St. Paddy's Social and a toast or two...

I saw yer man at the social the other night and he was absolutely legless! Read on for the irish translation...

Thanks to everyone that came to the social on Saturday and Sunday's SH Market. We had a great time at the social this weekend and are happy to be back after a week of shopping and visiting. We look forward to the next event and thanks go to Loko Cuisine for the amazing food and fun. John left the party on a stretcher and we've got the photos to prove it...

Here's some irish words and toasts in case you need a little help tomorrow at the pub -

Here’s a few useful phrases in Irish Gaelic:

Erin Go Bragh – has nothing to with your bra or even Erin’s bra and where it might be going. This is the most common phrase you’ll see on Irish placards and what nots. It translates as “Ireland Forever” and is a sort of shortened assertion of allegiance to our little island.

Failte – Good luck pronouncing this one – it sounds like full shah and means “welcome”. Often, over the bar in a pub while surrounded with all sorts of knick knacks and family photos there might be a plaque that says “mile failte” (meela full sha) or even “cead mile failte” (kaid meela full sha) which means a thousand welcomes or a hundred thousand welcomes respectively. I think this phrase got co-opted by the tourist board cause it’s everywhere.

Slainte – Literally “health” and is pronounced slahn shah. This one is very useful and will come up often in the pub as it is the shortest irish toast you’ll ever hear. If someone asks for a toast you might get away with this one although, they usually want a long winded thing about your fathers and the devil and something else.

Here’s a couple of funny things they say in Ireland that might get you some street cred in the pub.

Yer Man or Woman

Denotes a person whose name is unknown (or cannot currently be recalled) but whose identity is assumed to be known to everyone. Could lead to such hilarious exchanges as

"Didn't I see yer man in town yesterday?"

"That wasn't him, that was the other one ..."

Hole in the Wall – this is what they call an ATM… I know, that’s not confusing at all

Legless – one of the many entertaining ways to describe how you’ll be after 4 hours at the pub.

A few of my personal favorite irish toasts if you’re planning on celebrating properly tomorrow:

The nice one for friends – “May the roof above us never fall in and may those that gather beneath it never fall out!”

The funny one for friends – “May you be layin in heaven 15 minutes before the devil knows you’re dead!”

The funniest and best - “May those who love us, love us. May those who don’t love us, may God turn their hearts. And if he can’t turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles, so we can see ‘em by their limpin’.”

Slainte! And have a good one yerself!

-Charles