St. Patrick spoke the Irish language. You can share a little Irish with your friends to really connect with Ireland’s Gaelic culture.
St. Patrick would have had no choice but to speak it, in order to spread his religious message.
Not sure about Irish vs Gaelic? Watch our Irish vs Gaelic video to find out more.
Phrase 1 in Irish Gaelic: Shamrock
seamróg = shamrock
Say it like this (this is a native audio recording from our Bitesize Irish lessons).
seamróg = shamrock /SHAM-roge/
Phrase 2 in Irish: Cheers!
Sláinte = Cheers!
Click this audio arrow below to listen. The last piece (“SLOYNE-cheh”) is our phonetic pronunciation. It’s there to help you understand the beautiful sounds you hear of the Irish language.
Sláinte /SLOYNE-cheh/
Important note: please don’t use St. Patrick’s Day to abuse your love for alcohol. We want you to enjoy yourself, not shame yourself. Say this with your cup of tea if you prefer!
By the way, are you enjoying learning a little bit of the native language of Ireland in Bitesize pieces? That’s what we pride ourselves on at Bitesize Irish.
Phrase 3 in Irish: A pint of Guinness, please
Pionta Guinness le do thoil – /Pyun-tah Guinness, leh duh hul./
If you want to keep it simple, just remember the first part of the phrase: “Pionta Guinness”. The second half means “please”.
Again, please don’t make alcohol the focus of your St. Patrick’s Day. Instead, please enjoy the day with your Irish friends and family.
More St. Patrick’s Day in the Irish Language
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2 thoughts on “St. Patrick’s Day: Three Irish things EVERYBODY can say”
I spent St. Patricks day at a friends house in a small country town called Pomona in Queensland.
Across the road is a Church dedicated to himself. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gilleverett/8463231108/
In this community i think there would be many who are completely ignorant of Ireland and the whole edifice is a monument to tokenism.
I sometimes walk around the facility which is almost always locked up tight as a Bodhran skin, and this time was no exception. For the cultural resonance of it i sang all 3 of the songs i have at me in Irish to the building.
I thought it a significant thing.
Is mise mehull
Very interesting to see the icon of St. Patrick on the Pomona church.