Gaelic Proverbs: Marriage (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.”

Marriage

Please note that some are outdated and may be offensive, but are presented here for historical consideration.

Nuair a phósann tú bean ón sliabh pósann tú an sliabh ar fad - When you marry a woman from the mountain you marry the whole mountain

Máthair éascaidh a dheineas iníon sallsa - A brisk mother makes a lazy daughter

Imíonn an spré le gaoth agus fanann an mheill ar an mnaoi - Her dowry goes with the wind, but her manners are left behind

A bhuachaill, beir buartha go bpósfaidh agus ón uair sin, ní suaimhneas go deo duit - A young man is bothered until he is married, then he’s bothered entirely

Aithníonn óinmhid locht amadáin - ‘Tis the fool of a woman knows the faults of the fool of a man

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