Rainbows remind us of possibilities, opportunities and hope. Rainbows are God’s promise – His miracle.
In the midst of life’s storms it is often hard to spot a rainbow, but I think the most important thing is to remember, these miracles of the sky only appear after the storm.
In Ireland rainbows symbolize blessings from heaven, and this is reflected in some of the wise old words from generations past.
In today’s post, I have some wonderful photos of Irish rainbows, compliments of my brother-in-law, which I’ve paired with some traditional old Irish rainbow blessings and sayings.
” May God give you…
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.”
~ Old Irish Blessing
You can check out the Irish language version of this saying and get a free printable here.
May you have all the happiness
And luck that life can hold
– And at the end of your rainbows
May you find a pot of gold.
~ Old Irish Blessing
May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your window pane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
~ Old Irish Blessing
Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!
~ Old Irish Blessing
“May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day.
May songbirds serenade you every step along the way.
May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that’s always blue.
And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.”
~ Irish Blessing
“A rainbow afternoon,
Good weather coming soon.”
~ Old Irish Saying
“Don’t miss all the colors of the rainbow,
Looking for that pot of gold.”
~ Old Irish Saying
“The work will wait while you show the child the rainbow,
But the rainbow won’t wait while you do the work.”
~ Old Irish Saying
I hope these lovely rainbows, and Irish words of wisdom from the past, remind you that life is a rainbow of promise.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Irish American Mom
Best post ever!! Very timely.
You are the best
Ann – I’m delighted you enjoyed this little roundup of Irish rainbow blessings and sayings. There’s nothing like a rainbow to brighten the spirits and bring a sense of peace and hope.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Spectacular! The double rainbow at the end, I have only seen that once in real life.
So true about rainbows coming after the storm, in life, as with weather. Another lovely post!
Patricia – I love that double rainbow shot too, captured by my brother-in-law in County Donegal. Rainbows spring up frequently in Ireland’s western counties, along the Atlantic shoreline. The atmospherics are perfect for their creation. So glad you enjoyed this post.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
What lovely blessings. I never realized this before but you are right. Rainbows do come after a storm. I recently was fired from my career of seven years but I believe it was a blessing in disguise, my rainbow coming after the storm. Thank you for this post. From Brighid O’Sullivan @celticthoughts.com
Brighid – Blessings come in the most unexpected ways, and sometimes we look back and understand the changes in our lives that were truly blessings. I’m so glad to hear you now look back and see your career change as your rainbow after the storm.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Brighid – Blessings come in the most unexpected ways, and sometimes we look back and understand the changes in our lives that were truly blessings. I’m so glad to hear you now look back and see your career change as your rainbow after the storm.
Best wishes,
Wow, these rainbow photos are really gorgeous!
I also love all the blessings to go with them.
Hope you are doing well, these days, dear Mairead!
Hi Kay – Thanks for stopping by. So glad you liked this little collection of rainbows and blessings. Hope you too are keeping well.
All the best,
Mairéad
This Summer we had a rainbow in our yard! I even was able to get a picture of this happening. Not as defined as those in your post but there all of the same. I felt as though I had a direct nod from a higher power. It was wonderful.
Thank you for sharing the blessings with us.
Penny – rainbows do feel like an affirmative nod from on high – I like that. It’s amazing how uplifting they can be. So glad you got to experience one right in your back yard this summer.
All the best,
Mairead
Not long ago I was on my way to work and started to grumble about the soft drizzly rain that was sure to set the Florida drivers into a frenzy. (It’s just rain, for crying out loud, not snow or sleet or ice…) As I pulled into my work parking lot and got out of the car, my next thought was, “Great, I’m going to have some frizzy hair today.” Then I looked up. There was a beautiful brilliant rainbow with bold colors that stretched from one side of the sky to the other. It was a glorious picture painted in the sky. Immediate attitude adjustment. I looked up and apologized for my grumblings and remembered that without the rain there could be no rainbow. Thank you for sharing the loveliest of posts.
Anne – I’m so glad you enjoyed this post and thought it stirred your memories of your own amazing rainbow sighting. Thanks for sharing your story.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Dear Irish American Mom
My name is Christos and I am from Greece. I love very much all the Celtic saints and I have a blog in which I upload posts that have to do with these saints. I liked very much this post of yours and I decided to translate the post in Greek and upload it on my blog.
Here you can see your translated post and also view my blog: http://orthodoxy-rainbow.blogspot.gr/2015/10/blog-post_9.html
God bless you.
Thanks so much for linking back to my site and for translating my post to share with people in Greece and around the world.
Blessings to you too,
Mairéad
Hello,
I am a 4th grade Catholic school teacher and was looking for some quotes about about rainbows to go with my classroom theme this year. I stumbled upon your post and loved it! It was the inspiration I was looking for! On another note, my mother is half Irish, half Italian and all Catholic! I appreciated connecting with my Irish family roots!
Great post! Thank you and God bless you!
Lisa
Hi Lisa – What a lovely theme to choose for your classroom this year. May your students find inspiration as you lead them on their learning journeys to find their dreams and talents at the end of their rainbows.
Best wishes, and thanks so much for stopping by to check out this little collection of Irish rainbow blessings.
Mairéad
What a beautiful and unique post. It speaks to my Irish roots. I’m going to use one of these blessings for a wedding couple. Thank you for the inspiration.
Lovely to read all of these rainbow blessings. Thank you.
Love and blessing from Cape Town .
Thanks so much Sheila. It’s lovely to know my ramblings are appreciated as far away as South Africa.
All the best,
Mairéad
Lovely post! I love the blessings! I just returned from Ireland – really enjoy reading/following your blog.
Hi Deirdre – I’m so glad you got to visit Ireland this year. Many thanks for following my blog. I really appreciate the support. And thanks for checking out this little collection of blessings.
All the best,
Mairéad ☘