May you always have work for your hands to do. May your pockets hold always a coin or two. May the sun shine bright on your windowpane. May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you. And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

This text is commonly circulated in English as an “Irish Blessing,” part of a broad modern tradition of short benedictions used at leave-takings, weddings, birthdays, and other rites of passage. Such “Irish blessing” attributions are frequently generic rather than traceable to a single identifiable author, and many examples are products of 19th–20th-century print culture (greeting cards, gift books, newspapers) that present them as traditional folk sayings. The imagery here—work, modest prosperity, sunshine after rain, friendship, and God-given cheer—fits the tone of a household or community blessing meant to be spoken aloud, often as a closing toast or farewell.

The blessing strings together everyday hopes rather than heroic ambitions: useful labor (“work for your hands”), enough money for small needs (“a coin or two”), and emotional resilience (“the rainbow…after each rain”). Its movement from material sufficiency to social support (“the hand of a friend”) and finally to spiritual consolation (“may God fill your heart with gladness”) suggests a hierarchy of goods: livelihood, stability, companionship, and inner joy. The repeated “May…” frames life as contingent and communal—something we cannot fully control, but can wish into being for one another—making the piece especially suited to moments of transition when reassurance and goodwill are most needed.