20 Witty Irish Sayings to Warm (or Chill) Your Heart

Irish Blessings, Curses, & Wisdom

 

In honor of the upcoming June 2017 release of my novel The Gold-Son (which features Irish characters, lore, and settings), I offer you a collection of Irish sayings—some sweet, some humorous, and a few downright nasty (things an ornery leprechaun might say!). Enjoy!  

 

 Wisdom & Good Wishes

1. May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty.
2. Enough is as good as a feast.
3. There's no need to fear the wind if your haystacks are tied down.
4. God is good, but never dance in a small boat.
5. It's no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking.
6. A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea.
7. May the frost never afflict your spuds. May the outside leaves of your cabbage always be free from worms. May the crow never pick your haystack, and may your donkey always be in foal.
8. May I see you old and grey and combing out your grandchildren's hair.
9. May the grass grow long on the road to hell for want of use
10. May the rocks in your field turn to gold.

Cruelty & Curses "May the cat eat you and the devil eat the cat." 1. She has a tongue that would clip a hedge. 2. May you melt off the earth like snow off the ditch.  3. May the seven terriers of hell sit on the spool of your breast and bark in at your soul-case.   4. The treatment of the boiled, broken, little fish to you!    5. The devil swallow him sideways!   6. Dysentery on you!    7. Six eggs to you, and half a dozen of them rotten! 8. May you not see the cuckoo nor the corncrake.  9. The devil go with you and sixpence, then you'll want neither money nor company. 10. The death of the kittens to you!    Have any Irish sayings to add? Post them below in the comments--but please keep it clean for the kiddies & grannies! Beir bua agus beannacht,* Carrie  *Take victory & blessings!

Five Book Recommendations (and Another Thing or Two)

Novels for Your TBR List

 

Here's a shocking confession: I read A LOT of books. Also (and sometimes unfortunately), I rarely read a book anymore without critiquing and editing every page in my head--so there are fewer and fewer books I fall in love with. With that in mind, the following are books I've read lately that I greatly enjoyed. I think these are all considered Young Adult novels, and each has some fairy tale or folk tale qualities.

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire
A Green and Ancient Light by Frederic S. Durbin
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (not a recent "new read" technically, but one I like to reread now and then because I love this book!)

In other news...

 

Here's a lovely review of The Gold-Son (from Goodreads), written by a teen reader who read an advance copy. 

 
"If you want to read a fantastical novel, I promise you, this is the one for you. This story centered around leprechauns is one of the best fantasy novels I've read in a while. I laughed and cried and felt every emotion known to man--and it was glorious.

This YA fantasy novel is great for literally any age. I could go straight from reading this to kids to reading it myself to giving it to my mother to read. There's not one person that I wouldn't recommend this book to."--Olivia
  
The Gold-Son will be released June 20, 2017, and is available for pre-order on Amazon now.

Happy reading, everyone! Be sure to leave me a note in the comments if you read any of the novels I've suggested--or if you have a recommendation for me.

Carrie Anne