9 Irish toasts for St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is a day for celebrating all things Irish and for toasting the health and welfare of the people we hold near and dear with a mug of green beer. Traditional Irish toasts are a must on St. Patrick's Day, so you'll want to be ready with a list of toasts under your lucky green belt if you're called upon to utter a few wise, witty or wry words of Irish good cheer before the beer disappears. Here are 10 pub toasts to celebrate the special day.

Humour and laughter are a part of everyday life in Ireland, forged long ago from having to endure struggle and a hard-scrabble existence. St. Patrick's Day is a time for looking forward to a brighter future, and possibly one in which everyone is Irish! Celebrate a positive outlook on life with these toasts:

• May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint
• If you're lucky enough to be Irish...You're lucky enough!
• May you have the health of a salmon - a strong heart and a wet mouth.
• As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way.

Toasting friendships, old and new, is an important facet of St. Patrick's Day. While many Irish toasts are notoriously long-winded and cover a broad range of -- and might have drinking companions wishing the speaker could speed things along -- keeping St. Paddy's Day toasts short and sweet and centred on your friends is the best bet.

• May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.
• A toast to your coffin: May it be made of 100 year old oak. And, may we plant the tree together, tomorrow.
• Good health, good life, good beer
• May you live as long as you want. And never want as long as you live.
• To warm words on a cold day.

You're now officially ready for St. Patrick's Day. The traditional, resounding Irish shout of "Glasses off the table!" often follows the toast. May these authentic Irish toasts bring you one step closer to the magic and warmth of the Emerald Isle. To your health!