St. Patrick’s Day celebrates the most prominent of Ireland’s patron saints and falls every year on March 17.
St. Patrick, who is thought to have died around the year 475, is credited with helping Ireland turn from a pagan nation into a Christian one.
St. Patrick’s Day has become synonymous with Ireland, of course, but St. Patrick’s Day celebrations also take place all over the world.
Those honoring the day often wear green clothes or accessories, and there are often parades, festive cuisine, music, dancing and drinking involved too.
Others observe the day online, by posting hilarious St. Patrick’s Day-themed images and videos to their social media pages.
To mark the occasion for 2023, Newsweek has gathered a collection of St. Patrick’s Day memes, images and quotes to share with family and friends.
St. Patrick’s Day Memes
Streaming site Disney+ got into the spirit of things by posting a hilarious meme of the character of She-Hulk, played by Tatiana Maslany, turning green as soon as the clock hits midnight on St. Patrick’s Day.
“#StPatricksDay mood,” the account captioned the post, alongside a green love heart emoji.
Last year, comedian Paddy Raff, from Belfast, Ireland, posted a meme referencing the Chicago River, which is dyed green every year to start the city’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.
“Fish waking up in the Chicago River on St Patrick’s Day,” he posted alongside a picture of Scottish comedian Limmy screwing up his eyes while lying in bed, with a green tinge across the photo.
“Happy st Patrick’s day from me and my all time favourite piece of deranged pop culture,” posted writer Róisín Lanigan alongside a screen grab from an episode of Sex and the City.
The screenshot shows Carrie Bradshaw, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, walking outside, with the quote, “Maybe the fight between marrieds and singles is like the war in Northern Ireland,” written across it.
Sticking to the TV theme, another Twitter user posted: “happy st patrick’s day to this scene only,” along with a clip from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
In the scene Charlie, played by Charlie Day, and Mac, played by Rob McElhenney, discuss their interesting St. Patrick’s Day preparations.
One reality television fan celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by posting a still from an episode of The Real Housewives of Orange County.
“happy st. patrick’s day to them,” they wrote, alongside a picture of Bravo stars Vicki Gunvalson, Shannon Beador and Tamra Judge, taken from the infamous cast trip to Dublin, Ireland, in 2016.
Another funny meme saw one Twitter user writing: “Everyone: We love St. Patrick’s Day!”
The response then said: “Snakes,” followed by a famous picture used in memes of Pakistani cricket fan Muhammad Sarim Akhtar appearing unimpressed during a 2019 cricket match.
The tweet is referencing the Irish legend that St. Patrick banished all the snakes from Ireland.
“happy st patrick’s day colin farrell,” wrote another St. Patrick’s day reveler in the caption for a video celebrating the Irish actor.
Another Twitter user made light of non-Irish people’s habit of exaggerating their Irish heritage.
“You’re not Irish… stop it,” they captioned an animated picture that had “Happy St. Paddy’s Day” written across it, and bore writing across the bottom that read: ” The official ‘everyone lies about being Irish’ day.”
St. Patrick’s Day Quotes
If you are looking for something more traditional to share with your loved ones on St. Patrick’s Day, below are some blessings, sayings and quotes to celebrate the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day and the famous “luck of the Irish”.
- May the Irish hills caress you. May her lakes and rivers bless you. May the luck of the Irish enfold you. May the blessings of St. Patrick behold you
- May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go
- May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, May good luck pursue you each morning and night
- If you’re lucky enough to be Irish… You’re lucky enough!
How to Say Happy St. Patrick’s Day in Irish
There are a few different ways to say Happy St. Patrick’s Day in Irish Gaelic, so Newsweek contacted some experts to get their thoughts.
According to Malachy Ó Néill, a professor of Irish at Ulster University, Northern Ireland, the basic way to communicate “happy St. Patrick’s Day” is to use the word “beannachtaí” (blessings or greetings) alongside “féile” (feast-day or festival) and “Pádraig” (Saint Patrick).
Put together, this gives us “Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig,” pronounced “ban-acty na fay-la pad-rig.”
Ronan Connolly of LetsLearnIrish.com, the online community for learners worldwide, offered a slight variation to this.
“To wish someone Happy St. Patrick’s Day you can say ‘Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit! (pronounced ‘law ay-luh paw-drig dun-uh ditch’),” he told Newsweek.
He added that “Lá Fhéile Pádraig” means “St. Patrick’s Day” and “sona” means “happy” in English.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
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