Irish Drinking Toasts
If you’ve never met an Irishman, then you cannot really imagine what fun you’re missing out on. And if you’ve never had at least one drink (not to mention two or more) with an Irishman, you don’t know what you’re missing. The Irish are as a people, forthcoming, and great-hearted. They also have some of the best drinking toasts ever, and if you’ve never heard any Irish drinking toasts you’re certainly missing out on a lot!
Irish drinking toasts will normally tickle the listener’s sense of humor, and if you get in the company of several Irishmen, don’t be astonished if there is more than one toast. Along with their sense of fun and their hardiness, you will also learn that they love to “whet their whistle” often, which explains why there are so many Irish drinking toasts doing the rounds.
And although you probably think that an Irish pub would be the best place to hear some Irish drinking toasts, you would be (partly) mistaken. Some of the best places where their sense of humor and fellowship comes out, is when they are at public functions.
So in case of something like a wedding, you should not really be astonished to hear a few of the cleaner Irish drinking toasts being bandied around along with the traditional Irish wedding toasts and blessings.
Most of the time during the occasion you will hear a “Slбinte” (pronounced something along the lines of “Slawn-tche”), which means “good health”. This and other Irish drinking toasts beginning with “Slбinte” generally correspond with the proverbial “Cheers!” or “Salute!”, but you have to agree that it sounds much better than just a simple “Cheers!”
If you have ever heard any of the Irish drinking toasts, you might have noticed that a suitably fitting answer is always to reply back “Slбinte”. Since this means “health” it is perfectly acceptable to answer with it. You will also find that many Irish drinking toasts begin with “Slбinte”, or contain it somewhere within a toast.
Other great Irish drinking toasts have nothing to do with good health, but they can be something high-minded inherently. A proper example of this is, “May the love and protection Saint Patrick can give, be yours as long as you live!” Or this one is also great, “May God not weaken your hand”.
As you can see Irish drinking toasts are many and diverse, not to mention picturesque. They can let you burst into tears of joy or bring sentiment to your eyes, and they summarize the thoughts and wishes, which is great about the Irish. “Here’s to a sweetheart, a bottle, and a friend. The first beautiful, the second full, and the last ever faithful.”