Happy New Year In Irish

December 31, 2015 by Irish American Mom 23 Comments

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The year is drawing to a close, and so the time has come once again for me to wish you all a Happy New Year.

Many of you may wonder how to say 'Happy New Year' in Irish, our Gaelic language. Here I'll share the appropriate phrases in Irish, together with some sound files so you can listen to the spoken word.

Text on a black graphic with Celtic patterns in green — Happy New Year in Irish

And as we celebrate the New Year I thought we might also explore some old Irish folk beliefs and customs surrounding this annual occasion..... Let's face it! .... You can't stop those years from ticking over.

How To Say Happy New Year In Irish
Happy New Year To Many
New Year's Eve In Irish
Old Irish Folk Beliefs For New Year
Lighting A Candle In The Window
Flinging Some Bread At The Door

How To Say Happy New Year In Irish

In the Irish language we say...

"Athbhliain Faoi Mhaise Duit"

Here's my phonetic pronunciation for you - "ah-vleen fway vah-sha gwitch"

And here is the sound file:

The word "faoi" is pronounced 'fway' in Munster, but in Connemara it would be said as 'fwee'. Since I learned most of my Irish from my West Cork mother, I'm sticking with 'fway'.

This literally means a Prosperous New Year to You, but is the best equivalent to the English saying of "Happy New Year."

Happy New Year To Many

When speaking to more than one person, you would say ....

"Athbhliain Faoi Mhaise Daoibh"

... which is pronounced phonetically as "ah-vleen fway vah-sha jeeve."

And here is the sound file:

New Year's Eve In Irish

The name given to New Year’s Eve in Gaelic or Irish was ....

Oíche Chinn Bliana

... which literally means Year’s End Night.

Phonetic pronunciation goes like this "ee-ha kin blee-ana."

Here is the sound file:

Another name for this special night focused on the tradition of preparing a big meal for the last day of the year ...

Oíche na Coda Móire

..... literally means "The Night of the Great Feast."

Here's the phonetic pronunciation ... "ee-ha nah cud-ah more-ah."

And here is the sound file:

Plenty of food was brought into the house for the Big Feast, but no food was taken out of the house during the celebration.

By keeping food within the house, it was thought that good fortune would be bestowed upon all, and nobody would go hungry in the coming year.

Old Irish Folk Beliefs For New Year

Judging by modern day exuberant New Year celebrations held in Dublin and all around Ireland each year, you might be surprised to learn that Irish New Year festivities in days gone by were very reserved.

You see, in old Celtic tradition the New Year actually began at Halloween with the celebration of Samhain. As a result our modern day tradition of bidding goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new one was not formally observed in Ireland in centuries past.

However I did discover some lovely old traditions centering on this holiday.

These are outlined in a booklet from 1967 called ‘Irish Folk Custom and Belief’, by Seán Ó Súilleabháin (1903 – 1996), which was published for the Cultural Relations Committee of Ireland.

Text on a graphic featuring a lit candle — Irish Christmas Traditions

Lighting A Candle In The Window

Remember how we discussed the Irish tradition of lighting a candle in the window on Christmas Eve in a previous post .... well, a candle was once again set alight in Irish cottage windows on New Year's Eve.

This was a night for remembering those who have departed this world. Families prayed the rosary together, remembering those who had passed and those now absent from home because of immigration.

All of Ireland's sons and daughters who had left for the distant shores of America, Canada, England and Australia, and many more far flung places, were especially remembered on New Year's Eve. This was the night when many of your ancestors were prayed for in their homeland of Ireland.

Text on a black graphic with green, white and orange stripes and Celtic knots — Old Irish Saying

Flinging Some Bread At The Door

As a nation that suffered the horrors of famine in the middle of the 19th century, many Irish traditions developed to ward off the great dangers of hunger.

Each New Year, brought with it many uncertainties, and our ancestors livelihoods were directly dependent upon good weather, the dangers of flooding and the dire need for a good harvest each year.

To banish the greatly feared dangers of hunger a piece of cake or bread was dashed against the door. A barm brack or soda bread was used for this bread flinging custom.

The man or woman of the house flung the first piece of bread and recited the following verse ....

"Fógraimíd an gorta

Amach go tír na dTurcach.

Ó anocht, go bliain ó anocht

Is ó anocht féin amach."

Here's the phonetic pronunciation .... 'Foh-gra-meed on gur-tha / Ah-mock guh teer nah dhur-cock / Oh an-uck-th, guh bleen oh an-uck-th / Iss oh an-uck-th fey-n am-ock.'

Here is the sound file:

Here's my translation (any Irish scholars out there, please feel free to chime in with corrections) ....

"We call on famine,

Out as far as the land of the Turk,

From tonight, to a year from tonight,

and from this very night, be gone."

Text on a graphic with a green patterned background pattern — New Year Wishes from Ireland

Another person sitting in the group would respond ....

"An donas amach

A's an sonas isteach,

Ó anocht go bliain ó anocht,

In ainm an Athar agus an Mhic agus an Spioraid Naomh,

Amen."

First here's my phonetic helping hand .... 'On dun-us ah-mock / Ah-ss on sun-is ish-tock / Oh an-uck-th, guh bleen oh an-uck-th / In on-im on ah-hir ah-gus on Vic ah-gus on Spir-id Nave / Amen.'

Here's the sound file:

Here's my translation ...

Misfortune be gone,

And happiness come in,

From tonight to a year from tonight,

In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

Amen.

After this little ceremony the family or group would eat the broken bread together, once again as a symbolic gesture to keep good fortune within, and hunger at bay.

Further explanation is available in Irish through this Wikipedia page.

Text on a black diagram with gold and white patterns — Irish Blessing for the New Year

And so, there you have it. A little run down of some old Irish New Year's traditions. If you feel like throwing a bit of bread at the door tonight, fire ahead if you're Irish.

I hope the coming year will be wonderful for everyone. Here's to a year of happy writing, blogging and sharing stories of Ireland and America.

Thanks so much for reading my recipes and ramblings, and do stop by in the New Year to check out my new blog posts.

Slán agus beannacht,

(Goodbye and blessings)

Mairéad -Irish American Mom

Pronunciation - slawn ah-gus ban-ock-th

Mairéad - rhymes with parade

If you enjoyed this post you may like to explore some other ramblings about how New Year is celebrated in Ireland ....

A clock sitting on top of a wooden table — New Year Toasts

Irish Toasts And Blessings For A Happy New Year

A boy with a wheelbarrow holding bags of gold — Happy New Year

Why Celebrating New Year In January Is A Relatively New Custom In Ireland

A candle burning in a cottage window with holly and poinsettia — Irish Christmas Traditions

An Irish Christmas – Ancient Rural Traditions

Christmas

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Drinks And Cocktails

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Ireland - County By County

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