What’s the first thing you think about when you hear the word ‘Irish?’ Maybe it’s a glass of the famous Irish beer, Guinness. Or, Perhaps a nice glass of Irish Whiskey? Then, again, it could be the national symbol of Ireland, the Shamrock.
But do you know about the Blarney Stone? This block of bluestone rock is built into the walls of Blarney Castle near the city of Cork. According to legend, kissing this stone gives the kisser ‘the gift of the gab’, which means the power to speak with great eloquence. It must be that many Irishmen (and women!) have visited Blarney, because the Irish have produced more than their fair share of sayings with words of wit and wisdom. To find the best Irish sayings, Life Daily thought that there could be no better place to look than to the words of some of the greatest Irish writers.
So, we have selected our 24 Irish sayings from these three great authors:
Brendan Behan, Oscar Wilde, and George Bernard Shaw. Some of the sayings have a distinct Irish flavor. Others simply reflect the worldview of these literary sons of Ireland. Sometimes cynical, sometimes humorous, but always thought provoking.
Brendan Behan (1923 – 1964)
Poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both English and Irish.
- If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks.
- It’s not that the Irish are cynical. It’s rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody.
- The big difference between sex for money and sex for free is that sex for money usually costs a lot less.
- When I came back to Dublin I was court-martialed in my absence and sentenced to death in my absence, so I said they could shoot me in my absence.
- Other people have a nationality. The Irish and the Jews have a psychosis.
- All publicity is good, except an obituary notice.
- The most important things to do in the world are to get something to eat, something to drink and somebody to love you.
- Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how it’s done, they’ve seen it done every day, but they’re unable to do it themselves.
Oscar Wilde (1854– 1900)
Writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London’s most popular playwrights in the early 1890s.
- If one could only teach the English how to talk, and the Irish how to listen, society here would be quite civilized.
- Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.
- Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.
- There is nothing in the world like the devotion of a married woman. It is a thing no married man knows anything about.
- The truth is rarely pure and never simple.
- I sometimes think that God in creating man somewhat overestimated his ability.
- The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything.
- There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich, and that is the poor. The poor can think of nothing else.
George Bernard Shaw (1856 – 1950)
Playwright, essayist, novelist and short story writer.
- Why should we take advice on sex from the pope? If he knows anything about it, he shouldn’t!
- A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
- Do not do unto others as you expect they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.
- If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion.
- Which painting in the National Gallery would I save if there was a fire? The one nearest the door of course.
- Martyrdom: The only way a man can become famous without ability.
- The frontier between hell and heaven is only the difference between two ways of looking at things.
- Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.
So, there you have it, some great Irish sayings to think about. What’s your favorite? Tell us in the comment feed below.
