I always wondered where the age-old phrase “Luck of the Irish” came from. After doing some research on the web I found out that there are a couple different answers. Some said that the term came from the fact that Ireland is still its own country and that it was never colonized or occupied by British Rule. Others believe it came from Sir Arthur General Mills, the lone Irish man that turned regular old charms into the marshmellowy sweetness we all know today as Lucky Charms.
No but seriously, the term “Luck of the Irish” can be interpreted in many ways and really has no clear definition. What makes the most sense to me is that during the 19th centurie Gold rushes, Irish miners somehow had the ability to know and find where gold was. The term developed as to say that the Irish have some sort of luck when mining for gold.
The myths and legends as to why this term was created is very debatable and some even believe the Irish aren’t lucky at all. With the exploitation and starvation over the years, some believe the Irish are in fact unlucky. Evil Leprechauns fit somewhere into this equation, but I was unable to successfully make the connection.
Let me know what you think “Luck of the Irish” means…
Comments
Eric
March 17th, 2009 - 11:41:37 AM
it means, you go to the bar, drink your guiness, and hope to get lucky!
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mike
March 17th, 2009 - 3:00:05 PM
my wife's been running around saying 'luck of the irish to ya!' where's my beer? HSPD everbody!
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kevin
October 16th, 2009 - 12:48:33 PM
Luck can be either good or bad; e.g. working in a nice building could be considered good luck, working on the 13th floor of that same building could be seen as bad luck. That's why we don't just say "Luck" when wishing wellness to someone, but preface our wish with the condition "Good". So, calling someone lucky leaves open the question of whether their luck is ultimately good or bad. In the case of Irish luck, it appears to be good at first, "Hot diggity, Coleen, I've won the lottery", but later is unmasked as a trick or jinx, "Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the saints, wife, sure they've taken you for a ride and sold to you from yesterday's rolls", thus exposing the ultimately insideous nature of the luck. Otherwise, why not "Luck of the English" or "Luck of the Flemish", etc., etc.
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