A common way of saying Happy St. Patrick” to someone in the original Gaeligan is “Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit!” But if you want to sound like fluent Irish, there are some sayings and terms related to the festival that you should know. Here are a few sayings worth reviewing.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Wishing you a Happy St. Patrick to Others
Step 1. Say “Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhuit
This is a very basic and direct way of wishing St. Patrick to everyone you meet.
- The phrase means “Happy St. Patrick to you!”
- Lá fhéile Pádraig means “St. Patrick." Remember that you can also abbreviate this to "Lá 'le Pádraig" in this or another expression. The meaning is the same, but Gaelig speakers often use the latter as a way of shortening the term to something more natural and casual.
- Sona means "happy" in Indonesian.
- Dhuit means “to you,” while “you” refers to a singular subject.
- Pronounce the exclamation mark like leh PAH-drig SUN-uh gwitch.
Step 2. Say “Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhaoibh
' to the crowd. This feeling adapts to the basic way of saying Happy St. Patrick to someone becomes the plural. Use this version when you are talking to two or more people.
- The phrase means “Happy St. Patrick for you!”
- ' Lá fhéile Pádraig means “St. Patrick." Keep in mind that you can also shorten this to “Lá 'le Pádraig” in this and other expressions. The meaning is the same, but native Gaelig speakers often use the latter as a way of shortening the term to something more natural and relaxed..
- Sona means "happy" in Indonesian.
- The use of dhaoibh also means “to you,” but this Gaelig term is used in situations where “you” refers to the number of people one is talking to.
- Pronounce this Gaelig speech like leh PAH-drig SUN-uh YEE-uv.
Step 3. Call out “Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig dhuit
to one person. This phrase is a slightly more traditional and more religious way of wishing St. Patrick on one person.
- This expression means “St. Patrick for you!”
- Fhéile Pádraig means “St. Patrick." Remember that you can also shorten this to "'le Pádraig" in this and other expressions. The meaning is the same, but Gaelig speakers often use the latter as a way to shorten the term to something more natural and casual.
- Beannachtaí na means “blessing.”
- Dhuit means “for you,” while “you” refers to the singular.
- This Gaelig phrase is pronounced like BAN-ukh-tee nuh FAY-leh PAH-drig gwitch.
Step 4. Say “Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh
” while talking to a lot of people. Use this version of the phrase for a more traditional and slightly more religious way of wishing St. Patrick to two or more people.
- This expression means “St. Patrick for you!”
- Fhéile Pádraig means “St. Patrick." Keep in mind that you can also shorten this to "'le Pádraig" in this and other expressions. The meaning is the same, but Gaelig speakers often use the latter as a way of shortening the term to something more natural and relaxed.
- Beannachtaí na means “blessing.”
- The use of oraibh means "for you" while "you" refers to many people.
- You should pronounce this greeting like BAN-ukh-tee nuh FAY-leh PAH-drig ur-iv.
Method 2 of 3: A toast to St. Patrick
Step 1. Say "Sláinte
"In essence, this sentence has the same effect as saying "toast!" in Indonesian.
- If translated more literally, this term means "health" in Indonesian.
- Pronounce this term like slawn-cheh.
Step 2. Say "Sláinte is táinte
during a toast. If you want a more empathetic toast, step up your way by using this phrase.
- This toasting when translated literally means “health and wealth!”
- Sláinte means “health,” is means “and,” and táinte means “wealth.”
- You should recite this traditional toast like slawn-cheh iss toin-cheh.
Step 3. Say "Éire go Brách
Make a toast using this phrase to show your Irish pride.
- This translates to "Long live Ireland!"
- ire means “Ireland,” and go Brách translates to “alive.”
- Pronounce this expression like Ay-reh guh brawkh.
Method 3 of 3: Related Gaelic Terms and Sentences
Step 1. Ask someone, "Cá mbeidh tú ag fliuchadh na seamróige?
If you're planning to go out for a drink to celebrate and want to meet someone there, this sentence can be used to ask that person where the two of you are meeting.
- This sentence translates to, "Where are you going to wet the shamrock?" The phrase "wet the shamrock" means "out drinking."
- Cá means “where,” mbeidh means “will,” tú means “you,” ag means “at” or “on,” fliuchadh means “to wet,” na means “si,” and seamróige means “shamrock.”
- This phrase is pronounced like Caw meg too egg flyuh-ka nah sham-roh-ih-geh.
Step 2. Say, "Tabhair póg dom, táim ireannach
If you feel like partying on St. Patrick's Day, use this phrase and try your luck.
- Translated directly, this saying means, "Kiss me, I'm Irish!"
- Tabhair means “please,” póg means “kiss,” and dom means “me.”
- The terms táim means “I” and Éireannach means “Ireland.”
- This expression is pronounced like Tower pogue dum, toim Aye-ron-okh.
Step 3. During the celebration, ask, “Píonta Guiness, le do thoil
If you're out celebrating in a traditional Irish tavern on St. Patrick, use this sentence to order Ireland's famous drink.
- This sentence means “One glass of Guinness, please.”
- Pionta means “glass” and Guinness refers to the brand “Guinness.”
- The sentence “le do thoil” is a Gaelig way of saying “please.”
- Pronounce this request like Pyun-tah Guinness, leh duh huh-il.
Step 4. Ask for "uisce beatha" or "beoir" only
When you're looking to order a drink for this festive celebration, here are some other options for you to consider.
- The term uisce beatha means "whiskey."
- The term beoir means "beer."
- Pronounce "uisce beatha" like ish-keh byah-ha.
- Pronounce "beoir" like byoh-ir.
Step 5. Talk about "Seamróg
This is a familiar Irish symbol.
- The term is a Gaelig way of writing and pronouncing "shamrock."
- Pronounce this Gaelig term like sham-rogue.
Step 6. Know about "Ádh na nÉireannach
This phrase is likely to appear frequently in St. Patrick's Day conversations among Gaelig-speaking people.
- When you use this sentence, you are talking about "the luck of the Irish."
- dh na means “luck,” and nÉireannach means “Irish.”
- This sentence is pronounced like Awe nah Nay-ron-okh.
