The “luck of the Irish”: The history, folklore, meaning and mythology of Irish luck

Many symbols of Ireland, as well as we Irish ourselves, are associated with luck. So we thought we would take a closer look at “The luck of the Irish” and luck in Irish folklore, the meaning, mythology, and language. Read on to find out more.

Where did the “Luck of the Irish” phrase come?

Many will be familiar with the phrase “luck of the Irish” but perhaps don’t know it’s origins and true meaning! The story goes that the term dates back to the 19th century gold rush in the western United States. Many of the successful miners were Irish immigrants or Irish Americans, working hard to make their fortune.

What is the meaning of “Luck of the Irish"?

These immigrants and first generation Irish-American prospectors were, sometimes disparagingly, said to have “the luck of the Irish” when they made a strike or were successful. The unsaid assumption being that it was luck rather than knowledge, hard work, or skill that brought riches. The association with luck stuck, but has thankfully lost the disparaging meaning in the intervening years! Now the phrase is used with no insulting undertone.

Luck in Irish Mythology

Many also see the roots of “the luck of the Irish” tracing back to Celtic myths and and legends, which are packed full of stories of good and bad luck, as well as magical beings capable of bestowing both. Irish fairies, the Aes Sídhe, are notoriously mischievous, and stories abound of them taking great sport in both granting good fortune or bestowing bad luck on hapless humans.

Luck in Irish Folklore

The Irish association with luck may have also come from the amazing array of superstitions, known as piseogs, in Irish folklore and culture. You have to be careful what you get up to in Ireland as seemingly innocuous activities can land you in serious bad luck!

Some of these superstitions may be quite ancient and draw their roots to pre-Christian Ireland thousands of years ago. There are over 9000 entries that mention luck in the National Folklore collection! A quick perusal of some gives this substantial but by no means exhaustive list:

• Don’t get married in the month of May - very unlucky!
• Disturb a fairy fort or tree at your peril. A sure way to bring bad luck on yourself.

• Break a mirror, and you will have seven years of bad luck. This one could go back to the Romans, who believed the reflection held the soul. A broken reflection damaged the soul.
• Knock over your chair while standing up, more bad luck on the way
• A person who comes in one door should go out the same door again. Otherwise, they will take away any good luck from the house with them out the other door.
• If a bird entered the house, it was very bad luck indeed as a death in the family was on the cards.
• But if a bird, specifically a robin, happily hangs out near your back door, you have good luck on the way.
• Spotting a white horse in the morning will bring good luck.
• Be sure to keep a Christmas candle lighting in the window over the season to avoid bad luck in the house during the coming year.
• Salt spilled on the table means a fight is brewing. Bad luck!
• An itchy nose also means you have a fight in your future! Bad luck
• An itchy left hand means you will come into money. Good luck, indeed.
• An itchy right hand means you will have to hand over money soon. Bad luck!
• Be careful of giving a gift of something sharp! It was thought to cut the bonds of family or friendship ]… giving a coin with a gift negates bad luck apparently! Probably safer to avoid it, and just to give beautiful Irish jewellery instead!
• A shirt put on inside out (by accident) is good luck. The luck only holds if you keep the shirt on inside out. Turning it right side out risks bad luck.
• Wearing green from head to toe is also a no-no - bad luck and can grab the attention of those Irish fairies, the Aes Sídhe.
• A four-leaved clover is a lucky find, and shamrocks are good luck charms
• Sparks flying out of the fire is a sign that you will get money.
• If you find a horseshoe, take it home and hang it up for good luck. But be sure to have it pointing “up” otherwise, the luck runs out. Other versions tell you to spit on the horseshoe and throw it over your shoulder for luck. And horseshoes were considered so lucky they were often involved in traditional Irish wedding ceremonies, and still do to this day!

Luck in Irish well wishes

So it is easy to see how the association between Ireland and luck stuck. We are quite obsessed! And that also shows in our greetings or well wishes.

• To say thank you in Gaelic, you would say “Go raibh maith agat” literally, ‘That you will have goodness’
• To wish someone good luck, you could say “ádh mór” - literally big luck.
• A more common phrase to wish good luck is “Go n-éirí leat”, which loosely translates as “may you be successful.”

So are Irish people lucky?

We certainly seem to think so! Ireland regularly scores near the top of the table in the world happiness index. We live in a beautiful place, surrounded by wonderful culture and community. And though we do complain about the weather quite a bit, as a nation, we seem to look for rainbows with the rain!

And here at My Irish Jeweler we do feel a lucky bunch. We get to share our passion for Irish jewellery, culture, and history with wonderful likeminded people around the globe. Very good luck indeed!