Gaelic Proverbs: Independence of Character (1906)
Collected by the Gaelic Revival Association of Ottawa, Ontario
This collection of Irish proverbs was meticulously compiled by Edmund P. Stanton, the Gaelic Revival Association’s language instructor and vice-president, as well as chief clerk of Canada’s Postal Service. Found in one of the only surviving society papers, this treasury gives a glimpse into the language that was being taught and spoken in Ottawa at the time. Stanton believed these proverbs revealed the true character of the Irish mind, introducing his collection by writing:
“For the bulk of Irish or Gaelic proverbs it may safely be said that in felicity of expression, in terseness of phrase, in epigrammatic quality, in compactness of thought, and quick shrewd seizing of a situation with a corresponding readiness to express it, it is hard to beat them… [these proverbs] it is the duty of those imbued with the spirit of the Gaelic movement not only to cherish but to use.”
Independence of Character
Is fearr bothán agus bainne gabhair ná caisleán duine eile - Better one’s cabin and goat’s milk than another’s castle
Sodar i ndiaidh na huaisle, sodar is suaraí ar bith - Trotting after the great is the poorest marching
Bíonn leacacha sleamhna an tí mhóir - The big house has slippery flagstones
Is fearr bheith tuirseach ná bheith marbh - Better be tired than be dead
Déan aon uair amháin é agus tá sé déanta go deo - Do it once and ‘tis done forever
Déanfaidh tú é nuair a dhéanfaidh an chuach nead - You will do it when the cuckoo builds its nest
Éist le fuaim na habhann agus gheobhfair breac - Listen to the sound of the river and you’ll catch fish
An siúd a théidh i bhfad théidh sé ró-fhada - What’s put off will be put off
Ní hé lá na gaoithe lá na scolb - The windy day is not the day for thatching
Ní hé an maide pota a dheineas an léite ach min - It is not the pot-stick [spurtle] makes the porridge, but the meal
Déanfaidh sé spúnóg nó millfidh sé adharc - He will make a spoon or spoil the horn [trying]
Déan an obair agus ná bac le do dhícheall - Do the work and not mind your best
Adapted from prose into list format based on: Gaelic Revival Association of Ottawa. 1906. Ottawa University Review. Vol 8 no 9 (June).
For citation, please use: Gaelic Revival Association of Ottawa. 1906. “Gaelic Proverbs: Independence of Character.” Ó Dubhghaill, Dónall. 2024. Na Gaeil san Áit Ró-Fhuar. Gaeltacht an Oileáin Úir: www.gaeilge.ca
