What are you trying to say?
Nobody shops for “a proverb”. They want to say something: to comfort, to welcome, to remember. Pick the feeling and we’ll hand you the sayings that carry it, each with the reason it fits, every one sourced.
Comfort
For someone carrying something heavy: words that sit beside them without pretending.
- Is gaire cabhair Dé ná an dorasGod is never far away when you need help.Help is nearer than the door: for the note that says you will get through this.
- Tá Dia láidir (agus tá máthair mhaith aige)God is strong, and he has a good mother - a powerful ally in trouble.Consolation with a wink in it: for the friend who would resent solemnity.
- Níor dhún Dia doras riamh nár oscail Sé ceann eileGod never closed one door without opening another.One door closing, another opening: for a hard chapter ending.
- Go gcasa Dia an tsláinte ortMay God restore your health.The get-well blessing: health turned back toward the person.
Love
Not greeting-card romance: the Irish kind, which is about shelter and a shared life.
- Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoineWe live in one another's shelter.We live in one another’s shelter: the deepest thing Irish says about two people.
- Go maire sibh bhur saol nuaMay you enjoy your new life together.The blessing for a couple’s new life, addressed to them both.
- Ní neart go cur le chéileThere is strength in unity.Strength in pulling together: five words for an anniversary.
- Go maire tú is go gcaithe tú éMay you live to enjoy it and wear it.The words for handing over a gift you chose with love.
Luck
Luck in Irish usually names who is sending it, a wish, not a superstition.
- Go gcuire Dia an t-ádh ortMay God send you luck.May God send you luck: short, real, pronounceable.
- Go n-éirí do bhóthar leatMay your journey go well.The road blessing as the dictionaries print it. For a new venture.
- Go gcuire Dia rath ortMay God prosper you.Prosperity rather than chance: for the one going to make something of it.
- Fad saoil duitLong life to you.Long life to you: the all-purpose good wish, straight from the dictionary.
Welcome
The words a door says. Irish is world-class at this.
- Céad míle fáilteA hundred thousand welcomes.A hundred thousand welcomes: the hall print.
- Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féinThere is no place like home.No hearth like your own: for the room everyone gathers in.
- Is túisce deoch ná scéalOffer a drink before you ask for news.A drink before a story: the host’s rule, framed.
- Dia duitHello.The greeting itself, a blessing with the seams showing.
Pride in heritage
For the wall that says where a family is from. Name, county, language.
- Tír gan teanga, tír gan anamA country without a language is a country without a soul.The revival’s motto, a country without a language is a country without a soul.
- Ní neart go cur le chéileThere is strength in unity.The family motto that needs no crest.
- An té a bhuailfeadh mo mhadra bhuailfeadh sé mé féinWhoever strikes my dog strikes me.Where the boundary of a family runs. Loyalty, dog included.
- Céad míle fáilteA hundred thousand welcomes.The welcome, in the county colourway of home.
Encouragement
For exams, first days, new starts: the tradition is firmly on the doer’s side.
- Tús maith leath na hoibreWell begun is half done.Well begun is half done: the desk print.
- Níl bua gan duaThere is no success without effort.No success without effort: four words that survive being made small.
- Is minic a rinne bromach gioblach capall cumasachMany a ragged colt made a fine horse.For the late bloomer: many a ragged colt made a fine horse.
- Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh síPraise the young and they will flourish.Praise the young and they flourish: for a teacher, from anyone.
- Go dté tú slánMay you go safely.May you go safely: for the one setting out.
A bit of humour
The dry half of the tradition: proverbs that land with a raised eyebrow.
- Ar mhaithe leis féin a bhíonn an cat ag crónánThe cat purrs for its own benefit.The cat purrs for its own benefit. For the office, or the kitchen politician.
- Is teann gach madra ag a dhoras féinEvery dog is bold at his own door.Every dog is bold at his own door. Housewarming mischief.
- Ní dhéanfadh an saol capall rása d'asalYou cannot make a racehorse out of a donkey.You cannot make a racehorse of a donkey. For the realist you love.
- Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eileIt takes one to know one.It takes one to know one: beetle to beetle.
Remembrance
The traditional prayers and the grief proverbs. Exact forms matter most here.
- Beannacht Dé lena anamGod rest his soul.God rest his soul: the plainest, in the form for a man.
- Beannacht Dé lena hanamGod rest her soul.The form for a woman, from the Folklore Collection.
- Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anamMay he rest at God’s right hand.At God’s right hand: the best-known graveside prayer.
- Níl cara ag cumha ach cuimhneMemory is the only friend that grief has.Grief has no friend but memory: for the card you write yourself.
- Ní bheidh a leithéid arís annWe shall not see his like again.We shall not see his like again. For someone singular.