Best St. Patrick’s Day Quotes & Sayings That Will Make You Smile

Cheerful St. Patrick's Day message written on a rustic chalkboard, set upon a wooden surface beside glasses of beer, accented with three delicate clover leaves for festive decor.
Cheerful St. Patrick's Day message written on a rustic chalkboard, set upon a wooden surface beside glasses of beer, accented with three delicate clover leaves for festive decor.

The Basics

St. Patrick’s Day lets you off the hook when it comes to formal etiquette, but there are Traditions and Expectations of a sort. The best news is that no one’s Aunt Matilda is keeping score and taking names.

  • Any St. Patrick’s Day card worth sending will feature green and shamrocks. A leprechaun, a rainbow, or a pot of gold gets you bonus points. But rock the shamrocks for sure.
  • Irish blessings abound and are perfect for a St. Pat’s greeting. Whether you prefer sincere or funny or a half-serious poke in the ribs, there’s an Irish blessing for that. Also check out our collections of Irish Proverbs (sayings) and St. Patrick’s Day quotes.
  • St. Patrick’s Day has a short window for sending Irish cheer. You might squeak in a day early, but any time after March 17th is past the sell-by date and falls flat. Not to worry, though. Cards you text or send online rescue even last-minute intentions. 
"St. Patrick's Day greeting card showcasing a cheerful, cartoon-style four-leaf clover character. The clover, vivid green in color, features a broad, friendly smile. It's adorned with a traditional St. Patrick's Day hat

Create a St. Patrick’s day card in minutes

Effortlessly craft exquisite St. Patrick’s day cards with our easy-to-use editor!

Create a St. Patrick’s day card in minutes

Effortlessly craft exquisite St. Patrick’s day cards with our easy-to-use editor!

"St. Patrick's Day greeting card showcasing a cheerful, cartoon-style four-leaf clover character. The clover, vivid green in color, features a broad, friendly smile. It's adorned with a traditional St. Patrick's Day hat

St. Patrick’s Day has morphed into a Big Green Holiday celebrating All Things Irish, but Ireland’s patron saint still gets a nod and a thank you. And blessings are thrown around like confetti, and he might like that.

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Quotes For St. Patrick’s Day

Funny Quotes, Thoughtful Quotes, Literary Quotes

Whether they’re Irish every day or just one day a year, these well-known public figures had something to say about the Emerald Isle, its patron saint, and, of course, luck. 

St. Patrick's Day greeting card sitting on a background with three leprechaun hats
Shamrocked – St. Patrick’s day card

Thoughtful & Literary Quotes

“Slave, bishop and saint—it’s fair to say that the man we call Patrick had an unusual life.” 
Marian Broderick
“St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time—a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.”
Adrienne Cook
“Luck is not chance, it’s toil. Fortune’s expensive smile is earned.”
Emily Dickinson
“There are only two classes of people – the Irish and those who wish they were Irish.”
Therese Duffy
“There are only two classes of people – the Irish and those who wish they were Irish.”
Therese Duffy
“The list of Irish saints is past counting; but in it all no other figure is so human, friendly, and lovable as St. Patrick.”
Stephen Gwynn
“It’s an Irish story, love…We don’t do happy endings.” 
Kersten Hamilton
“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.”
Thomas Jefferson
“I’m Irish. We think sideways.”
Spike Milligan
“Don’t throw away luck on little stuff. Save it up.”
Tim O’Brien
‘The Boondock Saints’: “Yeah, it’s St. Paddy’s Day. Everyone’s Irish tonight.”
Norman Reedus
“Ireland is a land of poets and legends, of dreamers and rebels.”
Nora Roberts
“Be still and know that I am. Be still and know. Be still. Be.”
St. Patrick

Funny Quotes of Irish Wit & Wisdom

“Ireland has one of the world’s heaviest rainfalls. If you see an Irishman with a tan, it’s rust.”
Dave Allen
“Ireland is the only place in the world where procrastination takes on a sense of urgency.”
Dave Allen
“I only drink on two occasions – when I’m thirsty and when I’m not.”
Brendan Behan
“You gotta try your luck at least once a day, because you could be going around lucky all day and not even know it.”
Jimmy Dean
“The Irish are one race for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever…”
Sigmund Freud
“Be sure to wear green on March seventeen, or else Irish leprechauns pinch your bones clean!”
Richelle E. Goodrich
“It’s delightful how celebrating a heritage requires you to pick fights with strangers and then pee in a parking garage.”
Greg Gutfeld
“That’s right, there’s free beer in Irish paradise. Everyone’s jealous.”
Kevin Hearne
Greeting card for St. Patrick's day. In the background there is a case of green beer bottles
In a few beers – St. Patrick’s day card
“Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.”
Alex Levine
“Whether I drink often or just once in a while; I’m always sure to raise a glass to the dear old Emerald Isle.”
Patrick Maloney
“You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.”
Cormac McCarthy
“Money does not make you happy but it quiets the nerves.”
Sean O’Casey
“You know it’s summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer.”
Hal Roach
“You’ve got to think lucky. If you fall into a mudhole, check your back pocket – you might have caught a fish.”
Darrell Royal
“Never wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.”
George Bernard Shaw
“If he laid on the Irish any thicker, she’d be drowning in shamrocks.”
Nallini Singh
“On the Irish ladder of success there’s always someone on the rung above using your head to steady himself.”
Unknown
“I can resist everything but temptation.”
Oscar Wilde

30 St. Patrick’s Day Messages with Irish Blessings

Irish blessings are ready-made greetings for your custom card, expressing sincere wishes with a dash of that famous wit. Sprinkle in an Irish Proverb or a catchy quote for a bit of flair or as an inside-left accent, then sign and send – and smile at St. Patrick’s Day success!

Happy St. Patrick's Day greeting card on a background with lucky clovers
Lucky green – St. Patrick’s day card
  • For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way. Good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
  • May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, may good luck pursue you each morning and night. And may that good luck catch you every time! Happy St. Pat’s!
  • May you have all the happiness and luck that life can hold, and at the end of your rainbows may you find a pot of gold.  Enjoy being Irish for a day!
  • May the lilt of Irish laughter lighten every load. Celebrate! You’re Irish today!
  • May the Good Lord take a liking to you…but not too soon!  Sending a smile and a chuckle for a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
  • Wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
  • Here’s to good Irish friends – never above you, never below you, always beside you. Here’s to you, the good friend always beside me! Sláinte!
  • May the luck of the Irish enfold you. May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you. Have a blessed and happy St. Paddy’s Day!
  • Bless your little Irish heart and every other Irish part. St. Patrick’s Day greetings!
  • May the blessings of each day be the blessings you need the most. Thinking of you on St. Patrick’s Day – and every day all year!
  • May luck be your friend in whatever you do, and may trouble be always a stranger to you. To your health, to your wealth, to your very good cheer! Happy St. Pat’s!
  • May the winds of fortune sail you, may you sail a gentle sea, may it always be the other guy who says, “This drink’s on me!” Sláinte!
  • May the leprechauns dance over your bed and bring you sweet dreams. And may they wear soft shoes! St. Patrick’s Day blessings!
  • May the hinges of our friendship never grow rusty! Wishing a great friend a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Happy St. Patrick's Day photo greeting card on a green background with St. Patrick's elements
Lucky – St. Patrick’s day card
  • May you have the hindsight to know where you’ve been, the foresight to know where you’re going, and the insight to know when you have gone too far. Cheers to you on St. Patrick’s Day!
  • Long live the Irish, long live their cheer. Long live our friendship, year after year. Enjoy being Irish on the 17th of March!
  • May misfortune follow you the rest of your life, and never catch up. Best wishes on St. Patrick’s Day!
  • May you never find trouble all crowdin’ and shovin’. But always good fortune all smilin’ and lovin’. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
  • May God look down and bless you. May you look up and give thanks. Blessings to you and yours! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
  • May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and a smooth road downhill all the way to your door. Happy St. Paddy’s!
  • Here’s to a long life and a merry one. A quick death and an easy one. A pretty girl and an honest one. A cold beer – and another one! Sláinte!
  • May peace and plenty be the first to lift the latch to your door, and happiness be your guest today and evermore. Wishing you all the happy your heart can hold on St. Patrick’s Day and always!
  • May the Lord keep you in his hand and never close his fist too tight. Health and happiness to you! Happy St. Paddy’s!
  • May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience, and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint! Cheers! Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
  • May the love and protection Saint Patrick can give be yours in abundance as long as you live. Happy celebrating!
  • Wishing you a pot o’ gold and all the joy your heart can hold. We’ll talk about a loan tomorrow. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
  • May your home always be too small to hold all your friends. So blessed to be one of them! Love to you on St. Patrick’s Day!
  • May the roof above you never fall in, and those gathered beneath it never fall out. Have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
  • May your heart be light and happy, may your smile be big and wide, and may your pockets always have a coin or two inside! Enjoy your St. Pat’s celebration!
  • May your troubles be less and your blessings be more and nothing but happiness come through your door. A big Irish hug to you on St. Patrick’s Day!

50 Irish Proverbs… Or Sayings, If You Please

Some for fun, some for good advice. These Irish Proverbs include “cousins” of sayings you already know, like “A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea.” Add one to your card as an accent, or feature several together as the main attraction.

Happy St. Patrick's Day greeting card with people wearing Irish kilts in the background
Happy St. Paddys day – St. Patrick’s day card
  • A good friend is like a four-leaf clover, hard to find and lucky to have.
  • The reason the Irish are always fighting each other is they have no other worthy opponents.
  • You’ve got to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was.
  • An Irishman is never drunk as long as he can hold onto one blade of grass to keep from falling off the earth.
  • If you’re enough lucky to be Irish, you’re lucky enough!
  • As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.
  • Every man is sociable until a cow invades his garden.
  • It’s easy to halve the potato where there’s love.
  • A good laugh and a long sleep are the two best cures.
  • There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.
  • It is often that a person’s mouth broke his nose.
  • A cabin with plenty of food is better than a hungry castle.
  • Every dog is brave on his own doorstep.
  • A friend’s eye is a good mirror.
  • He who loses money, loses much; he who loses a friend, loses more; he who loses faith, loses all.
  • The work praises the man.
  • God made time, but man made haste.
  • A wren in the hand is better than a crane to be caught.
  • The light heart lives long.
  • Say a little and say it well.
  • No time for health today, no health for your time tomorrow.
  • Better to be a man of character than a man of means.
  • It’s no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes are leaking.
  • A trout in the pot is better than a salmon in the sea.
  • If God sends you down a stony path, may he give you strong shoes.
  • Good sense is as important as good food.
  • Who gossips with you will gossip of you.
  • Better good manners than good looks.
  • Bricks and mortar make a house, but the laughter of children make a home.
  • The friend that can be bought is not worth buying.
  • When luck comes, it comes by the bucketful.
Lucky greeting card for St. Patrick's Day sitting on a wooden surface with a lucky clover close by
Irish balloons – St. Patrick’s day card
  • Everyone is wise till he speaks.
  • Perseverance is the mother of good luck.
  • Never burn a penny candle looking for a halfpenny.
  • Good humor comes from the kitchen.
  • A sword, a spade, and a thought should never be allowed to rust.
  • A constant drop wears a hole in the stone.
  • When the cat is out the mice will dance.
  • Even a fool has luck.
  • Not every flatterer is a friend.
  • Look before you leap.
  • The end of a feast is better than the beginning of a quarrel.
  • No man is wise at all times.
  • Enough is a feast.
  • Hope is the physician of each misery.
  • It’s hard to teach an old dog to dance.
  • Character is better than wealth.
  • If you buy what you don’t need you might have to sell what you do.
  • A kind word never broke anyone’s mouth.
  • Two people shorten the road.

A romp through Irish humor and blessings and sayings is sure to improve anyone’s day. It’s fast and easy to send your favorites to your “mates” in a St Patrick’s Day invitation – online or printed. Doesn’t your heart feel lighter? Is that a hint of a smile coming on? You might be ready for St. Patrick’s Day.

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Photo Credits: Nodar Chernishev, Timothy Dykes, Supersizer, Photoguns, Gmcoop, Vera Chitaeva on UnSplash