St Patrick’s Day quotes 2023: famous poems, songs, messages, how to say ‘Happy Saint Patrick’s Day’ in Irish

St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of Irish history and culture which takes place all over the world on 17 March
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St. Patrick’s Day, also known as the “Feast of Saint Patrick”, is a celebration of Irish history and culture which takes place all over the world on 17 March.

It has certain traditions, most popular among the Irish is wearing green clothes, drinking green beer, singing and dancing in pubs, watching parades, and generally having a good time. Celebrations extend far beyond Ireland with “Irish Luck” being a popular national notion meaning a positive attitude about life and an optimistic look.

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Here’s some St Patrick’s Day quotes, poems, and songs to get you in the mood for the upcoming Irish celebrations - and how you can say Happy St Patrick’s Day in Irish!

St Patrick’s Day quotes

  • “St. Patrick’s Day is a day to celebrate our green heritage. The ancestry of Ireland. It is a day to celebrate what it means to be Irish and of Irish descent.” – Anthony T. Hicks“May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow. And may trouble avoid you wherever you go.” – Irish Blessing
  • “St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time — a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.” – Adrienne Cook
  • “Being Irish is very much a part of who I am. I take it everywhere with me.” - Colin Farrell
  • “If you’re lucky enough to be Irish, you’re lucky enough!” – Irish Saying
  • “May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience, and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint!” – Irish Toast
  • “Every St. Patrick’s Day every Irishman goes out to find another Irishman to make a speech to.” – Shane Leslie
  • “As you slide down the bannister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.” – Irish Blessing
  • “We may have bad weather in Ireland, but the sun shines in the hearts of the people and that keeps us all warm.” - Marianne Williamson
(Image by NationalWorld/Mark Hall) (Image by NationalWorld/Mark Hall)
(Image by NationalWorld/Mark Hall)
How to say Happy St Patrick’s Day in Irish

There are a number of ways you can say it, depending on who you are talking to.

To greet one person with Happy St Patrick’s Day, you should say Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit!

Phonetically it is pronounced - lah leh PAH-drig SUN-uh gwitch.

If you are messaging or talking to a group you can say lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhaoibh!

You say this like - lah luh PAH-drig SUN-uh YEE-uv.

To wish someone St Patrick’s Day blessings to you you should say beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig dhuit!

This is pronounced like - BAN-ukh-tee nuh FAY-leh PAH-drig gwitch.

And to give blessings for St Patrick’s Day to a group of people you would say beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

This is pronounced - BAN-ukh-tee nuh FAY-leh PAH-drig ur-iv.

St Patrick’s day poems

The love of Saint Patrick

May the love of St. Patrick,

find a place in your heart,

A love of a country,

a land set apart,

A love of a people,

so proud and so true,

and lastly the love,

that I feel now for you.

An Irish blessing

May these rich blessings be your due—

A wealth of friendships, old and new,

Some service rendered, some solace given,

And gentle peace with God and Heaven.

Saint Patrick was a gentleman

(As sung by the Wolfe Tones on the album ‘Spirit Of The Nation.’)

Saint Patrick was a gentleman, he came from decent people

In Dublin town, he built a church and on it put a steeple

His father was a Callaghan, his mother was a Brady

His auntie an O’Shaughnessy, his uncle an’ O’Grady

Chorus: Then here’s to bold St. Paddy’s fist, he was a saint so clever

He gave the snakes and toads a twist and banished them forever.

There’s not a mile in Eireann’s isle where the dirty vermin musters

Where’er he put his dear forefoot, he murdered them in clusters

The toads went hop, the frogs went pop, slapdash into the water

And beasts committed suicide to save themselves from slaughter.

Chorus

The Wicklow hills are very high and so is the hill of Howth, sir

‘Twas on the top of this high hill Saint Patrick preached his sermons

He drove the frogs into the bogs and banished all the vermins

And there’s a hill much bigger still, much higher than them both, sir.

Chorus

No wonder that those Irish lads should be so gay and frisky

For sure Saint Pat, he taught them that, as well as making whiskey

No wonder that the saint himself should understand distilling

His mother kept a shebeen shop in the town of Enniskillen.

Five Green Shamrocks

One green shamrock, in the morning dew,

Another one sprouted,

and then there were two.

Two green shamrocks, growing beneath a tree;

Another one sprouted,

and then there were three.

Three green shamrocks, by the cottage door;

Another one sprouted,

and then there were four.

Four green shamrocks, near a beehive

Another one sprouted,

and then there were five.

Five little shamrocks, bright and emerald green,

Think of all the luck

these shamrocks will bring.

Best songs for St Patrick’s Day

  • “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2

  • “This Is a Rebel Song” by Sinead O’Connor

  • “Dirty Old Town” by the Pogues

  • “Molly Malone” by the Dubliners

  • “Alternative Ulster” by Stiff Little Fingers

  • “The Rocky Road to Dublin” by the Tossers

  • “Irish Rover” by the Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem

  • “The Wind That Shakes the Barley/The Reel With the Beryle” by the Chieftains

  • “Irish Cousin” by Kirsty MacColl

  • "Danny Boy" by Celtic Woman

  • "Forty Shades of Green" by Johnny Cash

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