Where does the phrase luck of the Irish come from?
We associate so many things with the Irish – heart, spirit, and good times. We also associate the Irish and Irish culture with good luck. For example, things like the four-leaf clover, shamrocks, horseshoes, and leprechauns are all meant to be symbols of good luck. Not to mention the colour green, and inescapable part of the Emerald Isle, is also thought of as being a lucky colour.
In fact, luck is so closely linked with the Irish that there is even a famous phrase out there “The luck of the Irish.” Now, we’ve all heard this expression before, but have you ever wondered just exactly where it comes from? We never really had until we decided to look into it, and, we have to be honest, the findings might surprise you.
Old mining expression
In fact, the term actually originated back in the 19th Century, during the gold rush years in the United States. Many people had huge success with this, and a lot of miners struck gold, in more ways than one. The majority of these miners at the time were actually Irish or Irish-Americans who had emigrated. This led to the term ‘luck of the Irish’ being coined by many Americans at the time. So, weirdly, the term did not actually originate in Ireland, but was, instead, American in origin.
In fact, in spite of what you might have thought, the saying is actually considered to have negative connotations, not positive ones. The term was used as a way of Americans looking down on the Irish immigrants who lived among them. It was well-known that the majority of Irish were hated by most Americans, and this phrase was one designed to imply that only by luck, and not brains or talent, could the Irish succeed. Even in Britain, Irish immigrants were hated, and, no matter where they went, it was seen as only being through sheer dumb luck that the Irish could have any kind of success.
Another way of looking at the term is that it could be seen as ironical. Historically the Irish had a tough time of things. They had to endure the potato famine, troubles between North and South, emigrating in arduous conditions, etc. Many died en route to other countries, while those who made it were treated very badly and fell into alcoholism and other problems. In this sense, the term ‘luck of the Irish’ can be seen as irony pointing to the fact that actually, the Irish experienced very bad luck.
We bet you never knew all this about the phrase ‘Luck of the Irish.” In many ways, the origins of this phrase are important, as they illustrate many of the problems that the Irish faced when leaving Ireland. As immigrants in another land many of them were shunned, and they were often treated contemptuously. The phrase has often been adopted in a positive light in recent times, but many don’t realise the negative connotations of the past.