Top 10 Irish Wedding Gifts.
Irish wedding gifting is now largely cash or a wedding list, with a handful of traditional items that have survived and one — the horseshoe — that has changed shape entirely.
What not to give
Read this before the list below. These are not preferences — several are genuine offences, and they are the part most gift guides leave out.
- A horseshoe pointing down The luck runs out. Always hang and give it points-up.
- Knives without a coin The same buy-it-back convention as across northern Europe.
- Anything green for the bride, in older families Green was traditionally the fairies’ colour and considered unlucky for a bride — largely forgotten, but not by everyone.
- Lilies Funeral association.
The ten
- 01
Cash in a card
The overwhelming norm. Given at the reception or posted beforehand.
- 02
Claddagh ring or piece
Hands for friendship, heart for love, crown for loyalty. The Irish gift.
- 03
A horseshoe — pointing up
Traditionally carried by the bride. Modern ones are fabric or ceramic. Must point upward so the luck does not run out.
- 04
Belleek or Waterford Crystal
The two classic Irish wedding gifts, both still made.
- 05
Aran knitwear or a wool throw
From Donegal or the Aran Islands. Genuinely warm and long-lasting.
- 06
Irish linen
Table linen from Ulster, a traditional household gift.
- 07
A bell
Rung to keep evil spirits away and, by tradition, rung again to end an argument.
- 08
Irish whiskey from the wedding year
A single pot still, kept for anniversaries.
- 09
Handmade Irish pottery
From a named studio — Nicholas Mosse being the best known.
- 10
A framed family crest or map
Of the townland the family comes from.
If you are giving money
Cash is standard and typically €100–200 per person, broadly covering the cost of your meal. Irish weddings are long and expensive, and guests generally give generously.
Written as common practice. Regional and family variation is enormous — if you are close enough to the couple to ask, ask. Nobody has ever been offended by the question.