To wish someone a Happy New Year in Irish, say:
Athbhliain faoi mhaise duit! = Happy New Year!
Pronounce it something like: /ah-vleen fwee vosh-ah ghwitch/
Be careful. Gaelic distinguishes between “you” when speaking about one person, and “you” for when you’re addressing more than one person.
Happy New Year in Irish to more than one person
To wish a Happy New Year to more than on person in Irish Gaelic, say to them:
Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh = Happy New Year
/Ah-vleen fwee vosh-ah gheev/
Happy New Year 2016 & 2017
To say “2016” and “2017” in the Irish language, say:
Dhá mhíle is a sé déag (2016)
/Ghaw mee-leh is ah shay jay-og/
Dhá mhíle is a seacht déag (2017)
/Ghaw mee-leh is ah shokht jay-og/
Literally, we are saying “two thousand and sixteen (seventeen)”.
Now, if you want more, here’s a pronunciation video we made for this occasion. You can learn how to wish someone a Happy New Year in Irish!
How To Say – A Happy New Year in Irish Gaelic
That’s it for our Gaelic New Year’s wishes. For this and other seasonal expressions, read Phrases for an Irish Gaelic Christmas.
12 thoughts on “Happy New Year in Irish”
I am looking for a high quality jpeg of a celtic carving for a website banner. Would you know where I could find such a thing?
Thank you. Looking forward to my Irish studies,
Hi Candace,
Thank you for your comment.
Let me find this out for you and we will post the answer here.
Le meas,
Ana.
Hi Candace,
Thank you for your comment.
Unfortunately, I don’t know of where you could find such a specific image. Perhaps Pinterest would be a good try.
I hope you find what your looking for! Good luck with your Irish lessons too!
Le meas,
Siobhán
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Hi Layla,
Thank you for your comment.
We are glad to hear that you like our content.
Le meas,
Ana.
Words should be spelt as ‘duit’ and ‘daoibh’ without ‘h’ though sound likw they have one.
I wrote about my own personal experiences with Nollaig Na Mban here in the Irish Emigrant Magazine:
http://www.emigrant.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36537&Itemid=297
And I continue the tradition today in Newfoundland.
thanks for your neat website…
Excellent, very interesting.
06/01/2012 : Nollaig na mBan faoi mhaise dhaoibh!
Extract from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Christmas
Women’s Christmas
Little Christmas is also called Women’s Christmas (Irish: Nollaig na
mBan), and sometimes Women’s Little Christmas. The tradition, still
very strong in Cork andKerry is so called because of the Irish men
taking on all the household duties for the day.[10] Most women hold
parties or go out to celebrate the day with their friends, sisters,
mothers, and aunts. Bars and restaurants serve mostly women and girls
on this night. Children often buy presents for their mothers and
grandmothers.
The tradition is not well documented, but one article from The Irish
Times (January 1998), entitled On the woman’s day of Christmas,[11]
describes both some sources of information and the spirit of this
occasion.
+ Nasc eile faoi: http://ga.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nollaig_Bheag
Bíodh lá maith agaibh / Have ( you plural ) a nice day,
Gearóid
Thanks for sharing!
Hello Eoin, I just wonder if this is really right:
“To wish a Happy New Year to more than on person in Irish Gaelic, say to them:
Athbhliain faoi mhaise dhuit = Happy New Year
/Ah-vleen fwee vosh-ah gheev/
I mean “dhuit” shouldn’t it be “daoibh (dhaoibh)”?
Regards Lina
Ó, tá brón orm! Sorry, my mistake. I have corrected the article so that it now reads “dhaoibh” where before I had repeated “dhuit”.