St. Patrick's Day is a celebration of—you guessed it—Ireland's patron saint, who lived during the 5th century and who is known for bringing Christianity to the nation. (The holiday is celebrated on March 17, the anniversary of his death). But history aside, people from all backgrounds get in the spirit by partaking in popular traditions like eating traditional Irish food, decorating with shamrocks, and throwing parties (virtual, or otherwise), and of course raising their full glasses of Guinness high. In fact, the very first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in America. And while the revelry will undoubtedly take on different forms in 2021, if you're looking for a St. Patrick's Day quote to share on Instagram, a funny saying or catchy phrase to greet your friends with, some lucky words to lure a leprechaun, or an Irish blessing for a toast, we've sampled a few of our favorites from prolific Irish authors, Irish songs, and beyond.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
1
Irish Proverb
"A good friend is like a four-leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
3
Irish Blessing
"May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light. May good luck pursue you each morning and night."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
4
George Bernard Shaw
"The heart of an Irishman is nothing but his imagination," Shaw once said, according to The Telegraph.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
5
Tim O'Brien
“Don't throw away luck on little stuff. Save it up," wrote the award-winning author in his 1990 book, The Things They Carried.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
6
Idries Shah
In his book Caravan of Dreams, the author and thinker in the Sufi tradition wrote, "'When Fortune knocks, open the door,' they say. But why should one make fortune knock, by keeping the door shut?'"
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
7
Amanda Foody
"Luck was a mechanism to be devised, and luck and destiny were merely two sides of the same coin," wrote the YA fantasy novelist in her book King of Fools.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
8
Ellie Kemper
"I have noticed that timing and luck sometimes line up in such a way that you can catch a break," wrote The Office and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt actress, in her book My Squirrel Days.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
9
Fiona Barton
“I’ve always believed in luck. I love the fact that people can change their lives instantly," the journalist and author wrote in her New York Times bestselling book, The Widow.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
10
Darrell Royal
“You’ve got to think lucky. If you fall into a mud hole, check your back pocket. You might have caught a fish," said the late college football player and coach, as quoted in The New York Times.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
11
Nora Roberts
In her book Tears of the Moon, the prolific, bestselling romance novelist wrote, "Ireland is a land of poets and legends, of dreamers and rebels."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
12
Kevin Hearne
“That’s right, there’s free beer in Irish paradise. Everyone’s jealous," the New York Times bestselling urban fantasy novelist wrote in his book Hammered.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
13
Murphy MacManus in The Boondock Saints
"Yeah, it's St. Paddy's Day, everyone's Irish tonight," said the actor Norman Reedus’s character in Boondock Saints. "Why don't you just pull up a stool and have a drink with us?"
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
14
Bruce Springsteen
“When it comes to luck you make your own," sang the 20-time Grammy Award winning rock musician in his song “Lucky Town.”
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
15
Jimmy Dean
In the October 2001 issue of Esquire, the late country music singer said, "You gotta try your luck at least once a day, because you could be going around lucky all day and not even know it."
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
16
Emily Dickinson
“Luck is not chance / It’s Toil / Fortune’s expensive smile / Is earned,” the 19th century American poet wrote in Luck is not chance.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
17
Irish Blessing
"May your troubles be less, and your blessings be more, and nothing but happiness come through your door," is an old Irish blessing, frequently recounted.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
18
Richelle E. Goodrich
“Imagine if we were all magical leprechauns, and every wish ever made on a four-leaf clover obliged us to help others obtain their wishes. Now imagine if people simply lived like this were true,” author Richelle E. Goodrich wrote in Making Wishes.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
19
Oprah Winfrey
"I believe luck is preparation meeting opportunity. If you hadn't been prepared when the opportunity came along, you wouldn't have been lucky," Winfrey said in the July 2003 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.
Advertisem*nt - Continue Reading Below
20
Pope John Paul II
“Love is never defeated, and I could add, the history of Ireland proves it,” Pope John Paul II said during a holy mass in 1979.
