"Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile."
Translation: "One beetle recognises another."
Meaning: It takes one to know one; Like sees like.
"An rud is annamh is iontach."
Translation: "What is seldom is wonderful."
"An té is lú eolais is é is mó a labhraíonn."
Translation: " whoever has the least information, speaks the most."
"Beidh lá eile ag an bPaorach."
Translation: "The Power fellow will have another day."
Meaning: "We'll live to fight another day."
"Bíonn gach tosú lag."
Translation: "Every beginning is weak."
"Bíonn grásta Dé idir an diallait agus an talamh."
Translation: "The grace of God is found between the saddle and the ground."
"Bíonn adharca fada ar na ba thar lear"
Translation: "Cattle in faraway lands have long horns"
Meaning: The grass is always greener on the other side
"Bíonn ciúin ciontach"
Translation: "The quiet are guilty"
"Bíonn cluasa ar na clathacha"
Translation: "The fences (walls) have ears"
"Bíonn súil le muir ach ní bhíonn súil le tír"
Translation: "There is hope from the sea but no hope from land"
Meaning: The land, here, is the grave. If someone is lost at sea, you can go on hoping, but if they are buried all hope is gone.
Alternative version: "Bíonn dúil le béal farraige ach cha bhíonn dúil le béal uaighe".
Meaning: "There is hope from the mouth of the sea, but none from the mouth of the grave"
"Briseann an dúchais trí shúile an chait"
Translation: "Breeding will break out in the eyes of a cat."
Meaning: The true nature of someone's character is revealed through their eyes.
"Cailín ag Mór agus Mór ag iarraidh déirce."
Translation: "Mór has a maid and yet Mór has to beg."
Meaning: One must keep up appearances.
"Cad a dhéanfadh mac a' chait ach luch a mharú?"
Translation: "What else would the cat's son do, except kill a mouse?"
Meaning: Like father - like son.
"Ceileann searc ainimh 's locht."
Translation: "Love is blind."
"Coimhéad fearg fhear na foighde."
Translation: "Beware of the anger of a patient man."
Meaning: The longer it takes to break a man's patience, the more powerful his wrath will be.
"Dúirt bean liom go ndúirt bean léi..."
Translation:"A woman told me that a woman told her..."
Meaning: Don't believe everything you are told. It may be just gossip.
"Caoire uain i bhfad..."
Translation: "A lamb becomes a sheep with distance..."
Meaning: It may start off light, but over time it will get heavier..
"Gaoth na scrataí Bothair"
Translation: "The wind of a thousand chills"
Meaning: An easterly wind so cold that could whip the hair off your head
"Goiontacht bothair mor poll abhaile dubh ."
Translation: "A travelers foot is at home in a pothole."
Meaning: A pothole that could blacken the legs off a horse.
"I ndiaidh a chéile a thógtar na caisleáin."
Translation: "It is one after another that the castles are built."
Meaning: Rome wasn't built in a day.
"Is binn béal ina thost."
Translation:"A silent mouth is sweet."
Meaning: Silence is golden.
"Is bé carnæ clúas cách."
Translation: "Everyone's hearing is a harlot."
Meaning: Old Irish version of the legal rule against hearsay.
"Is cuma nó muc duine gan seift."
Translation: "A shiftless person is the same as a pig."
"I scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine."
"I ndiaidh a chéile a thógtar na caisleáin."
Translation: "People live in each other's shadows."
"Is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte."
Translation: "Health is better than wealth."
"Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste."
Translation: "It is better to have broken Irish than clever English." - a reference to the language.
"Is í ding di féin a scoileann an dair."
Translation: "It is a wedge of itself that splits the oak."
Meaning: Beware of the enemy within.
"Is iad na muca ciúine a itheann an mhin."
Translation: "It's the quiet pigs that eat the grain."
Meaning: It's those who are quiet that you don't suspect.
"Is iomaí slí muc a mharú seachas a thachtadh le h-im."
Translation: "There are many ways of killing a pig other than by choking it with butter."
Meaning: There's more than one way to do something - usually, more simply.
Similar: "There are more ways to kill a cat than choking it with cream."
"Is leor don dreoilín a nead."
Translation: "The nest is enough for a wren."
Meaning: Home is where the heart is.
"Is leor nod don eolach."
Translation: "A hint is sufficient for the wise."
Similar: "A nod is as good as a wink [to a blind horse]."
"Is maith an scéalaí an aimsir."
Translation: "Time is a good story teller."
Meaning: Stories become embellished with time.
"Is maith an scáthán súil charad".
Translation: "A friend's eye is a good mirror."
Meaning: A friend will tell you how it is (the truth).
"Is minic a bhris béal duine a shrón."
Translation: "It's often a person's mouth that breaks their nose."
Meaning: Watch what you say—it can hurt you!
"Is minic an fhírinne searbh."
Translation: "The truth is often bitter."
"Is trom Cearc i bhfad."
Translation: "A hen is heavy over a long distance."
Meaning: Something apparently easy may become difficult over a long period of time.
"Maireann croí éadrom i bhfad."
Translation: "A light heart lives longest."
"Pós bean ón sliabh agus pósfaidh tú an sliabh."
Translation: "Marry a woman from the mountain and you'll marry the mountain."
Meaning: You cannot be in a relationship without accepting a person's friends, family, and past affiliations.
"Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh siad."
Translation: "Praise the youth and they will come."
Meaning: Young people learn more from compliments than criticism.
"Molann an obair an fear."
Translation: "The work praises the man."
Similar: Good work is its own reward.
"Is maith an t-anlann an t-ocras."
Translation: "Hunger is the best sauce/spice."
Meaning: If you're hungry, everything tastes good.
"Marbh le tae agus marbh gan é."
Translation: "Dead with tea and dead without it."
Meaning: Caught between two bad options, in a Morton's Fork.
"Ná bac le mac an bhacaigh, agus ní bhacfaidh mac an bhacaigh leat"
Translation: "Don't bother the beggar's son and the beggar's son won't bother you."
Meaning: Mind your own business and let others mind theirs.
"Ní bhíonn airgead amadáin i bhfad ina phóca."
Translation: "A fool's money is not long in his pocket."
Meaning: A fool and his money are soon parted.
"Ní bhíonn saoi gan locht"
Translation: "There's no wise man without fault"
Meaning: Even the wise learn from their mistakes.
"Ní dhíolann dearmad fiacha."
Translation: "A debt is still unpaid, even if forgotten."
"Ní hé lá na báistí lá na bpáistí."
Translation: "A rainy day is not a day for children."
(A pun: báistí and bpáistí sound alike).
Meaning: There's a good and a bad season for every job.
"Ní hé lá na gaoithe lá na scoilb."
Translation: "A windy day is not a day for thatching."
Meaning: There's a good and a bad season for every job.
"Ní huasal ná híseal, ach huas seal agus híos seal."
Translation: You are neither a highly esteemed person nor a lowly esteemed one, but up for a while and down for a while.
"Ní mar a shíltear a bhítear."
Translation: "Things aren't as they seem."
"Ní thagann ciall roimh aois."
Meaning: Sense does not come before age.
"Ní thuigeann an seach an seang."
Translation: "The well fed person doesn't understand the hungry one."
Meaning: You can't understand what you haven't experienced.
"Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin."
Translation: "There's no hearth like your own hearth."
Meaning: There's no place like home.
"Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh."
Translation: "A good word never broke a tooth."
Meaning: It doesn't hurt to pay a compliment.
"Nuair a bhíonn an t-ól istigh, bíonn an chiall amuigh."
Translation: "When the drink is in, the sense is out."
Similar: When the wine is in, the wit is out.
"Ólann an cat ciúin bainne leis."
Translation: "The quiet cat also drinks milk."
Meaning: Even those whom you believe not to do things, do them regardless.
"Tada gan iarracht."
Meaning: Nothing without effort.
"Tús maith leath na hoibre."
Meaning: A good start is half the work.
