Gaelic Proverbs: Sociability (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.”

Sociability

Is fearr imreas na huaigneas - Contention is better than solitude

Oisín i ndiaidh na Féinne - Oisín after the Fenians

Is mairg a bhíonn i dtír gan duine leis féin - It’s a poor country where there’s none of your own people

Is maith an t-ancaire an t-iarta - The hob is a good anchor

Is fearr cara ‘na chúirt ná bonn sa sparán - A friend in court is better than a groat in purse

Ar a mheisce nó ar a chéill ba cheart go n-aitneoidh duine a dhuine féin - Drunk or sober, don’t disown your friend

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: Sociability.” Ó Dubhghaill, Dónall. 2024. Na Gaeil san Áit Ró-Fhuar. Gaeltacht an Oileáin Úir: www.gaeilge.ca