Irish Blessing Gifts

It’s just your luck that the magnificent inhabitants of the Emerald Isle have an Irish blessing for every occasion along with a saying, toast or curse for every person. We don’t know if these blessings are authored by saints and scholars or if they are simply created by the common folk while lifting a pint at their local. Whatever the case may be, many of these blessings are as old as the hills and continue to pass the test of time. In fact, we are willing to bet that you know several of these Irish blessing by heart and could repeat them on demand, especially after you have lifted a pint or two.

For over 2,000 years, story telling along with oral presentation of poems and lyrics, have been repeated from memory as an important link in Irish heritage. Those who mastered verbal communication have long been held in high regard within Celtic culture. In ancient Ireland, it was the bards who had the responsibility of maintaining an oral record, thus these early historians ensured that tradition would continue from generation to generation.The bards were held in such high esteem that they were typically inferior to only kings. The bards eventually transitioned to become master story tellers, who are known as seanchaí in the Irish language. These guardians of the voiced word now compete with modern distractions, such as television; however, the Irish embrace an exceptional appreciation for the spoken narrative and will hang on to every word. We need to thank the bards and the seanchaí for maintaining the history and poetry along with the stories and the blessings.