings With Meanings

Real Irish proverbs (seanfhocail) in Irish and English with meanings, plus funny sayings, old curses, traditional blessings and toasts you can copy and share.

An Irish proverb is called a seanfhocal (shan-uk-ul), which means "old word". Below are real ones still said in Ireland, with the Irish text where one truly exists, a literal translation and what it means.

Tap Copy to share one on WhatsApp or Instagram, or use it in a card or speech.

Cliffs of Moher and O'Brien's Tower above the Atlantic on the west coast of Ireland — Old words from a small green islandPhoto: Höstblomma, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Famous Irish Proverbs and Sayings

The sayings almost everyone in Ireland grew up hearing. Start here for the classics.

Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin
Literally: There is no hearth like your own hearth.
Meaning: There is no place like home.
Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine
Literally: People live in the shelter of each other.
Meaning: We all need each other to get through life.
Is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte
Literally: Health is better than wealth.
Meaning: Money means little if you are not well.
Ní neart go cur le chéile
Literally: There is no strength without unity.
Meaning: People are strongest when they pull together.
Tús maith leath na hoibre
Literally: A good start is half the work.
Meaning: Begin well and the rest gets easier.
Giorraíonn beirt bóthar
Literally: Two people shorten the road.
Meaning: A long trip, or a hard time, feels shorter with company.
Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste
Literally: Broken Irish is better than clever English.
Meaning: Speak Irish even if you make mistakes. Trying matters more than being perfect.
Is minic a bhris béal duine a shrón
Literally: A person's mouth has often broken their nose.
Meaning: Careless talk gets you into trouble.
Is maith an scáthán súil charad
Literally: A friend's eye is a good mirror.
Meaning: A true friend will tell you honestly how you are doing.
Ní bhíonn in aon rud ach seal
Literally: Everything only lasts a while.
Meaning: Good times and bad times both pass, so enjoy the good and wait out the bad.
Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí
Literally: Praise the young and they will come on.
Meaning: Encourage young people and they will grow into their best.
An rud is annamh is iontach
Literally: The thing that is rare is wonderful.
Meaning: We value what we do not see every day.
You'll never plough a field by turning it over in your mind.
Meaning: Thinking about a job is not doing it. Get started.
You've got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your father was.
Meaning: Your family name will not do the work for you.

Irish Proverbs in Irish (Seanfhocail) With Meanings

For learners, tattoos and anyone who wants the real Irish words. Each one is checked against an Irish-language source.

Is binn béal ina thost
Literally: A silent mouth is sweet.
Meaning: Sometimes the wisest thing to say is nothing.
Is fearr lúbadh ná briseadh
Literally: Better to bend than to break.
Meaning: Be flexible when life pushes hard, so you do not snap.
Bíonn an fhírinne searbh
Literally: The truth is bitter.
Meaning: The truth often hurts to hear, but it is still the truth.
Is leor nod don eolach
Literally: A hint is enough for the knowing.
Meaning: A wise person does not need things spelled out.
Múineann gá seift
Literally: Need teaches a plan.
Meaning: When you have to find a way, you usually do.
De réir a chéile a thógtar na caisleáin
Literally: Bit by bit the castles are built.
Meaning: Big things are made slowly, one stone at a time.
Ní íseal ná uasal ach thíos seal agus thuas seal
Literally: Not low nor high, but down a while and up a while.
Meaning: Everyone has ups and downs. Nobody stays on top or at the bottom forever.
Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir
Literally: Time is a good storyteller.
Meaning: Wait, and the truth will come out.
Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile
Literally: One beetle knows another.
Meaning: It takes one to know one.
Is treise dúchas ná oiliúint
Literally: Nature is stronger than upbringing.
Meaning: People's true character shows through in the end.
Ní thagann ciall roimh aois
Literally: Sense does not come before age.
Meaning: Some wisdom only comes with years.
Is dána gach madra i ndoras a thí féin
Literally: Every dog is bold in the door of its own house.
Meaning: It is easy to be brave on your home ground.
Bíonn gach tús lag
Literally: Every beginning is weak.
Meaning: Do not judge yourself by a shaky start.
Filleann an feall ar an bhfeallaire
Literally: Betrayal returns to the betrayer.
Meaning: People who cheat others end up being cheated.
An té nach bhfuil láidir, ní mór dó bheith glic
Literally: The one who is not strong must be clever.
Meaning: If you cannot win by force, win by brains.
Is fada an bóthar nach bhfuil casadh ann
Literally: It is a long road that has no turning.
Meaning: Things change in the end, so keep going.
An té a bhíonn siúlach, bíonn scéalach
Literally: The one who travels has stories.
Meaning: Go places and you will come home with tales to tell.
Is fearr an t-imreas ná an t-uaigneas
Literally: Quarrelling is better than loneliness.
Meaning: A noisy house full of people beats an empty, quiet one.

Irish Proverbs About Life

For a calm, wise line about how life works, good for a status or a speech.

Dá fhada an lá, tagann an tráthnóna
Literally: However long the day, the evening comes.
Meaning: Every hard stretch comes to an end.
Is olc an ghaoth nach séideann maitheas do dhuine éigin
Literally: It is a bad wind that blows no good to someone.
Meaning: Even bad news helps somebody.
Ní hé lá na gaoithe lá na scolb
Literally: The windy day is not the day for thatching.
Meaning: Pick the right moment for a job.
Is buaine clú ná saol
Literally: A good name lasts longer than a life.
Meaning: People remember how you lived long after you are gone.
Life is like a cup of tea. It's all in how you make it.
Meaning: Your life is shaped by what you put into it.
Time and patience would bring the snail to Cork.
Meaning: Slow and steady still gets you there.
No morning's sun lasts all day.
Meaning: Good things end, so enjoy them while they last.
Many a ship is lost within sight of the harbour.
Meaning: You can still fail at the very end, so finish the job properly.
Experience is the comb that life gives you after you have lost your hair.
Meaning: We often learn our lessons too late to use them.
It's not a delay to stop and sharpen the scythe.
Meaning: Resting and preparing is part of the work, not time wasted.
Do not resent growing old. Many are denied the privilege.
Meaning: Every birthday is a gift that not everyone gets.
If you do not sow in the spring, you will not reap in the autumn.
Meaning: Put in the effort early or there will be nothing to collect later.
Better to be a man of character than a man of means.
Meaning: Who you are matters more than what you own.
Never dread the winter till the snow is on the blanket.
Meaning: Do not worry about trouble before it actually arrives.

Irish Proverbs About Friendship and Family

For your best friend, your family group chat or a reunion card.

Aithnítear cara i gcruatan
Literally: A friend is known in hardship.
Meaning: Hard times show you who your real friends are.
Is fearr cara sa chúirt ná punt sa sparán
Literally: A friend in court is better than a pound in the purse.
Meaning: The right friend can help you more than money.
Castar na daoine ar a chéile ach ní chastar na cnoic ná na sléibhte
Literally: People meet each other, but the hills and mountains never meet.
Meaning: You will cross paths with old friends again one day.
Is fearr beagán den ghaol ná mórán den charthanas
Literally: A little kinship is better than a lot of charity.
Meaning: Family will help you when others will not.
An rud a chí an leanbh, is é a ní an leanbh
Literally: What the child sees, the child does.
Meaning: Children copy what you do, not what you say.
Is mac do mhac go bpósfaidh sé, ach is iníon d'iníon go dtéir i gcré
Literally: Your son is your son till he marries, but your daughter is your daughter till you go into the clay.
Meaning: A daughter stays close to her parents all her life.
Who keeps his tongue keeps his friends.
Meaning: Friendships last longer when you know what not to say.
Better the coldness of a friend than the sweetness of an enemy.
Meaning: An honest friend, even a grumpy one, is worth more than a smiling enemy.
If you are looking for a friend without a fault, you will be without a friend forever.
Meaning: Nobody is perfect, so love your friends with their flaws.
A family of Irish birth will argue and fight, but let a shout come from without and see them all unite.
Meaning: Families fight among themselves but stand together against outsiders.

Irish Proverbs About Love and Marriage

For couples, weddings and anyone teasing a friend about getting married.

Níl aon leigheas ar an ngrá ach pósadh
Literally: There is no cure for love but marriage.
Meaning: When two people are truly in love, the only answer is to marry.
Galar an grá nach leigheasann luibheanna
Literally: Love is a sickness that herbs cannot cure.
Meaning: No medicine fixes a heart that is in love.
An áit a bhfuil do chroí, is ann a thabharfas do chosa thú
Literally: Where your heart is, your feet will take you.
Meaning: You always end up going where you truly want to be.
Folaíonn grá gráin
Literally: Love hides ugliness.
Meaning: When you love someone, their flaws stop mattering.
Ní féasta go rósta agus ní céasta go pósta
Literally: No feast till the roast, no torment till marriage.
Meaning: A cheeky way of saying married life has its troubles.
Más maith leat do cháineadh, pós
Literally: If you want to be criticised, marry.
Meaning: Your partner will notice every fault you have.
It's easy to halve the potato where there's love.
Meaning: People who love each other share happily, even when there is little.
A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.
Meaning: A mother's place in the heart lasts a lifetime.
There never was an old slipper but there was an old stocking to match it.
Meaning: There is someone out there for everyone.

Irish Sayings About Food, Drink and Health

For foodies, tea lovers and the friend who always says "one more".

Is maith an t-anlann an t-ocras
Literally: Hunger is a good sauce.
Meaning: Food tastes best when you are really hungry.
Capall na hoibre an bia
Literally: Food is the horse of work.
Meaning: You cannot work well on an empty stomach.
Ní thuigeann an sách an seang
Literally: The well-fed does not understand the hungry.
Meaning: People who have plenty rarely understand those who struggle.
Maireann croí éadrom i bhfad
Literally: A light heart lives long.
Meaning: Stay cheerful and you will live longer.
Dochtúir na sláinte an codladh
Literally: Sleep is the doctor of health.
Meaning: A good night's sleep fixes more than you think.
Bíonn blas ar an mbeagán
Literally: There is taste in a little.
Meaning: A small treat is enjoyed most.
Is túisce deoch ná scéal
Literally: A drink comes before a story.
Meaning: Offer your guest a drink first, then chat.
It's better to pay the butcher than the doctor.
Meaning: Spend on good food now and you will spend less on medicine later.
A cabin with plenty of food is better than a hungry castle.
Meaning: A full table matters more than a fancy house.

Funny Irish Sayings

For a laugh in the group chat. Classic Irish wit, short and sharp.

Cuir síoda ar ghabhar agus is gabhar i gcónaí é
Literally: Put silk on a goat and it is still a goat.
Meaning: Fancy clothes do not change who someone is.
Ní dhéanfadh an saol capall rása d'asal
Literally: The world would not make a racehorse of a donkey.
Meaning: You cannot turn something into what it is not.
Chomh díomhaoin le laidhricín píobaire
Literally: As idle as a piper's little finger.
Meaning: Said of someone who does nothing at all.
Marbh le tae agus marbh gan é
Literally: Dead with tea and dead without it.
Meaning: The Irish cannot live with tea, and cannot live without it either.
Is é leigheas na póite ná ól arís
Literally: The cure for a hangover is to drink again.
Meaning: A joke, not advice! Said with a wink the morning after.
Every man is sociable until a cow invades his garden.
Meaning: People are friendly until their own things are at stake.
If a cat had a dowry, she would often be kissed.
Meaning: Money makes anyone look attractive.
Never bolt the door with a boiled carrot.
Meaning: Do not trust weak protection for important things.
Men are like bagpipes. No sound comes from them till they are full.
Meaning: A cheeky dig at men who only talk after a big meal or a few drinks.
What butter and whiskey will not cure, there is no cure for.
Meaning: An old joke that butter and whiskey fix almost everything.
A hole is more honourable than a patch.
Meaning: An honest flaw is better than a poor cover-up.
Three diseases without shame: love, itch and thirst.
Meaning: Nobody can hide being in love, itchy or thirsty.

Old Irish Curses (Said With a Smile)

Ireland is famous for curses so creative they sound like compliments. Use them only on friends who will laugh.

Go n-ithe an cat thú, is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat
Literally: May the cat eat you, and may the devil eat the cat.
Meaning: A playful curse that means "get lost" in the most Irish way.
May you find the bees but not the honey.
Meaning: May you get all of the trouble and none of the reward.
May you be afflicted with the itch and have no nails to scratch with.
Meaning: A funny wish for endless small annoyance.
May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up.
Meaning: It sounds like a curse but it is really a blessing. Bad luck chases you and never reaches you.

Traditional Irish Blessings in Irish

These are real blessings still used every day in Ireland. Say them when you greet, thank or say goodbye to someone.

Bail ó Dhia ar an obair
Literally: God's blessing on the work.
When to say it: When you pass someone who is working.
Nár laga Dia do lámh
Literally: May God not weaken your hand.
When to say it: To thank someone for a job well done.
Go raibh míle maith agat
Literally: A thousand thanks to you.
When to say it: Any time you want to say a big thank you.
Ádh mór ort
Literally: Great luck on you.
When to say it: Before an exam, a match or a job interview.
Go n-éirí leat
Literally: May you succeed.
When to say it: When someone starts something new.
Go méadaí Dia thú
Literally: May God increase you.
When to say it: To thank someone kind or generous.
Go dtuga Dia sonas duit
Literally: May God give you happiness.
When to say it: At a birthday, wedding or any happy day.
Go maire tú é
Literally: May you live to enjoy it.
When to say it: When someone shows you something new, like a car, a dress or a house.
Sliocht sleachta ar shliocht bhur sleachta
Literally: Descendants of descendants to your descendants.
When to say it: At a wedding, wishing the couple a big family line.
Go mbeirimid beo ar an am seo arís
Literally: May we be alive at this time again.
When to say it: At New Year, Christmas or any yearly get-together.
Slán abhaile
Literally: Safe home.
When to say it: When a guest leaves your house.
Go dté tú slán
Literally: May you go safely.
When to say it: When someone sets off on a trip.
Beannacht Dé leat
Literally: God's blessing with you.
When to say it: As a warm goodbye.
Go gcumhdaí Dia thú
Literally: May God protect you.
When to say it: When you are worried about someone.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam
Literally: May his soul be at God's right hand.
When to say it: When someone has died. Use "a hanam" for a woman.
Solas na bhFlaitheas dá anam
Literally: The light of heaven to his soul.
When to say it: At a funeral or when remembering someone who has passed.

Popular Irish Blessings in English

These much-loved blessings are written in English and shared at weddings, birthdays and on cards. Most date from the last 150 years or so, and nobody knows who first wrote them, so treat them as popular Irish-style blessings rather than ancient ones.

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.
May neighbours respect you, trouble neglect you, the angels protect you, and heaven accept you.
May you have the hindsight to know where you've been, the foresight to know where you're going, and the insight to know when you've gone too far.
May the most you wish for be the least you get.
Wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you.
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.
May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door.
Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.

Irish Toasts

For raising a glass (tea counts) at a wedding, birthday or night out.

Fad saol agat, gob fliuch, agus bás in Éirinn
Literally: Long life to you, a wet mouth, and death in Ireland.
Meaning: Live long, never be thirsty, and die at home in Ireland.
Sláinte chuig na fir, agus go maire na mná go deo
Literally: Health to the men, and may the women live forever.
Meaning: A cheeky toast where the women always get the better wish.
An té a bhíonn thuas, óltar deoch air. An té a bhíonn thíos, buailtear cos air.
Literally: The one who is up gets a drink raised to him. The one who is down gets a kick.
Meaning: When you are winning everyone toasts you, so remember who stood by you when you were not.
Here's to a long life and a merry one, a quick death and an easy one, a pretty girl and an honest one, a cold pint and another one.
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.
May the enemies of Ireland never eat bread nor drink whisky, but be tormented with itching without benefit of scratching.

How to Use Irish Proverbs

Drop a seanfhocal at the end of a story, not the start. Irish speakers use them to sum up a moment, like "sure, ní bhíonn in aon rud ach seal" after a bad week.

For a tattoo or a card, copy the Irish exactly as written here. Irish uses accents called the síneadh fada (á, é, í, ó, ú), and leaving one out can change a word's meaning. Ask a fluent speaker to check before anything permanent.

"May the road rise to meet you" is only half Irish. The Irish blessing is just "Go n-éirí an bóthar leat", which really means "may you succeed on your road". The long version about the wind at your back is an English poem built on that line.

Like old sayings from other places too? Read our Japanese proverbs, African proverbs and Chinese proverbs, or grab a caption from our St. Patrick's Day captions and toasts.

What is an Irish proverb called?

In Irish a proverb is a seanfhocal, which means 'old word'. The plural is seanfhocail.

What is the most famous Irish saying?

'May the road rise to meet you' is the best known outside Ireland. Inside Ireland, 'Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin' (there is no place like home) and 'Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine' (people live in each other's shelter) are just as loved.

What is an Irish saying for good luck?

Say 'Ádh mór ort', which means 'great luck on you', or 'Go n-éirí leat', which means 'may you succeed'.

Is 'May the road rise to meet you' a real Irish blessing?

Partly. 'Go n-éirí an bóthar leat' is real Irish and means 'may you succeed on your road'. The longer verse about the wind and the sun was written in English and is not found in old Irish sources.

What is an Irish proverb about life?

'Ní bhíonn in aon rud ach seal' means everything only lasts a while, so good and bad times both pass. 'Life is like a cup of tea, it's all in how you make it' is a popular English one.

What is an Irish saying about friendship?

'Aithnítear cara i gcruatan' means a friend is known in hardship. 'Giorraíonn beirt bóthar' means two people shorten the road.

What do you say at an Irish funeral?

People often say 'Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam', may his soul be at God's right hand ('a hanam' for a woman). In English, 'Sorry for your trouble' is the usual thing to say to the family.