Proverbs & Sayings of Ireland

by Sean Gaffney (Editor)

Arranged by subject, Proverbs and Sayings of Ireland, is an illustrated collection of more than 1,000 proverbs, sayings and triads (a three part piece of wisdom) from all of over Ireland. Apart from their unceasing curiosity as "words of wisdom," proverbs enable us to peer through the half door, as it were, and glimpse the attitudes, folk memories and philosophies of a people. In this collection, little escapes the priests, the demon drink, the lover, society, ideas, virtues and vices. But there is also humor and pride, faith and love...and the odd word of "To praise God is proper, but a wise man won't blackguard the devil!"

Genres: Nonfiction, Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Seamus Cashman is publisher at Wolfhound Press, the company he founded at his kitchen table in 1974. The first edition of Proverbs and Sayings of Ireland was his first book that has sold tens of thousands of copies in various editions since.

Reviews

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is just a long list of sayings without stories and context. Most are fairly self explanatory in terms of meaning, but there were others like “The curse of Cromwell on you” that definitely needs context. I was really hoping to hear some clever anecdotes about where the sayings came from, or any kind of history would have been great, but there was none of that. Personally, I think this is a waste of time as anything other than a bathroom book.

[Caoilo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though it was kind of cool to step back into some of the old saying, the amount of misogyny was disgusting. No wonder we are still seen as less than men. Glad some of these sayings are dead.

[The Warped One · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish this was longer.

[Geoff Cumberbeach · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing collection of varied proverbs.
Book has an excellent key word index to assist with finding part remembered proverbs.

[Dave/Maggie Bean · Rating 4 out of 5]

When first I spotted this book, I expected it to consist of two pages; the first reading "No surrender!" and the second, "God made us Catholic -- Armalite made us equal!"

"A cynic’s work is never done," as cartoonist Peter Bagge once opined…

As luck would have it, a cursory reading allayed my initial suspicion so much; I actually bought a copy.

My mother often accuses me of slighting my "green" Irish and Anglo-Norman roots in favor of my Ulster Protestant and Scottish ancestry, so I hope purchasing this book put her mind to rest. It really is a delightful little volume, and I’d recommend it to any Irish-descended American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander, etc.

Broken down alphabetically into classifications, Proverbs and Sayings of Ireland provides a sampling of Irish wit and wisdom on everything from ability to youth.

Although the Irish are frequently (and quite unfairly) maligned by bigots; and their intellectual capacity often questioned (Sadly, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity and the late, unlamented "Chappaquiddick Ted" serve only to confirm the worst "Hibernophobe" stereotypes), many Irish sayings are every bit as profound – and ring as true -- as anything found in the Tao Te Ching, Proverbs, the Bhagavad Gita or Ecclesiastes.

You’ll have to buy your own copy, but I’ll leave you with a few of the choicer aphorisms.

"Often the hound that was made fun of killed the deer."

"A man is often a bad adviser to himself and a good adviser to another."

"It’s the jewel that can’t be got that’s the most beautiful."

"Every man is bold until he faces a crowd."

"Don’t show all your teeth until you can bite."

"In spite of the fox’s cunning, his hide is often sold."

"Death stares the old in the face and lurks behind the backs of the young."

"Greatness knows modesty."

"There is often the death of a person between two words."

"There are two things that can’t be cured – death and want of sense."

"The friend that can be bought is not worth buying."

"Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are."

"Take gifts with a sigh -- most men give to be paid."

"Better knowledge of the evil, than the evil without knowledge."

"After the chieftains fall, the fight seldom continues."

"A bad wife takes advice from everyone but her husband."

"Though the proverb is abandoned, it is not falsified."

[Douglas Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful little book of Irish Proverbs and Sayings.

It never ceases to amaze me how wisdom is found so consistently - everywhere!
As Proverbs 8:1-4 says:
Proverbs 8:1–4 (NKJV)
Does not wisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her voice?
She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,
Beside the way, where the paths meet.
She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,
At the entrance of the doors:
“To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men."

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

maybe this will make me fit in more in ireland :)