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Top ten strange and weird Irish curses-when you really want to hex your enemy

Dastardly magic only the Irish could think of...or understand


If someone's making you cranky we've a wonderful array of ways to curse them...in an amazing Irish style
If someone's making you cranky we've a wonderful array of ways to curse them...in an amazing Irish style

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As many Americans may have figured out, the Irish accent can sometimes be a difficult one to comprehend.  Abbreviating (and bludgeoning) words coupled with an almost superhumanly rapid rate of speech has left a lot of heads spinning over the years.
 
This is why an Irish hex may be the most sinister hex of all. A curse is bad enough when you know what you’re dealing with but imagine not being able to understand the wicked sorcery that is about to come down upon your head. Here are the top ten Irish curses to look out for.

Not surprisingly they mostly revolve around hell, beer and marriage but they are deadly nonetheless.

Here’s our pick of some top ancient Irish curses:
 
1. “May you all go to hell and not have a drop of porter to quench your eternal thirst”

For some Irish people, no porter is hell so the two are eternally linked!
 
2. “May the devil cut the head off you and make a day’s work of your neck”

There must be a recession in hell too if the devil can spend all day on one poor soul’s neck.
 
3. “May you die without a priest in a town with no clergy”

Again damning you to hell. I’m noticing a pattern here.
 
4. “May your obituary be written in weasel’s piss”

Nobody likes being around weasels. The Irish once again go one step further to leave your memory sake permanently dripping in the unlikeable critter’s urine.

Read more: The top ten Irish insults
 
5. “May the cat eat you and may the divil eat the cat”

The Irish sorcerer's are thinking ahead again as they wish you to get eaten not once but twice. And after all that you still end up in hell.
 
6. “May you find the bees but not the honey”

Quite a poetic way to wish a lot of undeserved pain on somebody.
 
7. “May you be afflicted with the itch but have no nails to scratch with”

 Again, this doesn’t sound too bad but we’ve all had an itchy nose during a haircut. Imagine living with that for the rest of your life!
 
8. “May you marry in haste and repent at leisure”

A lot of people have been afflicted by this curse already I think.
 
9. “May you get the runs on your wedding night”

Your wedding night is supposed to be the happiest night of your life. Nobody has ever had a good night with diarrhea.
 
10. “May you marry a wench that blows wind like a stone from a sling”

I think all red- blooded males would pick the first 9 curses  over this one!

Read more: The top ten Irish insults


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25 Comments

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Whatever about obituaries being written in weasel's piss? A proposed #11 for above list from an Ulster-Scot perspective could be: "May your covenant be signed in the blood of your chief gun runner!"
#3 above could be a plus in light of clerical child sexual abuse scandals of recent times. #10 is obviously a caption for the photograph. WOuldn't like to meet her on a dark night on a boreen (botharín/small country lane). Definition of a bachelor: A man who never makes the same mistake once!
How about an historical curse that actually worked? Tighearnán Ua Ruairc's curse on Diarmait na nGall: "May your daughter marry the devil and may their progeny bring a great nation to ruin." Part of it took a few hundred years to work, but all good curses take time.
never heard of them.....Not that funny either (if they are supposed to be !!!!!!!)
Cute! I, also, noticed the "AdChoice" at the bottom of the page that I see says, "Magic Spells That Work." Hmmmmm......
Niall, if you need to lecture your readers like that, you're losing. Why not admit the article is a piece of artificial nonsense and let it pass on?
Are you kidding me with these "curses".They're jokes,not as scary as say the Italians & their curses.
Yes, Niall, but this article has neither. Have you yourself become like all of our Irish politicians: never bend an ear to what your audience is telling you? That, me dear Niall, is called CONTEMPT. And the relevant article is pure RUBBISH. Éamonn, Dublin.
Anyone ever hear of a sense of humor or a bit of fun?
Mr Brosnan this is a ball hop,right, may your obituary be written in weasel piss,that's assuming there are some in the locality,right, may you get the runs on your wedding night,that might not be that unusual with the amount of alcohol consumed,if i told the person to be hexed they would most likely die laughing.
Well Sean Brosnan,I grew up in Ireland and never ever have I heard these sayings,I think you some one was pulling your leg,
I also grew up in Ireland and never heard one of these!!
"May the road rise to meet you" is an idiotic literal translation of "Go n-eirí do bhóthar leat" which means "May your journey go well", or even, "May you be successful" But of course, some people prefer Paddywhackery. "May you be successful" doesn't look so good printed on a mug from the Auld Sod.
I spent 17½ of my first 18 years in Ireland and I never heard anyone ever mention any one of the above curses, nor did anyone ever hera ayyone use such phrases as "The top of the morning to you", "May the road rise to meet you" "be gob, be gorragh, or be japers". Such idiotic expressions are purely figments of someone's silly imagination.
The poor U.S., they're already cursed with that Obama!




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