Irish Greetings & Sayings

In Celtic Spirituality, the natural world is seen to be infused with the Divine. In this talk, you are introduced to Irish/Gaelic greetings and expressions which illustrate a deep connection with nature. There is a depth of meaning in the ways in which different languages express what we are intending to convey. The talk concludes with two prayers from this tradition.

Transcript

Music Dear friends,

I thought that today I would share with you some thoughts and sayings from Ireland that might be of interest to you,

And we will conclude with an Irish blessing.

So welcome to this session which is in the nature of a talk rather than a meditation.

It's only right that instead of a simple welcome I should use the words Caid Míle Fáilte,

Which translated from the Gaelic,

Means 100,

000 welcomes.

So wherever you are,

As you listen to this,

I offer each and every one of you Caid Míle Fáilte,

100,

000 welcomes.

Although English is the everyday spoken language of the majority of the population of Ireland,

Irish or Gaelic is still a living language,

Taught in all schools in the Republic of Ireland,

And spoken as the everyday language in certain parts of Ireland,

Particularly on the west coast.

There's a richness in the Irish language arising from a deep connection with nature.

Celtic spirituality sees the natural world infused with the divine.

In Celtic spirituality we have the tradition of the Anam Carra,

A soul friend,

Someone who is trusted for spiritual guidance and friendship.

For those who wish to explore further the topic of soul friend,

A great source of information and inspiration is the book entitled Anam Carra by the well-known Irish philosopher priest,

The late John O'Donoghue.

Simple examples of the richness of the Irish language are the expressions used where in English we might just say hello,

Hi or how are you?

Speaking of which,

It always amuses me how the greeting how are you is so frequently answered by another how are you,

Using a question as a response to something which is itself a question concerning the wellness of the greeted person.

Anyway,

To return to the question of traditional Gaelic greetings.

In Irish the common term upon greeting someone is Dia Guit,

Which means God be with you.

Or Dia is mure Guit,

God and Mary the mother of Jesus be with you.

And variations such as Dia Guit er macin,

God be with you this morning.

These expressions have a richness that is lost in our everyday hello in English.

On welcoming someone we have the expression Bálaí é art,

Which means the blessing of God on you.

And for a bereavement situation we have the statement Ar éis dé go raeibh anam,

May his soul be at the right hand of God.

And these words have their female and plural equivalents.

The phrase Súlis na vláthis urhi means the light of heaven on her.

As a way of saying thank you we have Cú raibh míle má goit,

May you have a thousand good things.

The Irish language is not unique in the way in which its sayings enlarge upon the commonplace and the everyday words we use.

This is a reminder to us of the richness that resides in the many and varied languages used by people the world over.

It makes us realise what a loss occurs when a language is lost and how tragic it would be if one or two universal languages of business were to dominate all communications at some point in the future.

It would be as if we had all a common diet for breakfast,

Dinner,

Tea and supper.

Very efficient no doubt,

But utterly lacking in variety and interest.

Irish expressions which have found their way into everyday English usage here would be sayings such as one pair of good souls is better than two pair of good uppers.

Marriages are all happy,

It's having breakfast together that causes all the trouble.

An old broom knows the dirty corners best.

Men are like bagpipes,

No sound comes from them unless they're full.

Hot butter and whiskey will not cure,

There's no cure for.

The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune.

He'd offer you an egg if you promised not to break the shell.

And finally it's no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking.

To conclude on a more serious note you might like to hear some Irish blessings and these I wish for you.

First an Irish prayer for joy.

May love and laughter light your days and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world with joy that long endures.

May all life's passing seasons bring the best to you and yours.

And finally then,

The more familiar,

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face.

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Namaste.

You

Reviews

Thank you Tony; some wonderful sayings from a rich language - you must find joy in sharing them! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Marvellous! Thank You for sharing and helping me connect a little to my Irish Roots.

Thank you Tony, listening to this made me smile as it reminded me of the Irish sayings my wonderful Granny from Donegal used to say 🙏

Tony, thank you for introducing me to some Irish expressions and sayings I didn’t know! I have always enjoyed Irish sayings over the years—so colorful, full of humor and generosity! Of the predominant nationalities of immigrant families in my Catholic grammar school (Irish, Polish and Italian) the Irish kids always seemed to most naturally convey the expressions and traditions of their forebears, and it was contagious, and must have been so wherever Irish folks put down roots! To this day, St.Patrick’s Day is pretty universally celebrated anywhere you go in the US! As we say, “We’re all Irish on St. Pat’s!”
On another note, I was curious that the art for this track shows a 4-leaf clover rather than a shamrock! I have often heard (from the nuns back in that grammar school, and later from other Irish friends) that it wan anathema to use a 4-leaf clover to represent anything Irish, because the “proper” symbol was the shamrock, as it represented the Holy Trinity. I’m interested to see that you show the 4-leaf clover! There’s obviously more flexibility around the symbol than I was led to believe. It makes sense, cause the Irish are also portrayed as lucky!
Have a good week, Tony, and be well!
Donna

Thank you 💚 🙏 beautiful track. Enjoyed hearing the Gaelic language. My Grandmother taught me some Welsh words and phrases she remembered before she passed. Wish I could have learned more. This brought back some memories.

Beautiful many thanks & much appreciation namaste 🙏🏼
🎶🥁🇮🇪🍀💚🍀🇮🇪🥁🎶

Lovely sharing of Gaelic greetings that add spiritual richness to the everyday--spoken in a gentle, deeply kind voice

Our Son in law is from Killarney Tony. A lovely man from a lovely family I have heard a few of the Gaelic saying always thinking they sound so profound

Thanks for sharing a bit of Irish culture with us. I've heard a few of these over the years but always nice to hear the Gaelic phrases! Brings out the anthropologist in me! May the road rise up to meet you... Namaste

So lovely. Makes me realize how sadly limited our current English language usage is.

A well curated flash tour of Irish culture, love it! 🙏🏻

Love to hear the Irish language and an Irish accent.

Thank you for sharing these wonderful Irish sayings and blessings. I’m so glad that there are many different languages as well.

This was absolutely beautiful.The Irish language is so rich,filled with uplifting sayings .I hope to visit Ireland one day......🙏🏼🍀🇮🇪🕊

Thanks for sharing. So lovely and rich culture. Really enjoyed this talk. May you have a thousand good things Tony!

This was both interesting and fun. I loved this! Thanks Tony. 🙏🏻💕

Wonderful ! Also loved background music 🎶 Thank you for sharing these lovely Irish sayings. Be well. 😌

Oh how I LOVE these Irish phrases. Ireland has a special place in my heart; I feel a very special spiritual connection with the land. Than you Tony and may God’s bright light surround your Being. ❤️

Thank you, Tony. I truly enjoyed learning more about the Celtic phrases and I always love hearing Irish blessings.

The Irish language is fascinating! I’ve been learning basic greetings and phrases this week so this was a perfect addition.