Irish Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old irish quotes, irish sayings, and irish proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

The Irish people are clearly standing up and saying of course the lives of women in Ireland matter. It's a great victory for equality for freedom for dignity for human rights, -- and not only for women. Ailbhe Smyth
The Irish consider retirement the time to kick back and enjoy life to the fullest. Thomas O'Leary
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat. Alex Levine
It is a symbol of Irish art. The cracked looking-glass of a servant. James Joyce
The Irish are people who will never have leaders, for at the great moment they always desert them. They have produced one skeleton--Parnell--never a man. James Joyce
The Irish - Be they kings, or poets, or farmers, They're a people of great worth, They keep company with the angels, And bring a bit of heaven here to earth. Irish Sayings
Irishness is not primarily a question of birth or blood or language; it is the condition of being involved in the Irish situation, and usually of being mauled by it. Conor O'Brien
The Irish are a fair people: They never speak well of one another. Samuel Johnson
Irish poets, learn your trade, sing whatever is well made, scorn the sort now growing up all out of shape from toe to top. William Butler Yeats
Irish people are educated not only about artistry but local history. Fiona Shaw
If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks. Brendan Behan
The Irish fight amongst themselves because they have yet to find a more worthy opponent. Anonymous
On the Irish ladder of success there's always some one on the rung above using your head to steady himself. Irish Sayings
Irish people have a trick of over-statement, at which one ceases to wince as one grows older. Katharine Tynan
To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will break your heart. Daniel Patrick Moynihan
The only way to get to that next peak is to be ready for that next valley. Being raised Irish, you know to always be ready for the bad times. Rory O'Malley
The Irish people will only be free, when they own everything from the plough to the stars. James Connolly
Irish people give big hellos and very little goodbyes. Unless they're female, and then they spend five hours talking in the doorway to the person that's leaving their house. Dylan Moran
Irish people are pragmatic. They understand that nobody is going to fix our problems but ourselves. Edna Kenny
The Irish do not want anyone to wish them well; they want everyone to wish their enemies ill. Harold Nicolson
Irish women are always carrying water on their heads, and always carrying their husbands home from pubs. Such things are the greatest posture-builders in the world. Peter O'Toole
There are only two kinds of people in the world, the Irish and those who wish they were. Anonymous
There is no language like the Irish for soothing and quieting. John Millington Synge
There's no sense to being Irish unless you know the world's going to break your heart. Thoms Adcock
The Irish have a sweet tooth. And that's a good thing, because it has been the inspiration for some wonderful desserts that allow us to end our meal on a happy and sweet note. Jean Legrand
There is an Irish way of paying compliments as though they were irresistible truths which makes what would otherwise be an impertinence delightful. Katharine Tynan
If you're Irish, it doesn't matter where you go - you'll find family. Victoria Smurfit
The Irish are the only men who know how to cry for the dirty polluted blood of all the world. Norman Mailer