With Saint Patrick’s Day approaching many people start getting into the Irish spirit. A popular saying that is often said on Saint Patrick’s Day is “You’ve got the luck of the Irish.” But is this just a fun saying or is it just that Irish people are generally lucky? As someone who is more than 65% Irish. I have felt lucky since I won a brand new television in the first grade. However everyone goes through rough patches like with family, friends, money, school, and just life in general. Many people feel that when Irish people take a huge “L” they tend to bounce back soon with a “W.” Just like the Irish Potato Famine.

The term “Luck of the Irish,” when said in the Irish language, Gaelic (not to be confused with garlic) is spelled Ádh mór ar an hÉireann, however even someone as Irish as me doesn’t know how to pronounce that. The phrase is used to convey that Irish people are bound to have an extremely good fortune like leprechauns with pots of gold. Despite what many people think the term was actually first said by people who were not of Irish descent, which makes sense because calling you and all of your ancestors lucky could come off as conceited. People started saying this as a joke and possibly from jealousy that in the 1800s there was a gold rush in Ireland and this made some Irish people wealthy.

No matter if you are Irish or not you don’t have to find a four leaf clover or hang a horseshoe up in your house to have luck come your way, unless you’re Lindsay Lohan, of course.