If you’re looking for a mix of of meaningful Irish birthday blessings and toasts to choose from, we’ve got you covered.
Irish blessings tend to come in several forms and there’s generally a blessing or Irish birthday toast to suit every humour or sentiment.
In this guide, you’ll find everything from funny Irish birthday blessings to ones steeped in meaning. Dive on in!
What to know before using any Irish birthday blessings
So, before scrolling to the Irish birthday blessings below, it’s important to get some warnings out of the way that you need to be aware of:
1. The bulk of online guides are lying to you
There’s countless articles online that boast 101 Irish birthday blessings. The problem with these are the majority are in no way linked to Ireland, so beware!
2. Sense check
Now, if you’ve a good long relationship with a friend you can ignore this point. However, it’s worth noting that many Irish birthday toasts contain Irish slang words and Irish insults. Usually, once you know the person well, these will be fine.
3. Know the crowd
If you’re looking for Irish birthday blessings to use as a toast during a gathering, it’s worth taking time to consider the audience. Some Irish birthday toasts can be fairly out there, so it’s worth considering who’s in attendance (especially if you plan on incorporating any Irish jokes).
Our favourite Irish birthday toasts
Photos by The Irish Road Trip
Right – let’s get stuck into the various Irish birthday blessings and toasts below.
You’ll find a nice mix of humorous and meaningful Irish birthday toasts below with something to suit most occasions.
1. Happy birthday in Irish
So, this isn’t technically one of the Irish birthday toasts, but it’s earned the top spot as it’s a handy one to say and memorise.
Happy birthday in Irish is ‘Lá breithe shona duit’ which is pronounced ‘Law breh-ha hun-ah ditch’.
2. The lilt of Irish laughter
The first of our Irish birthday wishes is one that’ll likely be familiar to you thanks to the opening line that mentions ‘the lilt of Irish laughter’.
This is one of the better-known Irish toasts and it’s easy to memorise and read aloud.
“May the lilt of Irish laughter
Lighten every load.
May the mist of Irish magic
Shorten every road…
And may all your friends remember
All the favours you are owed!”
2. May the winds of fortune
Next up is one of several slightly funny Irish birthday wishes in this guide and, again, it’s short and sweet.
You’ll generally see this thrown in with Irish drinking toasts, so it’s nice and suitable for a birthday party.
“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.'”
3. Here’s to me and here’s to you
If you’re on the lookout for slightly cheeky Irish birthday blessings, this short toast should do the trick.
“Here’s to me, and here’s to you,
And here’s to love and laughter-
I’ll be true as long as you,
And not one moment after.”
4. May we never fall out
So, a trap many Irish birthday toasts fall into is that they try (and fail… badly) to be funny.
This is one of several formal and meaningful Irish birthday wishes that’ll suit a person of few words.
“May the roof above us never fall in,
And those gathered beneath it never fall out.”
5. May you have all the happiness
Many people with Irish roots like to bring a dash of ‘Irishness’ to big occasions. And, although our next Irish birthday blessing doesn’t incorporate any symbols of Ireland, it does mention ‘luck’.
This is a simple Irish birthday toast that wishes the receiver happiness, luck and prosperity.
“May you have all the happiness
And luck that life can hold—
And at the end of all your rainbows
May you find a pot of gold.”
6. May you be fast to make friends
A common theme with many Irish birthday wishes is one of opposites. In this toast, the reader wishes the listener to be ‘Slow to make enemies’ and ‘Poor in misfortune’.
Although this is far from funny, it’s nice and lighthearted and tends to go down well.
“May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings,
Slow to make enemies,
And fast to make friends!”
7. A coin or two inside
Short and simple Irish birthday toasts tend to reign supreme amongst both readers and listeners.
This next toast rhymes and eases off the tongue, making it both easy to read and enjoyable to listen to.
“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!”
8. May your glass be ever full
You tend to hear this next one used as an Irish wedding toast at times, but it’s also very suitable for a birthday toast.
It contains two formal well-wishes followed up by a light bit of humour.
“May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.”
9. May those who love you love you
The next of our Irish birthday toasts wishes the receiver popularity and the ability to recognise those who dislike them.
It’s another slightly funny one that has a nice sentiment to it.
“May those who love you love you,
And those who don’t love you,
May god turn their hearts.
And if he doesn’t turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles so you’ll know them by their limping”.
10. To a long life
The last of our Irish birthday wishes is a memorable one and, keeping with the theme above, it’s short and sweet.
Also, you could easily sub out the ‘A pretty girl’ for ‘A fine lad’ if you needed to.
“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 pint- and another one!”
FAQs about Irish birthday wishes
We’ve had a lot of questions over the years asking about everything from ‘What Irish birthday toasts are suitable for a formal occasion?’ to ‘Which are funny?’.
In the section below, we’ve popped in the most FAQs that we’ve received. If you have a question that we haven’t tackled, ask away in the comments section below.
What is an Irish blessing for a birthday?
After wishing them happy birthday in Irish (‘Lá breithe shona duit’) a good Irish birthday toast is “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!”
What is the Irish toast for birthday?
Happy birthday in Irish is ‘Lá breithe shona duit’ which is pronounced ‘Law breh-ha hun-ah ditch’.
Keith O’Hara has lived in Ireland for 35 years and has spent much of the last 13 creating what is now The Irish Road Trip guide. Over the years, the website has published thousands of meticulously researched Ireland travel guides, welcoming 40 million+ visitors along the way. In 2022, the Irish Road Trip team published the world’s largest collection of Irish Road Trip itineraries. Keith lives in Dublin with his dog Toby and finds writing in the 3rd person minus craic altogether.