The Irish or Gaelic oral tradition is replete with numerous proverbs and sayings. Our ancestors composed many little nuggets of advice, and some of their words are overflowing with Irish wit and wisdom.
Around this little corner of the internet we love to examine these old sayings and immerse ourselves in the soft whisperings of our forefathers.
There are thousands of wonderful Irish proverbs and sayings covering a wide variety of topics, so you won’t be surprised to learn our forebears even composed proverbs about proverbs, bearing advice about their own advice.
I believe this shows a sly and subtle self-confidence that pervaded the Irish psyche in years gone by. Considering the Irish were an oppressed people for many generations and centuries, the wisdom and depth of these old sayings is commendable.
And so, today I thought we might explore a few words of advice about advice from our wise old ancestors.
First, here are a few old sayings from Ireland about wisdom and advice, in the English language:
‘Tis afterwards, that everything is understood.”
“Food is no more important than wisdom.”
“A little bit of anything, isn’t worth a pin.
But a wee bit of sense is worth a lot.”
“The man who won’t have advice will have conflict.”
“A wise man takes advice.”
“Better knowledge of the evil,
than the evil without knowledge.”
Now let’s move on to a few old sayings in the Irish language.
I’ve included a sound file so that you can listen to each saying pronounced in Irish or Gaelic with a Munster dialect.
You’ll also find phonetic pronunciations for each Irish saying, plus of course, we’ll start with the English version for each proverb.
“Proverbs cannot be surpassed.”
or
“The proverb cannot be bettered.”
which in Irish or Gaelic is ….
“Ní sháraítear na seanfhocail.”
(Phonetic Pronunciation: Nee haw-ree-thur nah shan-uck-ill)
Sound file:
Here’s one I think is wonderful. Respect for our elders and the wisdom they’ve inherited from those who went before us is very important in life.
“A heritage of thoughts is to be found
in the proverbs of our ancestors.”
which in Irish or Gaelic is ….
“Oidhreacht na smaointe
i seanfhocail sinsear.”
(Phonetic Pronunciation: Eye-rock-th nah smwee-in-teh ih shan-uck-ill sheen-shar)
Sound file:
I hope to teach my kids to embrace their Irish heritage, and to understand the importance of passing on the wisdom of previous generations. Here’s hoping our children will continue to hear the whisperings of their ancestors….
“A proverb is like a whisper from our ancestors.”
which in Irish or Gaelic is ….
“Is ionann seanfhocal agus
cogar gaoise onár sinsir.”
(Phonetic Pronunciation: Iss un-ann shan-uck-ill ah-gus cug-ahr gwee-shah own-awr sheen-shir)
Sound file:
“Though the proverb is abandoned,
it is not falsified.”
which in Irish or Gaelic is….
“Má thréigtear an seanfhocal
ní bhréagnaítear é.”
(Phonetic Pronunciation: Maw h-ray-g-thur on shan-uck-ill nee vray-g-nee-thur ay)
Sound file:
“Good advice is better than a pot of gold.”
which translates into Irish as follows….
“Is fearrde dea-chomhairle ná pota óir.”
(Phonetic Pronunciation: Iss far-deh ja-core-la naw puh-tha ore)
Sound file:
“He who does not take advice
will take battle.”
which in Irish translates as…
“An té nach nglacann comhairle,
glacfaidh sé comhrac.”
(Phonetic Pronunciation: On tay nock ng-lock-uhn co-urla, glock-hig shay co-rock.)
Sound file:
“Listen to everyone’s advice,
but follow your own.”
which translates into Irish as …..
“Éist le comhairle ó gach aon,
agus déan do chomhairle féin.”
(Phonetic Pronunciation: Eh-sht le co-urla oh gock eh-un ah-gus day-un duh co-urla fay-un.)
Sound file:
And finally, here’s an old Irish proverb warning us not to fall for the sweet words of smooth-talkers…
“It is seldom that a rogue
cannot find an appropriate proverb.”
which in its original Irish version goes like this…
“Is annamh nach bhfaigheann
rógaire seanfhocal cuí.”
(Phonetic Pronunciation: Iss ann-uv nock vi-un row-gu-re shan-uck-ill cwee.)
Sound file:
And so, before you think I too have turned into a rogue, who can find a proverb for every purpose, I’ll sign off.
I hope you enjoyed this little collection of wise old words from our ancestors.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
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