The Luck of the Irish

We are often surrounded by idioms, expressions in language, day after day. In the spirit of the upcoming holiday celebration, St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I would share the origins and meanings behind one such idiom: “The luck of the Irish.”

There is no cohesive agreement on where this phrase came from but there are two widely accepted origins. One of the suggested origins is that the Irish are just inherently lucky. Despite the hard circumstances we see in history, the Irish have had to deal with they still seem to be able to land back on their feet, (i.e. The Potato Famine). Another suggested origin of “The luck of the Irish” came from the California Gold Rush in the 1800s. Many of the most successful gold diggers were Irish. When it got out that the Irish people got lucky finding large quantities of gold they were talked about in the terms of “The luck of the Irish.” Often times the Irish would refer to their good fortune as their “pot o’ gold.”

With all this luck floating around for the Irish, why don’t we send some good luck to out friends and family to brighten their day? Take a look through BalloonsByMail.com and find those St. Partick’s Day or good luck balloons to send. Don’t forget to add a small gift or good luck charm to the bottom to ensure the luck lasts forever!


Source