Just Irish Music

“ Whiskey in the Jar ” is one of the most beloved and widely performed traditional Irish folk songs, immortalized by generations of singers from the hills of Kerry to the pubs of Dublin — and far beyond. Known for its rollicking melody and defiant lyrics, the song tells the tale of a highwayman who robs a military officer and is later betrayed by his lover. Sometimes set around Kilgary Mountain (or Kilmagenny, depending on the version), the story follows the classic theme of rebellion, romance, and betrayal. The protagonist, often referred to as a bold Irish rover or a highwayman, steals gold from a British officer — typically “Captain Farrell” — only to be turned in by his sweetheart, Molly or Jenny. In many renditions, her betrayal leads to his capture or death, though some versions allow him to escape. What makes “Whiskey in the Jar” endure is its infectious chorus and the blend of humour, tragedy, and pride. The title line — “Musha ring dum a doo dum a da” — is instantly recogni...

The Maid of Mourne Shore — An Irish Ballad of Love, Loss & Departure The Maid of Mourne Shore is one of Ireland’s most tender and bittersweet traditional ballads — a song of unreturned love and exile set along the beautiful, windswept coast of County Down. Its verses combine the quiet poetry of the countryside with the ache of separation that echoes through so many Irish songs. The story follows a young man who wanders the hills and dales by Mourne’s fair shore , remembering days of youth spent fishing and courting. When he visits his beloved to ask her heart, she gently turns him away — her promise already given to a sailor boy across the sea. Though the rejected lover warns that the sea may take her sailor, she stands firm in loyalty: “If the sea proves false to me, no other lad I’ll enjoy.” The song then shifts from affection to farewell. The young man bids goodbye to Lord Edmund’s leafy groves and the linen greens of the Mourne countryside — scenes of peace and industr...

Who is Ireland's Enemy..Not Russia, France nor Austria — Ireland’s Cry of Wrath and Memory Not Russia, France nor Austria is one of the fiercest patriotic poems ever composed in the Irish tradition — a thunderous indictment of England’s centuries of conquest and cruelty in Ireland. Written in the voice of the dispossessed and the dead, it spares no detail and softens no truth. The poem begins with a striking declaration: Ireland’s suffering did not come from distant empires. “ Not Russia, France nor Austria — they forged for her no chains. ” Her destroyer was closer to home. Across each verse, the poet calls out the long litany of wrongs: the murder of Shane O’Neill , the poisoning of Owen Roe , the slaughter of priests, children, and innocents, and the burning of villages from Clare to Donegal . It’s a roll call of grief stretching over “twice four hundred years,” until, as the poet writes, “every blade of Irish grass was wet with blood and tears.” Yet behind the rage lie...

The Vow of Tipperary — A Defiant Ballad of Ireland’s Rebel Heart The Vow of Tipperary is one of the great rebel anthems of 19th-century Ireland — a proud declaration of independence born from betrayal and courage. Its verses call out from Carrick streets to the Shannon shore , summoning the sons of Tipperary to stand as one and cast off the yoke of empire. The song opens as a rallying cry that sweeps across the Irish landscape — from Slievenamon to Galtymore , from Longford Pass to Ballindeary — every mountain and field answering the call. It unites a people long divided by poverty and politics beneath one simple, sacred promise: “Never to list in British ranks.” In just a few verses, the ballad captures centuries of struggle. Ireland’s young men had fought in Britain’s wars — on European battlefields and distant colonies — shedding their blood for a crown that rewarded them only with tyrant laws and eviction from their own homes. When they returned to Tipperary, they found h...

Gráinne Mhaol’s Lament — A Satirical Visual Chronicle of Ireland’s Occupation Gráinne Mhaol’s Lament re-imagines the life and legend of Gráinne Ní Mháille (Grace O’Malley) — Ireland’s fearless “Pirate Queen” of the 16th century — through the lens of satire and sorrow. Rather than the usual heroic ballad, this modern lament becomes a visual and musical chronicle of Ireland’s long occupation: proud, defiant, and bitterly aware of the cost of resistance. Born into the chieftain family of Umhaill in County Mayo, Gráinne commanded ships and men at a time when women were expected to obey rather than lead. She traded, raided, and fought to preserve Irish autonomy along the western coast while Elizabethan forces tightened their grip on the land. In legend she became the embodiment of Irish defiance — a woman who would parley with a queen yet never bow to one. In Gráinne Mhaol’s Lament , that defiance is refracted through art and irony. The song and imagery weave together scenes of bu...

Skibbereen — An Irish Famine Ballad of Loss, Exile & Eviction Skibbereen stands among the most heartbreaking of all Irish ballads — a father’s story told to his son about why they left their homeland. It is a song born from the Great Famine (An Gorta Mór) of the 1840s, when hunger, eviction, and exile scarred every parish in Ireland. In the ballad, a young man asks his father why they now live in exile. The old man answers with quiet pain: their home in Skibbereen, County Cork was destroyed, their crops failed, and their people starved while landlords seized the land. Soldiers came “to drive us from our home,” and his wife — the boy’s mother — died in the chaos that followed. Every verse deepens the tragedy. The father’s memories are not just personal; they are the voice of an entire nation cast adrift. The famine years saw more than a million Irish people die, and another million forced to sail for America, never to return. Through the song’s haunting refrain — “And th...

The Hills of Connemara — A Poitín Ballad from Ireland’s Wild West The Hills of Connemara is one of Ireland’s liveliest traditional songs — a spirited celebration of the old art of poitín-making , the illicit distillation of homemade whiskey that once sustained families across the rugged West. Set among the misty mountains and bogs of Connemara, County Galway , the song tells of the quick-witted moonshiners who outsmarted the taxmen and kept Ireland’s spirit — in every sense — alive. The verses follow the frantic energy of a poitín raid: “Keep your eyes well peeled today, The excise men are on their way…” With humor and defiance, the singer describes hiding barrels in streams, rolling casks down hills, and warning the neighbors as the lawmen approach. It’s half chase-song, half celebration — a musical wink to a centuries-old cat-and-mouse game between the people and authority. Beneath the laughter lies something deeper: a reflection of Irish resilience and independence. For ma...

The West’s Awake — A Cry of Freedom from Ireland’s Western Heart The West’s Awake is one of the great anthems of Irish nationalism — a song that rouses the sleeping spirit of the western counties to remember their courage, their pride, and their duty to a free Ireland. Written by the 19th-century patriot Thomas Davis , founder of The Nation newspaper, the song appeared during the Young Ireland movement — a time when poetry and song were weapons of conscience against British rule. In the ballad, Davis calls to the long-silent West — Connacht, Clare, and Kerry , lands that had suffered centuries of invasion, famine, and silence. “Long, long the West’s asleep,” he writes, lamenting how its proud people have been subdued by poverty and despair. Yet the song is no elegy — it’s a call to rise. He recalls how the West once rose for freedom: the men of 1798, the defenders of faith and land, those who refused to bend the knee. The refrain — “The West’s awake!” — is both prophecy and c...

O’Sullivan’s Return — A Ballad of Homecoming and Tragedy O’Sullivan’s Return is one of the most powerful narrative ballads in the Irish tradition — a song that begins in hope and ends in heartbreak. It tells of a chieftain returning to his ancestral home in Beara , West Cork, after long years in exile. As his ship draws near the coast, he looks toward his castle with tears in his eyes, dreaming of reunion with family, clan, and country. The early verses are filled with emotion and anticipation. O’Sullivan imagines the joyful welcome awaiting him: banners shaking in his great hall, the clasp of loyal hands, and the sound of his people’s cry — “O’Sullivan abú!” — echoing across the shore. He envisions not only homecoming, but freedom: Ireland rising once again, the Norman oppressors driven out, and Desmond and all Éire restored. But the sea, so calm at day’s end, turns violent as darkness falls. A sudden storm rises — almost as if the wind itself heard his proud vow. The ship is s...

The Fairy Child is one of Ireland’s most tender and sorrowful ballads — a song that drifts between heartbreak and hope. Written in the 19th century and attributed to the poet Samuel Lover , it tells the story of a mother whose little boy is stolen by the fairies, leaving behind a frail changeling in his place. Her song is both a lament and a prayer — an appeal to the unseen world for the return of her “fairy boy.” Unlike many lively Irish tunes, The Fairy Child moves slowly and softly, with each verse painting a scene of quiet tragedy. We see the golden-haired child sleeping on his mother’s breast, the robin singing outside, the flicker of the rushlight dying, and finally the lonely midnight when the mother realises her true son has gone. The ballad carries the unmistakable mark of Irish folklore, where joy and sorrow often share the same breath — the living world and the Otherworld forever intertwined. Yet even through grief, the song finds light. In its final verses, the mot...

Lanigan’s Ball is one of the liveliest and most comical songs in the Irish folk tradition — a whirlwind of music, dancing, and pure mischief. Written in the 1850s by the Irish songwriter Dion Boucicault , it tells the story of young Lanigan , a proud Dubliner who throws a grand party after returning home from a trip abroad. Determined to impress the neighbours, he “borrowed the company’s hall” and set out to host the greatest dance the town had ever seen. The song is set to a fast, playful rhythm that captures the chaos of the evening — fiddles flying, feet stamping, tempers flaring, and laughter echoing through the hall. As the verses unfold, the guests dance wildly, fights break out, bottles clink, and poor Lanigan’s grand night spirals into hilarious bedlam. By dawn, the once-fancy gathering has turned into a tangle of bruised egos and broken furniture, yet no one regrets a moment of it. Like many Irish comic ballads, Lanigan’s Ball carries more than humour — it celebrates t...

  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...

The Gaol of Clonmala — A Song of Rebellion and Resolve The Gaol of Clonmala (sometimes spelled Clonmel Gaol ) is one of Ireland’s powerful rebel ballads — a song born from defiance, loss, and unbroken spirit. It recalls the imprisonment and execution of Irish patriots during the 1798 Rebellion, when the struggle for independence swept through Tipperary and beyond. The “gaol” — or jail — at Clonmel was infamous in those years for holding United Irishmen awaiting trial or death. Through its verses, the song gives voice to those who faced the gallows with pride, declaring that their sacrifice would one day lead to freedom. Like many Irish rebel songs, The Gaol of Clonmala blends grief with hope — a melody of resistance that refuses to fade. It has been sung for generations as a reminder that Ireland’s freedom was built on courage, conviction, and song. LYRICS [Verse 1]  How hard is my fortune,  And vain my repining!  The strong rope of fate  For this young neck ...

“The Crossbarry Ambush” recalls one of the most dramatic moments of Ireland’s War of Independence. On 19 March 1921 , in the quiet fields near Crossbarry, County Cork, the West Cork Flying Column led by Tom Barry faced a massive encirclement by British forces — over a thousand soldiers against barely a hundred volunteers. Against overwhelming odds, Barry’s men executed a daring breakout that stunned the British command. It wasn’t just a military success; it became a symbol of strategy, courage, and the unbreakable will of Ireland’s volunteers to defend their land. 🎥 Watch the Performance LYRICS In cold early spring, in dawn’s grey light, Near Crossbarry village there brewed a fight ’Twas by the bridge we took up our stand, As word went round of the Crown’s plans. We’d gathered down a West Cork glen, A hundred tired and hungry men, Our rifles primed, our bodies worn, From raids through nights till early morn. Twelve hundred foes were closing fast, Six columns sweeping through t...

Few songs capture the heartbreak of emigration like “Paddy’s Green Shamrock Shore.” Told through the eyes of an Irishman leaving his homeland, it blends pride, sorrow, and a deep longing for return — themes that echo across generations of Irish history. The song dates back to the 19th century, when countless Irish families sailed for America in search of survival and opportunity. Each verse carries the ache of departure: the parting from friends, the memory of green fields, and the dream of coming home again. It remains one of the finest examples of Ireland’s emigrant ballads — a musical letter across the sea. 🎥 Watch the Performance LYRICS From Derry kay we sailed away On the twenty-third of May We were taken on board by a pleasant crew Bound for Amerikay Fresh water then we did take on Five thousand gallons or more In case we’d run short going to New York Far away from the shamrock shore [Verse 2] Then fare thee well, sweet Liza dear And likewise unto Derry town And twice fare...

Among Ireland’s most tender love lyrics stands “Máire Bhán Astór” — Fair-haired Marie, my love — a poem written by Thomas Davis , one of the leading voices of Ireland’s 19th-century cultural revival. Davis, a founder of The Nation newspaper and a champion of Irish identity, often used verse and song to awaken pride and emotion in a country struggling for self-definition. In Máire Bhán Astór , he moves away from politics and into the heart’s world — expressing the purity and pain of love that endures through distance and time. The poem’s gentle rhythm and natural imagery make it feel like a folk ballad even before it’s sung, which is why it lends itself so beautifully to music. 🎥 Watch the Performance LYRICS In a valley far away, With my Máire Bhán Astór, Short would be the summer-day, Ever loving more and more. Winter-days would all grow long, With the light her heart would pour, With her kisses and her song, And her loving more go leor. [Chorus] Fond is Máire Bhán Astór, Fair i...

Capture the charm and spirit of rural Ireland quite like The Star of the County Down. Set in Banbridge, County Down, it tells the story of a young man who falls in love at first sight with a beautiful girl he meets on market day — the “star” herself. Believed to have originated in the late 19th century, the melody comes from an old Irish air called Dives and Lazarus. Over the years, the song has been re-imagined by everyone from The Dubliners to Van Morrison, and remains one of the most performed pieces in traditional Irish music. This version keeps the heart of the story alive — romantic, melodic, and unmistakably Irish.Few songs cap 🎥 Watch the Performance    Lyrics Near Banbridge Town in the County Down, One morning in July, Down a comely lane came a sweet colleen, And she smiled as she passed me by; She look’d so sweet from her two white feet To the sheen of her nut-brown hair, Such a coaxing elf, sure I shook myself, To make sure I was standing there. [Chorus] From Ban...

The Wearing Of The Green | Powerful Irish Rebel Song (They’re Hanging Men & Women) The Wearing Of The Green — A Powerful Irish Rebel Ballad “The Wearing of the Green” is one of Ireland’s most enduring rebel ballads — a powerful anthem of resilience and resistance that has echoed through generations of Irish hearts. Born in the dark days of the 1798 Rebellion , when the United Irishmen rose against British rule, the song became a symbol of defiance, unity, and national pride. At its core, the ballad laments the brutal suppression of Irish identity. Wearing a simple green ribbon — the color long associated with Irish nationalism — became a punishable act. The lyrics speak of arrests, executions, and forced exile for those who dared to display their loyalty to Ireland. The song’s central figure is often portrayed as a young Irishman being led to execution for the crime of wearing green — his only offence being pride in his heritage. Yet, amidst the sorrow, the message...