90 Irish Quotes and Proverbs to Get Your Spirits Up

These Irish quotes will give you a different perspective on nearly anything that is going on in your life.

Maybe you are looking for quotes about health, family, a breakup, or everything in between.

The Irish have a unique yet colorful and complicated history that dates back thousands of years.

Though the country has changed, they have maintained its identity and culture in various ways.

Tell us your favorite Irish quote in the comment section below.

You might also enjoy these Anam Cara Quotes Sharing Celtic Wisdom.

What are the benefits of reading these Irish quotes

The Irish have also influenced other cultures and societies; today, many sayings and superstitions stem from there.

Sayings like “the luck of the Irish” are known worldwide.

However, there are far more sayings than this one — Irish proverbs that come from the motherland

No matter how far these Irish quotes date back, these sayings’ wisdom is timeless.

These Irish quotes and sayings will provide you with:

• everyday wisdom for life
• a new perspective on your health and death
• food for thought on friends and family

Read these Irish quotes, and maybe you’ll have some good luck or just some food for thought.

Don’t forget to check out these Chinese proverbs, quotes, and sayings about love and life.

Short Irish quotes

1. “Always remember that hindsight is the best insight to foresight.” — Irish Proverb

2. “It is often that a person’s mouth broke his nose.” — Irish Proverb

3. “You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.” — Irish Proverb

4. “Don’t give cherries to pigs or advice to fools.” — Irish Proverb

5. “A little fire that warms is better than a big fire that burns.” — Irish Proverb

6. “Lie down with dogs and you’ll rise with fleas.” — Irish Proverb

7. “All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.” — Irish Proverb

8. “A man loves his sweetheart the most, his wife the best, but his mother the longest.” — Irish Proverb

9. “If you buy what you don’t need you might have to sell what you do.” — Irish Proverb

10. “I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” — Irish Proverb

Irish quotes on everyday wisdom

11. “May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up.” — Irish Proverb

12. “Sometimes one day changes everything; sometimes years change nothing.” — Irish Proverb

13. “May your heart be light and happy, may your smile be big and wide, and may your pockets always have a coin or two inside!” — Irish Proverb

14. “You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.” — Irish Proverb

15. “Never scald your lips with another man’s porridge.” — Irish Proverb

16. “Forgetting a debt doesn’t mean it’s paid.” — Irish Proverb

17. “Don’t be breaking your shin on a stool that’s not in your way.” — Irish Proverb

18. “May you live to be 100 years, with one extra year to repent.” — Irish Proverb

19. “Every man is sociable until a cow invades his garden.” — Irish Proverb

20. “Through wisdom is good in the beginning, it is better at the end.” — Irish Proverb

21. “May the roof above you never fall in and those gathered beneath it never fall out.” — Irish Proverb

You might also like these wise Native American quotes on community, respect, and more.

Irish Quotes on Death

22. “May you be at the gates of heaven an hour before the devil knows you’re dead!” — Irish Proverb

23. “It is better to be a coward for a minute than dead the rest of your life.” — Irish Proverb

24. “Do not resent growing old. Many are denied the privilege.” — Irish Proverb

Irish quotes

25. “The old person is a child twice.” — Irish Proverb

Irish Quotes on Friendship

26. “May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty!” — Irish Proverb

27. “Who keeps his tongue keeps his friends.” — Irish Proverb

28. “May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.” — Irish Proverb

29. “A kind word never broke anyone’s mouth.” — Irish Proverb

30. “Two people shorten the road.” — Irish Proverb

31. “Who gossips with you will gossip of you.” — Irish Proverb

32. “A friend’s eye is a good mirror.” — Irish Proverb

You might also like these St. Patrick’s Day quotes to bring out the Irish in everyone.

Irish Quotes on Family

33. “May you only grow old in the face. Be treasured and cared for with grace” — Irish Proverb

34. “A family of Irish birth will argue and fight, but let a shout come from without, and see them all unite.” — Irish Proverb

35. “Here’s to me, and here’s to you. And here’s to love and laughter. I’ll be true as long as you. And not one moment after.” — Irish Proverb

36. “It’s easy to halve the potato where there’s love.”— Irish Proverb

Irish Quotes on Work

37. “May you get all your wishes but one, so that you will always have something to strive for!” — Irish Proverb

38. “However long the day, the evening will come.” — Irish Proverb

39. “The work praises the man.” – Irish Proverb

40. “If your messenger is slow, go to meet him.” — Irish Proverb

41. “You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.” — Irish Proverb

42. “Don’t fear an ill wind if your haystacks are tied down.” — Irish Proverb

Irish Quotes on Health

43. “A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.” — Irish Proverb

44. “What butter and whiskey won’t cure, there is no cure for.” — Irish Proverb

45. “The older the fiddle the sweeter the tune.” — Irish Proverb

46. “May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.” — Irish Proverb

47. “May the road rise up to meet you.” — Irish Proverb

48. “May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up.” — Irish Proverb

49. “Beautiful young people are acts of nature but beautiful old people are works of art.” — Irish Proverb

50. “It’s better to pay the butcher than the doctor.” — Irish Proverb

51. “Continual cheerfulness is a sign of wisdom.” – Irish Proverb

More Irish quotes and sayings

52. “The light heart lives long.” – Irish Proverb

53. “A wren in the hand is better than a crane to be caught.” – Irish Proverb

54. “Say a little and say it well.” – Irish Proverb

55. No time for health today, no health for your time tomorrow.” – Irish Proverb

56. “The longest road out is the shortest road home.” – Irish Proverb

57. “There is no luck except where there is discipline.” – Irish Proverb

58. “A questioning man is halfway to being wise.” – Irish Proverb

59. “There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught.” – Irish Proverb

60. “Idleness is a fool’s desire.” – Irish Proverb

Irish quotes from or about Irish people

61. “I’m Irish. We think sideways.” — Spike Milligan

62. “Ambition can creep as well as soar.” — Edmund Burke

63. “It’s a good deed to forget a bad joke.” — Brendan Behan

64. “Life is like a cup of tea, it’s all in how you make it!” — Irish Saying

65. “If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks.” — Bendan Behan

66. “May the Good Lord take a liking to you… but not too soon!” — Irish Saying

67. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” — George Bernard Shaw

68. “Grandchildren are gifts of God. It is God’s way of compensating us for growing old.” — Irish Saying

69. “On the Irish ladder of success there’s always someone on the rung above using your head to steady himself.” — Unknown

70. “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

Irish Quotes And Proverbs About Life and The Choices We Make 

71. “If you’re Irish, it doesn’t matter where you go, you’ll always find family.” — Victoria Smurfit

72. “Ireland is the only place in the world where procrastination takes on a sense of urgency.” — Dave Allen

73. “Though sympathy alone can’t alter facts, it can help to make them more bearable.” — Bram Stoker

74. “An acquaintance that begins with a compliment is sure to develop into a real friendship. It starts in the right manner.” — Oscar Wilde

75. “Life is too short to read a bad book. James JoyceLife is too short to read a bad book.” —  James Joyce

76. “The difficulty in life is the choice.” — George Moore

77. “If you accept your limitations you go beyond them.” — Brendan Behan

78. “Remember my friend, that knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weak.” — Abraham Stoker

79. “The joy in life is to be used for a purpose. I want to be used up when I die.” — George Bernard Shaw

80. “Some people are moulded by their aspirations, others by their hostilities.” — Elizabeth Bowen

Irish Quotes and Proverbs to Inspire and Delight

81. “Face the sun, but turn your back to the storm.” ― Irish Proverb

82. “Never burn a penny candle looking for a halfpenny.” ― Irish Proverb

83. “A glutton lives to eat; a wise man eats to live.” ― Irish Proverb

84. “Nobody is wise till something goes against him.” ― Irish Proverb

85. “A sword, a spade, and a thought should never be allowed to rust.” ― Irish Proverb

86. “Not every flatterer is a friend.” ― Irish Proverb

87. “The end of the feast is better than the beginning of a quarrel.” ― Irish Proverb

88. “Hope is the physician of each misery.” ― Irish Proverb

89. “The seekin’, for one thing, will find another.” ― Irish Proverb

90. “Character is better than wealth.” ― Irish Proverb

Which of these Irish quotes and proverbs is your favorite?

Although these Irish quotes may be short in stature—like Irish leprechauns that so many of us are familiar with—it’s easy to see how profound they are and how they have stood the test of time.

When the going gets tough, an Irish quote may be all you need to cope with whatever you’re dealing with.

These Irish quotes will provide you with some wisdom to think about if you’re feeling uninspired or unmotivated.

The Irish have given the world so much, and these Irish quotes and sayings offer a little more insight into this culture.

If you loved these Irish quotes, you will also enjoy our leprechaun quotes!

Do you have any other favorite quotes to add?

Let us know in the comment section below.

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