Slainte! Erin Go Bragh! Translation Of These & Other Irish Sayings

What better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than with Gaelic-Irish sayings?

The annual holiday of St. Patrick's Day has become a reason to party, whether you are Irish or not. And as 500,000 packed central Dublin for today's St. Patrick's Day parade, those outside Ireland are also commemorating the special day.

Among the most common words at these events worldwide are Slainte to Erin Go Bragh, but that's only the beginning. Here's a handy list of Irish sayings and their meanings. Feel free to add any we missed in the comments below!

Slainte: Good Health! / Cheers!

Erin Go Bragh: Ireland Forever!

Beannachtai Na Feile Padraig Oraibh: St. Patrick's Day Blessing Upon You!

Dia Dhuit: Hello!

Ni Fhaca Me La Fada Thu: Long Time No See!

Go N-Eiri An T-Adh Leat: Good luck!

Gabh Mo Leisceal: Excuse me!

Graim Thu: I Love You!

Comments

[Andythelawyer]

01:55 PM on 03/23/2011

Too many consonants. Not enough vowels. Might as well be Polish or Welsh.

[LiamOB]

04:48 PM on 03/22/2011

HERE ARE THE PHONETICS, NICE AND EASY!

These are far from perfect, but you will be understood by any Irish speaker.

SLAWN-cha ► Cheers (Sláinte)
AIR-in GUH BROCK ► Ireland Forever (Érin go brách)
BANNOCK-tee NAH FAIL-ah PAW-drig ► Happy Paddy's Day (Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig)
JEE-ah GWITCH ► Hello (Día duit)
NEE OCK-ah MAY LEH FODD-ah WHO ► Long Time No See (Ní fhaca mé le fada thú)
GUH NIREY ON TAW LATT ► Good luck! (Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat)
GAW MUH LESH-kail ► Excuse me (Gabh mo leithscéal)
GRAWM WHO ► I love you (Gráim thú)

[Tuigim]

02:16 AM on 03/23/2011

That works. Cool.
Féir plé dhuit.

[emerson7]

02:21 PM on 03/23/2011

thanks for that!...otherwise the article is near worthless.

[wolfiegirl]

06:15 PM on 03/21/2011

I prefer to celebrate with beer and corned beef, trying not to spill it on some emerald green sweatshirt I pulled out of some bin.

[deluk]

06:07 PM on 03/21/2011

Pobol y cwm!!

[wishfulslinkings]

06:11 PM on 03/21/2011

The Young and the Restless !

[deluk]

06:13 PM on 03/21/2011

well done!

[Tuigim]

06:22 PM on 03/21/2011

In Welsh, not in Irish.
Still, it's good to welcome our Celtic cousins.
Fáilte isteach.

[JimNast]

03:21 PM on 03/21/2011

Tha mo bhàta-foluaimein loma-làn easgannan
--my hovercraft is full of eels

[Tuigim]

05:06 PM on 03/21/2011

Now that's Gaelic (Scottish) and not Irish, Jim.
One easy way to tell is the direction of the accent marks.
Irish version: Tá m'árthach foluaineach lán d'eascanna.

[JimNast]

08:38 AM on 03/22/2011

Thanks!

[patrickol]

01:59 PM on 03/21/2011

Actually, while it is the common greeting, Dia Dhuit translates as "Jesus be with you."

[Tuigim]

05:04 PM on 03/21/2011

More or less.
Dia is just God and not specifically Jesus.

[onegandolf1]

09:25 AM on 03/22/2011

Where does one go to learn Irish ? I thought the Irish language was "Gaelic" (Scottish Highlanders having been previously called Gaelic Scots).

[FarOutFish]

07:59 PM on 03/20/2011

I prefer Scotch. Preferably single malt scotch,

[Tuigim]

05:12 PM on 03/21/2011

As the Japanese need support right now, I'll go with Suntory.
At any other time I'd say, with its mill on the Brosna check out Locke's: http://www.irelandlogue.com/best-of/lockes-distillery.html
Sláinte

Now if you want the real stuff, you have to get some Poitín:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A13857122

[StevieTheK]

09:26 AM on 03/20/2011

Leben ahf dein kop!

[Tuigim]

02:23 PM on 03/20/2011

Weather report in Irish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsBv1ukVp9U&feature=related

[Tunghoy]

08:33 PM on 03/21/2011

LOL, that's what my grandma used to tell me!

[StevieTheK]

09:32 PM on 03/21/2011

She spoke Irish? :D

[loki]

04:09 AM on 03/20/2011

Pogue Mahone

[anitaj]

11:45 AM on 03/20/2011

LOL

[seamuscat]

01:29 PM on 03/20/2011

You mean "Póg mo thóin"

[Tuigim]

02:15 PM on 03/20/2011

Ceart agat .

[omobob]

10:46 PM on 03/19/2011

A reminder of the conquest and destruction of the Irish Catholic culture by the Protestants of England.

[TommyMcCarthy]

12:42 PM on 03/21/2011

Many of us remember as a long and ultimately unsuccessful attempt at such.

That a modern army willing to both suffer and inflict casualties can "control" a given square of real estate for a time..is a given.

But, ...The "conquest and destruction of Irish Catholic culture"..?


Never.......not a chance.
Regards
TM

[omobob]

01:26 PM on 03/21/2011

> Never.......not a chance.

Then you would not be speaking English, now would ya? And England would not still control Northeren Ireland.

[MexiChick67]

01:25 PM on 03/21/2011

800 years of oppression did not conquer the Irish spirit, nor their culture.

[omobob]

01:32 PM on 03/21/2011

Then why are you speaking English instead of Irish?

[deluk]

05:48 PM on 03/21/2011

Can you say the same of your oppression of the native Americans?

[gonzo marx]

07:40 PM on 03/19/2011

you all forgot one very important saying...

bona na croin - "neither collar, nor crown"

[Tuigim]

10:38 PM on 03/19/2011

Bóna ná coróin
Interesting.
I hadn't heard of that one.

[HekmagaJuximaxx]

07:34 PM on 03/19/2011

Greebish Freem Podgorny: Irish out of Jamaica
Abba wah ning chee kosthpa murishani tytung we wanya yoskhah: You'd better leave. Now.
Me llamo Muamar Gaddafi: Request for political asylum

[Tuigim]

10:39 PM on 03/19/2011

Níl aon spás anseo Gadhafi.
Tá obair le fáil i Fukushima má tá tú ag iarraidh cabhrú leo.
Bí go deas anois.

[Caru]

05:58 PM on 03/20/2011

Aontaím.

[Andythelawyer]

01:57 PM on 03/23/2011

Mens sana in corpore sano.

[tippisheadrun]

07:29 PM on 03/19/2011

Pogue mahone.

[Tuigim]

10:34 PM on 03/19/2011

Don't be rude.

[ifolkinrock]

04:05 PM on 03/19/2011

Pog ma thoin!

[Tuigim]

10:34 PM on 03/19/2011

Manners, children!

[Tuigim]

03:17 PM on 03/19/2011

Corrections:
1. Gaelic-Irish ►Irish language.
Please call our language what it is. In English it is called Irish, NOT Gaelic.
The language of England is English. The language of Ireland is Irish.
If you buy yourself a book called 'Teach Yourself Gaelic,' you will learn Scottish, not Irish.
Yes, Irish IS a language and not just the way the Irish speak English.
The Irish word for the Irish language is Gaeilge.
2. Slainte ► Sláinte = Good Health / Cheers ‘á’ sounds like ‘aw’ as in ‘saw’
3. Erin Go Bragh► Érin go brách (Érin go deo) = Ireland Forever
4. Beannachtai Na Feile Padraig Oraibh ►
5. Beannachtaí na Fáile Pádraig = St. Patrick's Day Blessing
6. Dia dhuit: Hello (literally means ‘God to you’ as is ‘God be with you’)
7. Ni Fhaca Me La Fada Thu► Ní fhaca mé le fada thú = Long Time No See
8. Go N-Eiri An T-Adh Leat ► Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat = Good luck (May luck rise with you)
9. Gabh Mo Leisceal► Gabh mo leithscéal = Excuse me (accept my excuse)
10. Graim Thu► Gráim thú = I Love You
The importance of accents:
aeiou are usually pronounced as they are as short vowels in English (a is often pronounced o)
áéíóú are usually pronounced as they are as long vowels in Irish
Watch Irish (not Gaelic!) on Irish TV http://beo.tg4.ie/
Sláinte agus go néirí an t-ádh libh
♥

[Fein]

08:19 PM on 03/19/2011

Go raibh maith agat

[Tuigim]

10:35 PM on 03/19/2011

Ná habair é ☺

[gregory57]

08:36 AM on 03/20/2011

Thanks for phonetic explanations. The author should really have included them her or himself.