57 Inspiring Irish Quotes

Ireland, with its lush landscapes and rich cultural tapestry, has long been a wellspring of inspiration. From its legendary storytellers and poets to its everyday wisdom, Ireland offers a treasure trove of poignant insights. This blog post delves into a curated collection of 57 inspiring Irish quotes, each one a testament to the country's enduring spirit and charm. Whether you're seeking words of encouragement or simply wish to savor the unique lyrical beauty of Irish thought, these quotes promise to resonate deeply, offering a glimpse into the soul of a nation that's as poetic as it is profound.

1. “[Waiting for Godot] has achieved a theoretical impossibility—a play in which nothing happens, that yet keeps audiences glued to their seats. What's more, since the second act is a subtly different reprise of the first, he has written a play in which nothing happens, twice.” - Vivian Mercier

2. “The sea, the snotgreen sea, the scrotumtightening sea.” - James Joyce

3. “To be Irish is to know that in the end the world will break your heart.” - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

4. “There's no sense to being Irish unless you know the world's going to break your heart.” - Thomas Adcock

5. “Having placed in my mouth sufficient bread for three minutes' chewing, I withdrew my powers of sensual perception and retired into the privacy of my mind, my eyes and face assuming a vacant and preoccupied expression. I reflected on the subject of my spare-time literary activities. One Beginning and one ending for a book was a thing I did not agree with. A good book may have three openings entirely dissimilar and inter-related only in the prescience of the author, or for that matter one hundred times as many endings.” - Flann O'Brien

6. “[Kurt Cobain] had a lot of German in him. Some Irish. But no Jew. I think that if he had had a little Jew he would have [expletive] stuck it out.” - Courtney Love

7. “Writing in English is the most ingenious torture ever devised for sins committed in previous lives. The English reading public explains the reason why.” - James Joyce

8. “Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.” - George Bernard Shaw

9. “I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.” - Iris Murdoch

10. “When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say look at the trees. Maimed, stark and misshapen, but ferociously tenacious.” - Edna O'Brien

11. “As a member of the Protestant British squirearchy ruling Ireland, he was touchy about his Irish origins. When in later life an enthusiastic Gael commended him as a famous Irishman, he replied "A man can be born in a stable, and yet not be an animal.” - Arthur Wellesley

12. “Your battles inspired me - not the obvious material battles but those that were fought and won behind your forehead.” - James Joyce

13. “If there were only three Irishmen in the world you'd find two of them in a corner talking about the other.” - BRANDAN ARAOZ MARIA

14. “Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.” - William Butler Yeats

15. “For you can't hear Irish tunes without knowing you're Irish, and wanting to pound that fact into the floor.” - Jennifer Armstrong

16. “All I know is what the words know, and dead things, and that makes a handsome little sum, with a beginning and a middle and an end, as in the well-built phrase and the long sonata of the dead.” - Samuel Beckett

17. “The earth makes a sound as of sighs and the last drops fall from the emptied cloudless sky. A small boy, stretching out his hands and looking up at the blue sky, asked his mother how such a thing was possible. Fuck off, she said.” - Samuel Beckett

18. “The great Gaels of Ireland are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are merry, and all their songs are sad.” - G.K. Chesterton

19. “Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam. A country without a language is a country without a soul.” - Pádraig Pearse

20. “The Celt, and his cromlechs, and his pillar-stones, these will not change much – indeed, it is doubtful if anybody at all changes at any time. In spite of hosts of deniers, and asserters, and wise-men, and professors, the majority still are adverse to sitting down to dine thirteen at a table, or being helped to salt, or walking under a ladder, of seeing a single magpie flirting his chequered tale. There are, of course, children of light who have set their faces against all this, although even a newspaperman, if you entice him into a cemetery at midnight, will believe in phantoms, for everyone is a visionary, if you scratch him deep enough. But the Celt, unlike any other, is a visionary without scratching.” - William Butler Yeats

21. “He had been thinking of how landscape moulds a language. It was impossible to imagine these hills giving forth anything but the soft syllables of Irish, just as only certain forms of German could be spoken on the high crags of Europe; or Dutch in the muddy, guttural, phlegmish lowlands.” - Alexander McCall Smith

22. “Cad é an mhaith dom eagla a bheith orm? Ní shaorfadh eagla duine ón mbás, dar ndóigh.” - Peig Sayers

23. “Bí ann nó astáimse ag triall Ortagus má tácuirim geasa Ortmé a shábháilón dreama deirgur fear fuarsa spéir Thú.” - Caitlín Maude

24. “A ógánaigh...ná brisan ghloine ghlan'tá eadrainn(ní bhristear gloinegan fuil is pian)óir tá Neamhnó Ifreann thall'gus cén mhaith Neamhmura mairfidh ségo bráth?ní Ifreanngo hIfreanniar-Neimhe...(Impí)” - Caitlín Maude

25. “Americans may say they love our accents (I have been accused of sounding 'like Princess Di') but the more thoughtful ones resent and rather dislike us as a nation and people, as friends of mine have found out by being on the edge of conversations where Americans assumed no Englishmen were listening.And it is the English, specifically, who are the targets of this. Few Americans have heard of Wales. All of them have heard of Ireland and many of them think they are Irish. Scotland gets a sort of free pass, especially since Braveheart re-established the Scots' anti-English credentials among the ignorant millions who get their history off the TV.” - Peter Hitchens

26. “Some men never recover from education.” - Oliver St. John Gogarty

27. “H. L Mencken's Dictionary of the American Language supplies a long list of slang terms for being drunk, but the Irish are no slouches, either. They're spannered, rat-arsed, cabbaged, and hammered; ruined, legless, scorched, and blottoed; or simply trolleyed or sloshed. In Kerry, you're said to be flamin'; in Waterford, you're in the horrors; and in Cavan, you've gone baloobas, a tough one to wrap your tongue around if you ARE baloobas. In Donegal, you're steamin', while the afflicted in Limerick are out of their tree.” - Bill Barich

28. “The phrase "the violent bear it away" fascinated the 20th century Irish-American storyteller Flannery O'Connor, who used it as the title of one of her novels. O'Connor's surname connects her to an Irish royal family descended from Conchobor (pronounced "Connor"), the prehistoric king of Ulster who was foster father to Cuchulainn and "husband" of the unwilling Derdriu. In the western world, the antiquity of Irish lineages is exceeded only by that of the Jews.” - Thomas Cahill

29. “An cinniúnt, is dócha: féach an féileacán úd thall atá ag foluain os cionn mo choinnle. Ní fada go loiscfear a sciatháin mhaiseacha: cá bhfios dúinne nach bhfuil a fhios sin aige, freisin?” - Pádraic Ó Conaire

30. “Thankfully the rest of the world assumed that the Irish were crazy, a theory that the Irish themselves did nothing to debunk. They had somehow got it into their heads that each fairy lugged around a pot of gold with him wherever he went. While it was true that LEP had a ransom fund, because of its officers' high-risk occupation, no human had ever taken a chunk of it yet. This didn't stop the Irish population in general from skulking around rainbows, hoping to win the supernatural lottery.” - Eoin Colfer

31. “My people - before I was changed - they exchanged this as a sign of devotion. It's a Claddagh ring. The hands represent friendship; the crown represents loyalty... and the heart... Well, you know... Wear it with the heart pointing towards you. It means you belong to somebody. Like this.” - Joss Whedon

32. “Overheard at O'Banion's Beer Emporium: "Pardon me, darlin', but I'm writin' a telephone book. C'n I have yer number?” - Henry D. Spalding

33. “Boxers, like prostitutes, are in the business of ruining their bodies for the pleasure of strangers.” - "Irish" Wayne Kelly

34. “The same hand that can write a beautiful poem, can knock you out with one punch—that's Poetic Justice.” - "Irish" Wayne Kelly

35. “If it’s only a kiss you want, I can kiss you with my clothes on.” —Katie O'Reilly to Captain Lord Blackthorn” - Jina Bacarr

36. “Skip your fancy talk, Captain Lord Blackthorn. If I do your bidding, and I’m still discussing that with the Almighty, it will only be to save my arse.” Katie O'Reilly to Captain Lord Jack Blackthorn in "Titanic Rhapsody” - Jina Bacarr

37. “That's right, there's free beer in Irish paradise. Everyone's jealous.” - Kevin Hearne

38. “I was born Katie O’Reilly,” she began. “Poor Irish, but proud of it. I boarded the Titanic at Queenstown as a third class passenger with nothing more than the clothes on my back. And the law at my heels.” Titanic Rhapsody” - Jina Bacarr

39. “Katie shook her head in dismay. “I thought being poor was the worst thing that could happen to a girl.” “No, Katie,” the countess said in a clear voice. “The worst thing is to be in love with one man and have to marry another.”—Katie O'Reilly to the Countess of Marbury” - Jina Bacarr

40. “You're not falling for me, are you, Irish?"-Adam to Gabrielle” - Karen Marie Moning

41. “We Irish prefer embroideries to plain cloth. To us Irish, memory is a canvas--stretched, primed, and ready for painting on. We love the "story" part of the word "history," and we love it trimmed out with color and drama, ribbons and bows. Listen to our tunes, observe a Celtic scroll: we always decorate our essence.” - Frank Delaney

42. “For the record, Irish," he informed her tightly, just in case she got the wrong idea, "I kneel to no one.” - Karen Marie Moning

43. “Some ghosts are so quiet you would hardly know they were there.” - Bernie Mcgill

44. “All the same, she wondered if they did know what she thought and felt, if they knew without knowing, in that way the Irish were so adept at doing.” - Benjamin Black

45. “If you own a bar on your own, you're a player; if you own it with your beloved twin sister, you're–""Irish.” - Gillian Flynn

46. “A driver had been sent to meet us. He was gray-haired, short, and nimble and introduced himself. "I am Patrick and so is every fourth man in Ireland, and the ones in between are named Sean or Mick or Finn, and I'll be driving you.” - Sharon Creech

47. “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.” - Brendan Francis Behan

48. “Finding her voice at last, she asked, “What dreams are you having, sir?” “I dreamt I was in a spring field and a woman stands in the shadows just at the edge of the nearby forest. I haven’t yet seen her face, only her long beautiful hair. I always wake too soon.” He reached up to touch the hawk touchstone around his throat as he described his dream, rubbing it absently between his fingers. Lily lowered her lashes to hide her astonishment. “When you see someone in a dream but cannot see their face, it means you haven’t met them yet,” she explained. “Then perhaps I’ll dream of her again tonight and this time I’ll see her face.” He smiled, reaching across the table to take her left hand and lift it to his lips. “My name is Ian Kelly, and it would give me the greatest pleasure to know yours.” “Lily Evans. Around here I go by Raven.” She raised a shoulder, indicating the gypsy tent. “Lily--indeed, a most beautiful name. Now tell me,” he stared pointedly at her hand, “I see no ring that another has claimed you as his, so my confidence is strengthened. Look at your cards again, milady, and tell me if you see me in your future…” - Shannon MacLeod

49. “In the late afternoon, Lily approached Ian as he reclined on the couch sketching. “I’ve got something to ask you,” she said, the tiniest waver in her voice betraying her nervousness.Ian went on high alert and placed his pad and pencil on the coffee table. “What is it, sweetheart?” he managed to get out, keeping his voice even.Lily wrung her hands. “Okay. Now, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, okay? Ipromise I’ll understand if you say no. Really, I will.”His shoulders slumped in relief and he rescued her hands from each other before either was damaged. “Darlin’, you needn’t be afraid to ask. I would love for you to take me to bed and spend the rest of the day making wild, passionate love to me. Tonight and tomorrow too, if that would make you happy,” Ian assured her.Lily blinked and frowned uncertainly. “Umm…tempting as that sounds, no, that’s not it.”“Need an organ donated, then? I’ve got one in mind just for you.”“This is serious.” She giggled, thumping him on the chest.“Damn right it is. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve seen you naked?” he said, raising an eyebrow in challenge. “How the hell am I supposed to get better under these horrific conditions? I may end up in therapy yet. See, look, my eye’s already starting to twitch…” - Shannon MacLeod

50. “Oh, now my Erin, she'd smile down on me no matter where I walked." Grandpop smiled that little smile again. "But I'd be separated from her, and I'd feel that separation in my soul, you see?"Nathan shook his head.Grandpop sighed. "You have the Irish eyes, boy. One of these days, you'll see from eyes, not your own, feel with a heart outside your chest. Wild Irish eyes. Nathan. When you love, love well and love true, and take care, lad, because those Irish eyes are windows into not just your own soul, but the soul of the one you love." Grandpop looked out at his Erin's grave."And when you lose that heart, you can't leave the places where your memories are the best. And if I left her, I'd not be buried beside her.” - Lora Leigh

51. “She let her mind drift, thinking about new lingerie designs, wishing she'd brought along her sketchpad. Inspiration could strike at the most inconvenient times--in the shower, in the car, on this road--but she was grateful it was with her again, an old companion with whom she was getting reacquainted, pleased to find they could take up where they'd left off, as if there'd been no estrangement at all.” - Heather Barbieri

52. “Let justice be done tho the heavens fall.” - Michael Davitt

53. “I shall ne'er chase rainbows again, Knowing no pot o' gold awaits at the end. My Irish treasure is not there. For ye, my love, abide with me here.” - Richelle E. Goodrich

54. “Yes, it is a rich language, Lieutenant, full of the mythologies of fantasy and hope and self-deception - a syntax opulent with tomorrows. It is our response to mud cabins and a diet of potatoes; our only method of replying to... inevitabilities.” - Brian Friel

55. “Sure and you've got to keep your own spitis up, for there's no one else will do that for you!” - Jaclyn Moriarty

56. “Oberon’s been kidnapped along with one of the werewolves, and that’s why we’re all so upset. We’ll talk more tomorrow, and I promise to answer all your questions if I survive the night,” I said. The widow’s eyebrows raised. “Ye’ve got all these nasty pooches to run around with and ye still might die?” “I’m going to go fight with a god, some demons, and a coven of witches who all want to kill me,” I said, “so it’s a distinct possibility.” “Are y’goin’ t’kill ’em back?” “I’d certainly like to.” “Attaboy,” the widow chuckled. “Off y’go, then. Kill every last one o’ the bastards and call me in the mornin’.” - Kevin Hearne

57. “...to be Irish is to know the world will break your heart before you are thirty.” - Virginia Henley