Grá - one of the most cherished words in the Irish language - means “love,” yet its warmth reaches far beyond a simple translation. It’s threaded through everyday Irish life: people speak of having a “huge grá for the GAA,” and parents like me, the ebook’s author, often send their children out the door each morning with “grá mo chroí sibh” (“love of my heart to you all”).

That everyday tenderness sets the tone for Grá: Irish Words for Your Wedding, my new ebook celebrating Irish language, heritage, and the expressions that shape how we love.

Irish Love, With Wit and Honesty

Historically, Irish love poetry has carried a famously unromantic streak, favouring unrequited or lost love, tinged with melancholy, irony, and a distinctly Irish realism. Rather amusingly, sixteenth-century poets seemed fascinated by even, bright teeth, rhapsodising about “dá déid shocair” (her smooth, even teeth) and “do dhéad gheal” (your bright teeth) with remarkable enthusiasm.

Old-style proposals were equally dark-humoured, summed up in the starkly practical question: “An luifeá le mo mhuintir?” (“Would you lie with my people?”) A proposal as blunt as it is sincere, rooted more in community than fairy-tale romance.

Yet genuine romantic voices do shine through, including pieces like Úna Ní Bhroin’s Ó Thugas Mo Ghrá Dhuit (“Since I gave you my love”), one of several wedding-friendly poems featured in the guide.

What this new Ebook Offers 

The ebook offers a curated selection of Irish words, phrases, blessings, readings, vows, toasts, and stationery wording. Each entry includes phonetic pronunciation and English translation so anyone can use them with confidence.

Whether planning a fully bilingual ceremony or simply adding a cúpla focal to vows, speeches, or invitations, the guide makes Gaeilge accessible, warm, and meaningful.

Written by Ali, a native Irish speaker from the Connemara Gaeltacht, Grá: Irish Words for Your Wedding is a beautifully structured companion for anyone who wants their wedding to sound as Irish as it feels - rooted in tradition, full of grá, and alive with humour and heart.

Download Grá: Irish Words for Your Wedding at: www.cloaguscroi.com