Finnegan’s Wake – The Comic Irish Ballad of Tim Finnegan’s Fall and Rise From the Dead
Finnegan’s Wake — A Comic Masterpiece of Irish Wit Finnegan’s Wake is one of Ireland’s most beloved and light-hearted ballads — a song that turns tragedy into laughter. It tells the story of Tim Finnegan, a Dublin labourer with a fondness for whiskey, who falls from a ladder to his apparent death. At his wake, the mourners drink, fight, and spill whiskey over his body — only for Finnegan to spring back to life with a roar for another drop. Originally written in the mid-1800s, the song became a favourite in Irish pubs and music halls across the world. Its chorus, “ Whack fol the dah! ”, captures the humour and resilience that run deep in Irish storytelling — the ability to face hardship with a grin and a glass raised high. Finnegan’s Wake reminds us that in Irish music, even death can be outwitted by laughter, community, and LYRICS Tim Finnegan lived in Walkin Street A gentle Irishman mighty odd He’d a beautiful brogue so rich and sweet To rise in the world he carried a ho...