Irish Proverbs and Sayings

St. Patrick's Day St. Patrick's Day irish sayings St patrick's Day irish proverbsblessing irish proverbs
St. Patrick's Day

Irish Proverbs

  • St. Patrick's Day--Irish Sayings Proverb 1

  • A good beginning is half the work.
  • You'll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.
  • Many hands make light work.


  • Long churning makes bad butter.
  • It's no use boiling your cabbage twice.



  • St. Patrick's Day--Irish Sayings: Proverb 2

  • Every dog is brave on his own doorstep.
  • A little dog can start a hare, but it takes a big one to catch it.
  • Do not show your teeth until you can bite.


  • The world would not make a racehorse of a donkey.
  • Put silk on a goat and it is still a goat.


  • An old broom knows the dirty corners best.
  • There never was an old slipper but there was an old stocking to match it.
  • The old pipe gives the sweetest smoke.


  • The windy day is not the day for thatching.


  • A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea.
  • There are as many good fish in the sea as ever came out of it.
  • There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught.


  • No forcing the sea.
  • Men may meet, but mountains never greet.


  • It takes time to build castles.
  • Time and patience would bring the snail to Jerusalem.
  • Patience is a poultice for all wounds.


  • If you don't know the way, walk slowly.
  • It was not on one foot that St. Patrick came to Ireland.
  • Your feet will bring you to where your heart is.


  • St. Patrick's Day--Irish Sayings: Proverb 3

  • One man's meat is another man's poison.
  • The wearer best knows where the shoe pinches.
  • If the cap doesn't fit, don't wear it.


  • You can't build a barrel around a bung hole.


  • It is better to be lucky than rich.
  • It is better to be lucky than wise.
  • It is better to be lucky than to be an early riser.




    • St. Patrick's Day--Irish Sayings:Proverb 4

    • He who pays the piper calls the tune.
    • There is no tune without a penny.


    • The best way to keep loyalty in a man's heart is to keep money in his purse.
    • A heavy purse makes a light heart.
    • The heavier the purse, the lighter the heart.


    • Two shorten the road.
    • A friend's eye is a good mirror.
    • There is luck in sharing a thing.


    • Beauty will not make the pot boil.
    • Better good manners than good looks.


    • What's in the marrow is hard to take out of the bone.
    • You can take a man out of the bog, but you can't take the bog out of the man.
    • What will come from the briar but the berry.

Irish Americans History

St. Patrick's Day, Irish blessings, proverbs, history and traditions of wearing of the Green and Shamrocks.

Be sure to visit our St. Patrick's Day Crafts, Recipes and songs pages.

Happy St. Patrick's Day - March 17

Aye lads and lassies, don't ya' forget to wear the green . Irish and Irish Americans commemorate the death, as legend has it, of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who died on March 17, around 492. But mainly, people today honor Irish heritage and its rich culture and traditions. Cities all over the U.S. celebrate with St. Patrick's Day parades and festivities. The most famous of these annual festival traditions includes the Boston St. Patricks's parade, with its first parade in 1737; the New York City St. patricks' Day parade, which began in 1762; and the Savannah, Georgia, St. Patrick's Day parade which started in 1812. What do you do to honor Irish tradition? Wear green? Look for four-leaf clovers? Sing Irish songs?

Wee Little Patrick (sung to Yankee Doodle)

Patrick is a leprechaun
He has a sack of gold
He hides it in a special place
Between two stumps, I'm told

I think I once saw Patrick
Out in the woods at play
He smiled and laughed and winked his eye
And then he ran away

Don't try to follow Patrick
To find his treasure sack
He'll twist and jump and run away
And he never will come back.

I'm a little Leprechaun
(sung to I'm a little teapot)
I'm a little Leprechaun short and green,
Here is my shamrock but I can't be seen,
When you pull my feather,hear me scream (everyone scream)
I'm a little Leprechaun,short and green.

Shamrocks, shamrocks,
On Ireland's hills,
Greenest of green
Over rocks and rills
Good luck do they bring,
For one and all
On St. Patrick's Day
We can see them all.

Enjoy our features about St. Patrick's Day, Irish blessings, proverbs, history and traditions of wearing of the Green and Shamrocks. Be sure to visit our St. Pat's Day Crafts, Recipes and songs pages.

Shamrock Hat
Pot of Gold
 Shamrock Stamp

Favorite Irish coffee

Irish Cream
6 ounces milk
1 ounce chocolate syrup
2 ounces Bailey's or other Irish cream liqueur
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