The Irish are known for the ‘gift of the gab’ and a particular Celtic wit and wisdom. Here are seven quotes from the Irish - about being Irish.

Edna O’Brien
"When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say look at the trees. Maimed, stark and misshapen but ferociously tenacious."

Author Edna O’Brien (born 15 December 1930) from County Clare is an Irish novelist, playwright, poet and short story writer and is considered the doyenne of Irish literature.

Edna O'Brien

Brendan Behan
"It's not that the Irish are cynical. It's rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody.'"

Writer Brendan Behan (1923-1964) was born in Dublin. He was an Irish poet, novelist, playwright and short story writer. He wrote in both the English and Irish languages and his notable works include Borstal Boy, The Quare Fellow and The Hostage.

Brendan Behan

Hal Roach
"You know it’s summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer."

Irish comedian Hal Roach (1927 – 2012), famous for his saying ‘write it down, it’s a good one!’, spent over 60 years in show business. He was featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest engagement of a comedian in the one venue, having performed for 26 years at the famous Jury’s Irish cabaret, Ballsbridge, Dublin.

Hal Roach

William Butler Yeats
"There are no strangers here, only friends that have not yet met".

Irish poet WB Yeats (1865 – 1939) was one of the most important figures in 20th century literature. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature – the first Irishman awarded with this accolade.

William Butler Yeats

John F. Kennedy
"No larger nation has ever provided the world with more literary and artistic genius. This is an extraordinary country." 

John F Kennedy (1917 – 1963), 35th President of the United States of America, who famously had Irish connections (Dunganstown, County Wexford) praised the country when addressing the Irish parliament in Dublin on June 28th, 1963.

John F. Kennedy

George Bernard Shaw
"Other people see things and say ‘Why?’ .. But I dream things that never were – and I say ‘Why not?’"

Speaking as an Irishman, George Bernard Shaw summed up his uniquely Irish approach to life with this sentence. The Irish playwright (1856 – 1950) received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925.

George Bernard Shaw

Mary Robinson
"I was elected by the women of Ireland, who instead of rocking the cradle – rocked the system!"

Speaking following her election as Ireland’s first woman President in 1990, Mary Robinson (who subsequently became UN High Commissioner for Human Rights), said some of her most remembered words and this is one of her most-quoted sentences.

Mary Robinson