Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Irish wit and wisdom
Hawaii isn’t as connected to Irish culture as other states I’ve lived in or spent time in (Manhattan comes to mind), but we still love to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The ever-popular Murphy’s Bar & Grill comes to mind (love Don Murphy and his philanthropy), but there’s also well-known pubs Irish Rose Saloon, O’Toole’s Irish Pub, and Kelley O’Neil’s.
I didn’t even realize there was a website dedicated to Honolulu’s Irish pubs until I did some web research for this blog and found Irish Pub Hawaii’s blog.
My unscientific modern American perspective of Irish culture is one that’s funny, boisterous, and inclined to enjoy a nice brew. When the publishers of a new collection on Irish quotes asked me to review Gerd De Ley’s “Irish Wit, Wisdom & Humor: The Complete Collection of Irish Jokes, One-Liners & Witty Sayings”, I said yes, expecting to be entertained with sarcasm.
I was not wrong. I was, however, expecting really old folk proverbs, but this book is a compilation of remarks from Irish and Irish-born authors, politicans, journalists, and other high-profile people. It’s still an amusing collection of acerbic humor.
Here’s some of my favorites:
“Experience: The name everyone gives to their mistakes.” – Oscar Wilde
“Irish is English set to music.” —Mary Michael Malloy
“I finally found a diet that works in Ireland. I only eat when the weather’s good.” —Hal Roach
“Cats: Sculptures set to music.” – Mary Michael Malloy
“A woman has the last word in every argument. Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.” – Paul O’Farrell
“Live passionately, even if it kills you, because something is going to kill you anyway.” – T.E. Lawrence
And this one’s a nod to St. Pat’s Day:
“The closest I have to a nutritionist is the Carlsbergh Beer Company.” – Colin Farrell
Very colorful laughs. St. Patrick’s Day is Saturday, March 17, 2018 – have a safe and fun day!
“Irish Wit, Wisdom & Humor: The Complete Collection of Irish Jokes, One-Liners & Witty Sayings” by Gerd De Ley
978-1-57826-734-7, $15.00 paperback
Published by Hatherleigh Press
Distributed through Penguin Random House
Available wherever books are sold
