Rising to the Occasion by Paul Dickson

Author:Paul Dickson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2014-04-02T16:00:00+00:00

Irish

There is no area of the world where English is spoken—and probably none where any other language is spoken for that matter—that can compare to Ireland as a stronghold for the custom of toasting. More often than not, toasts go by the name of “blessings” in Ireland. There are large numbers of them, and their use seems to be growing. John B. Keane said in a recent article on the subject, “Nothing has the grace or the beauty of an old Irish blessing and recently I was delighted to learn that instead of dying out, Irish blessings are on the increase. All you have to do is listen and if you spend a day in the Irish countryside you will go away with countless blessings ringing in your ears.”

Blessings are often used beyond the reach of a glass, but all make appropriate toasts. A graveside blessing—“That the devil mightn’t hear of his death till he’s safe inside the walls of heaven”—can be equally appropriate as a toast to the departed.

The vast majority of toasts in this section (along with others scattered throughout the rest of the book) come from the collection of Jack McGowan of the Irish Distillers International of Dublin, who has pulled them together from all over his nation.

One other thing: Many Irish toasts are one-liners that lend themselves to being assembled into longer toasts. This is especially true of the many May you’s.

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