Go n-éirí an bóthar leat Go raibh an ghaoth go brách ag do chúl Go lonraí an ghrian go te ar d'aghaidh Go dtite an bháisteach go mín ar do pháirceanna Agus go mbuailimid le chéile arís, Go gcoinní Dia i mbos A láimhe thú.

Word for wordMay the road succeed with you, may the wind be forever at your back, may the sun shine warm on your face, may the rain fall gently on your fields, and until we meet again, may God keep you in the palm of His hand.
What it meansMay the road rise 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.
Approximate pronunciation guide
guh NYE-ree un BOH-har lat guh rev un ghee guh brawkh eg duh khool guh LUN-ree un GHREE-un guh cheh err dye guh JIH-cheh un VAWSH-chukh guh meen err duh FAWRK-un-uh AH-gus guh MOO-il-ih-mij leh KHAY-leh uh-REESH guh GUN-yee JEE-a ih moss a LAW-veh hoo

Written for English speakers and editorial rather than sourced. It will get you close enough to be understood, and it is not a substitute for a native speaker. Recorded audio is planned; see About.

When to use it The full reading for a wedding programme, an emigrant’s farewell, or a framed print.

About this saying

This is the blessing everyone means by "an Irish blessing": road, wind, sun, rain, and the palm of God’s hand. Its fame is real and its paper trail is mostly English. The verse spread through emigrant culture, hymnals and greeting cards in English, and the Irish text travels with it as its accepted rendering. The opening line’s story, a workaday idiom for succeeding read literally as a rising road, is told on Go n-éirí an bóthar leat and in our article on the blessing.

This saying as a printA curated Irish painting behind the words, your own names and date composed in. Every fada correct, and the source shown on the print itself. Preview it now; available to buy soon.

Provenance

Where this wording comes from. We publish nothing we cannot point at.

A widely used form. Earliest print attestation unclear; cited here to Bitesize Irish: bitesize.irish: the page tells you exactly what kind of shelf its source sits on.

  1. Published useBitesize Irish: bitesize.irishHow to say An Irish Blessing in Irish — Bitesize Irishprints the six-line Irish text of the blessing with line-by-line pronunciationView the source entry: checked 2026-08-30

Where this belongs

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