Irish Sayings

Irish Sayings posts cover the proverbs and stock phrases that move between Irish, Hiberno-English and the Irish-American diaspora. Articles look at the most common ones that turn up on tea towels (May the wind be always at your back; A friend’s eye is a good mirror), the older Gaelic versions and what they actually mean once translated literally, the role of seanfhocail in the school curriculum and the everyday phrases like ‘grand’ and ‘sound’ that catch visitors off guard. There are also notes on the difference between a true proverb and a piece of marketing invented for the souvenir trade.