Irish Sayings About Home
An áit a mbíonn deatach bíonn tine
The Irish word doing the work on this page is tinteán. Hearth. Where English says home, Irish very often says the fireplace, and the proverbs are more physical as a result: a hearth, a door, a doorstep you are bold on.
Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin is the best known, and it is the direct ancestor of "there's no place like home" in Irish-English usage. The literal rendering is worth reading, because a hearth is a more specific thing to be loyal to than a house.
This is a small page and deliberately so. The site only lists sayings it can cite, and the home material in the dictionaries is thinner than the wedding and memorial material, a shortfall we would rather show than pad.
7 sayings each with its source
- An áit a mbíonn deatach bíonn tineThere is no smoke without fire.
- Céad míle fáilteA hundred thousand welcomes.
- Fáilte roimh bhocht is nochtEverybody is welcome, whatever their circumstances.
- Go maire tú is go gcaithe tú éMay you live to enjoy it and wear it.
- Is teann gach madra ag a dhoras féinEvery dog is bold at his own door.
- Ná caith an t-uisce salach amach go mbeadh an t-uisce glan istighKeep what you have until the replacement is real.
- Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féinThere is no place like home.