Irish Humor

Some say that the Irish zest for humor began long ago, even before St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, who brought the love of learning and Christianity to the Emerald Isle.

Fanciful historians believe the appetite for humor originated in the dim, distant past with two contentious groups: the legendary leprechauns of the south and the pookas of the north. Both were mischief-makers who started all kinds of shenanigans to tease each other. It is from these "wee people" that the Irish supposedly inherit their ready wit and quick tongues. From them flowed the limericks, blarney, the "Irish Bull", and the rib-tickling repartee of sophisticates like Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw.

Tradition has it that whoever kisses the stone at Blarney Castle in County Cork will be blessed with the gift of eloquence. One unknown poet put it this way:



The stone this is whoever kisses,
He never misses to grow eloquent.
'Tis he may clamber,
To my lady's chamber,
Or be a member of Parliament.


Monsignor Fulton Sheen, the famous TV cleric of the late '50s made this nice distinction between baloney and blarney. He said, "Baloney is so thick it cannot be true; blarney is flattery so thin we like it."

As to the lusty lilt of a limerick, its fountainhead spilled over in bygone days in Munster, where partygoers would sing "Will You Come Up To Limerick?" Later the 5-line verse form was adopted by sailors and soldiers, travelers and tinkers, and as time went by the limerick became increasing salacious. But, here is one that is not only "clean" but comical:


A limerick packs laughs anatomical
Into space that is quite economical:
But the good ones I've seen
So seldom are clean
And the clean ones so seldom are comical.


Here's another type of verse. The poem is called "The Tides of Love." It goes like this:


Flo was fond of Ebenezer --
"EB" for short, she called her beau.
Talk of Tides of Love, great Caesar!
You should see them -- Eb and Flo.

Oscar Wilde was probably the great wit of his time; his one-liners are genuine masterpieces. Here are a couple of good lines that Wilde tossed off. "I can resist everything except temptation." And "I never put off till tomorrow what I can possible do -- the day after."

And speaking of humor itself, Wilde remarked that "Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin."

An "Irish Bull" is not an animal that bellows and chases cows in a pasture. Instead, it is a humorous devise similar to a malapropism. Here, for example, is an "Irish Bull". Two weary lads on foot are traveling to town one hot summer day when they suddenly realize they still have 10 more miles to go. "Sure", said one, who was an optimist, "take heart, that's only five miles apiece."

Then there's the tale about the young preacher who blessed his congregation with this brief and fervent prayer. "May all of you be filled with fresh veal and zigor."
And last but not least is a beautiful Irish blessing that is not humorous but is filled with good cheer and warm sentiment:


"May the roads rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sunshine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields, and
May God Hold you in the palm of His hand."