Here are a few thoughts, proverbs and words of wisdom collected by Abigail Cormac (from Tara, AS) and previously posted on the Cormac Clan BB. Please forgive me if I have mistakenly transcribed any Gaelic spelling, my grasp of Gaelic grammar is only rudimentary! I think you'll get the general idea though..... Enjoy!

Please feel free to add any thoughts of your own in the spirit of the collection.

Dia Duit! (dee-uh ditch) It is a greeting like hello. Translated though, it means God be with you!

Thank you! - Go raibh maith agat.

Slan le tamall! - Goodbye (for a little while) for now.

Cead mile failte! - "One hundred thousand welcomes!"

ON THE IMBIBING OF SPIRITS!

Here's to short shoes and long corns to your enemies.

Here's a health to your enemies' enemies

"Sgeitheann fion firinne." - Wine reveals everything.

The truth comes out when the spirits go in.

An Irishman is never drunk as long as he can hold onto one blade of grass and not fall off the face of the earth.

CURSES

"Imeacht gan teacht ort." - May you leave without returning.

"Go n-ithe an cat thu is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat." - May the cat eat you and the cat be eaten by the devil.

BLESSINGS

Wisdom of serpent be thine,
Wisdom of raven be thine,
Wisdom of valiant eagle.
Voice of swan be thine,
Voice of honey be thine,
Voice of the sound of the stars.

May good luck be always your friend
Through life in all that you do
And may trouble be always a stranger to you. 

Leprechauns, castles, good luck, and laughter
Lullabies, dreams and love ever after.
Poems and songs with pipes and drums
A thousand welcomes when anyone comes...
That's the Irish for you!

May the Leprechauns be near you to spread luck along the way,
And may all the Irish angels smile upon you on St. Pat's Day!

YOUTH

"Is eigin do leanabh lamhachan sul ma siubhalaidh." - A child must creep before he walks.

Encourage youth and it will prosper.

WORK

"Is train de'n obair, tus a chur." - Making a beginning is the one-third of the work.

Often has the likely failed and the unlikely succeeded.

"Ni dhfolann dearmhad fiacha." - Forgetting a debt does not pay.

He who comes late on Saturday
And leaves early on Monday
For all the help I'll get from him
I'd rather he stayed away.

SOME WORDS OF WARNING AND ADVICE

"Is glas na cnuic a bh-fad uainn." - Distant hills appear green.

"Fillean meal ar an meallaire." - Evil returns to the evildoer.

"Is minic cuma aungeal ar an Diabhal fein." - There is often the look of an angel on the devil himself.

"Ni car gach bladaire." - Every flatterer is not a friend.

"Biann borb faoi sgeimh." - A violent disposition may be under a beautiful form.

The truth from a liar is not to be believed.

Neither make or break a custom.

Death is the poor man's doctor.

It is no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking.

If you want praise, die,
If you want blame, marry.

"Na biodh do theangaidh fa do chrios." - Do not keep your tongue under your belt.

"Ni'l nfdh nios geire 'na teanga mna." - There is nothing sharper than a woman's tongue.

"Cha chluinnean se an nidh nach binn leis." - He does not hear what is not pleasing to him.

"I n-ithe na potoige bhionn a tastail." - The proof of the pudding lies in the eating of it.

"Minic bhi duine 'na dhroch-chomhairlighe dho fein agus 'na chomhairlidhe mhaith do dhuine eile."

- A man is often a bad adviser to himself and a good adviser to another.

The three most incomprehensible things in the world are: the mind of a woman, the labour of bees, and the ebb and flow of the tide.

LOOKING ON THE BRIGHT SIDE!

A Welsh Proverb: The fool searches.  The wise man travels!

"Ar scath a cheile a mhaireann muid." - We live in the shelter of each other.

"Is subhailce an fhoighde ar an gcinneamhain." - Patience is a virtue that causes no shame.

"Dochar liaigh gach anro." - Hope, the physician of all misery.

"An t-seod do-fhaghala's is ailne." - The rare jewel is the most beautiful.

"Is coim caban do bhoicht." - A hut is a palace to a poor man.

"Fearr leath-bhairghean na bheith gan aran." - Half a loaf is better than no bread.

"Ceatha Iobrain a neartuigheas na saorclann." - April showers strengthen the buttercups.

A scholar's ink last longer than a martyr's blood.