Here are some traditional greetings (as well as some not so traditional ones) for St. Patrick's Day. There's a key to some of the special sounds below.

Sound files have been provided by our own BrídMhór, a native speaker from the Connemara Gaeltacht. Just click on the phrase (if it is underlined).

Traditional:

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit ! "Happy St. Patrick's Day!" (to one person)
LAW leh PAW-rik SONN-uh GHITCH
/Lɑ: l´ə pɑ:rək´soNə ɣit´/

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh ! "Happy St. Patrick's Day!" (to a group)
LAW leh PAW-rik SONN-uh GHEEV
/Lɑ: l´ə pɑ:rək´soNə ɣi:w´/

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig ! "St. Patrick's Day Blessings"
BAN-ukht-ee nuh FAY-lih PAW-rik
/b´æ:Nəxti: Nə f´e:l´ə pɑ:rək´/

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig ort ! "St. Patrick's Day Blessings On You!" (to one person)
BAN-ukht-ee nuh FAY-lih PAW-rik OR-ut
/b´æ:Nəxti: Nə f´e:l´ə pɑ:rək´ort/

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh! "St. Patrick's Day Blessings On You!" (to a group)
BAN-ukht-ee nuh FAY-lih PAW-rik OR-iv
/b´æ:Nəxti: Nə f´e:l´ə pɑ:rək´orəw´/


Non-traditional:

Éire go Brách "Ireland Forever " or
AIR-rhih guh BRAWKH
/e:r´ə gə brɑ:x/

Éirinn go Brách "Ireland Forever" (Connemara)
AIR-rhin guh BRAWKH
/e:r´əN gə brɑ:x/

Is Éireannach mé ! "I'm Irish! "
Iss AIR-rhin-ukh meh
/is e:r´əNəx m´e/

Sláinte is táinte ! "Health and Wealth! "
SLAAN-chih iss TAWN-chih
/sLa:Nt´ə is tɑ:Nt´ə/

Pionta Guinness, le do thoil or más é do thoil é "A pint of Guiness, please "
PIN-tuh GUIN-ess, le duh HWIL or MAW sheh duh HWIL eh
/p´iNtə giN´əs l´e də hil´/ or /mɑ: s´e də hil´ e/

Tabhair póg dom, is Éireannach mé "Kiss me, I'm Irish " (Connemara: Tabhair dhom póg ...)
torh POGUE dom, iss AIR-rhin-ukh meh (Connemara: TORum POGUE ...)
/to:r´ po:g dom is e:r´əNəx m´e/ (Connemara: /torəm po:g/ ...)

Tabhair póg dom má tá Gaeilge agat "Kiss me if you speak Irish"
torh POGUE dom maw taw GAYL-gih UG-ut
/to:r´ po:g dom mɑ: tɑ: ge:l´g´ə agət/

Tabhair dhom póg má tá Gaeilge a'd "Kiss me if you speak Irish" (Connemara)
TORum POGUE maw taw GAYL-gad
/torəm po:g mɑ: tɑ: ge:l´g´a:d/

Tabhair dom an rud céanna is atá ag an bhfear ar an urlár ! "Give me the same as the man on the floor!"
TOR-um uh rood KAY-nah iss ah-taw egg uh VAER airh un OR-lawr
/torəm ə rud k´e:Nə is atɑ: eg´əw´æ:r er´əN orLɑ:r/

Ádh na nÉireannach "Luck of the Irish "
AW nuh NAIR-rhin-ukh
/ɑ: Nə n´e:r´əNəx/

Cá mbeidh tú ag fliuchadh na seamróige? "Where will you be wetting the shamrock?"
kaw MAY too uh FLYOKH-uh na SHAM-row-gih
/kɑ: m´ei tu: ə f´l´oxə Nə s´æ:mro:g´ə/

Tabhair póg dom, tá Gaeilge agam "Kiss me, I speak Irish"
torh POGUE dhom, taw GAYL-gih UG-um
/to:r´ po:g ɣom tɑ: ge:l´g´ə agəm/


PRONUNCIATION NOTES:

The d in Pádraig is usually silent, so it sounds like POR-ik, but some people do pronounce it.

The fhé- in fhéile usually gets dropped leaving le.

The sound represented by "kh" is a gutteral sound not found in English. It's similar to the "ch" in "Bach" or "loch." To get a feel for how it sounds, first try pronouncing the "k" as in "king." Feel how your throat closes to produce the sound? Now try saying it without closing your throat all the way, so that some of the air escapes. That's the sound you're going for.

The sound represented by "gh" is similar to the above, but it's voiced...that is, you produce the sound from your vocal chords while pronouncing "kh." It's a little like the sound you make when you gargle, but not quite so pronounced.

This is a locked thread. You can suggest corrections or additions (and dialect variations) in the following thread:

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=745

Bumping this thread up for the upcoming holiday (temporarily "stickied", and also kept locked, as was decided a while back).

_________________
I'm not a native (or entirely fluent) speaker, so be sure to wait for confirmations/corrections, especially for tattoos.