Just Irish Music

The Bantry Girls’ Lament – A Song of Love, War, and Exile In the haunting verses of The Bantry Girls’ Lament , we hear more than just a tragic love story — we hear the echo of Ireland’s torn heart, scattered across foreign fields and tangled in the wars of empires. This traditional Irish ballad centres around Johnny , a young Irishman who leaves the green hills of Bantry to fight in a faraway war — and never returns. The song is sung from the perspective of the women left behind, who mourn his loss with a quiet, enduring sorrow. But behind their lament lies a deeper political and historical truth, one that connects Ireland to the storm of war that swept through Europe in the early 1800s. The War Behind the Song The “wars of Spain” mentioned in the ballad refer to the Peninsular War (1808–1814) — a brutal conflict fought on the Iberian Peninsula between Napoleon’s French army and the allied forces of Spain, Portugal, and Britain . The war erupted after Napoleon invaded Spain and re...

“Youghal Harbour” is more than just another Irish ballad — it’s a haunting story wrapped in melody, passed down through generations like salt on the Atlantic wind. What begins as a simple tale of lost love soon stretches across counties, hearts, and oceans. The result is a song that feels deeply personal, yet universally Irish. At the heart of the ballad is Jamie, a young man once full of hope and love, whose world begins to unravel not through betrayal, but through the slow grind of other people’s decisions. He falls in love with Nancy, a girl from Youghal whose family believes she’s too good for him. Her parents, cold and proud, banish her — not to punish her, but to punish him. They tear the young couple apart before it even begins, sending Jamie walking with nothing but heartbreak and the road ahead. As he wanders through the sweet green valleys of Ireland, Jamie arrives in County Cavan, where fate introduces him to another woman. She’s gentle, fair, and kind — but already tied i...

Few songs stir the Irish heart like The Boys of Wexford — a proud and defiant ballad that echoes across generations. Its verses tell of ordinary men and women who rose against tyranny, of rebels who fought with pikes and passion, and of sacrifices made in the name of Irish freedom. And now, this historic anthem has been given a new life — not just in song, but in vision. In this special project, The Boys of Wexford has been reimagined through a fully illustrated video, with each line matched to a cinematic image. Thirty-six in total. Each one crafted to follow the story as it unfolds: the captain’s daughter offering to fight for liberty, the call to arms at Vinegar Hill, the cannon fired into Lord Mountjoy, the victories at Ross and Wexford — and the bitter lessons of drink, loss, and betrayal. The result is not just a music video — it’s a visual journey through one of Ireland’s most significant uprisings. Every scene is infused with historical realism and emotional weight. The rag...

Boulavogue – The Song That Carries the Spirit of 1798 “Boulavogue” is more than a traditional Irish ballad — it is an echo of a moment in history when ordinary people rose with extraordinary courage. Written to honour the heroes of the 1798 Wexford Rebellion , the song has become one of Ireland’s most powerful musical memorials, capturing the bravery, tragedy, and hope of a community pushed to the edge. Though centuries have passed, the fire in this song has never dimmed. The story begins in the quiet Wexford village of Boulavogue, where Father John Murphy served as the local parish priest. Murphy was not a political agitator by nature; he was, in every sense, a reluctant rebel. For years he urged his parishioners to avoid uprising and keep peace. But when Crown forces began burning homes, harassing families, and dragging innocent people from their beds, Murphy saw that neutrality was no longer an option. The people were defenceless — and he knew they needed someone to guide them. W...

The Flight of the Earls tells the story of a fateful September in 1607 when the proud Gaelic lords of Ulster set sail from the shores of Ireland, carrying with them the last light of the old Gaelic order. The song captures that moment not as quiet tragedy but as a storm of emotion — the clash of loyalty, loss, and hope that marked the end of an age. Hugh O’Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O’Donnell, Earl of Tyrconnell, once the great defenders of Ireland against Elizabeth’s armies, found themselves surrounded by betrayal, spies, and the tightening chains of conquest. Knowing their lands would soon be seized and their heads hunted, they gathered their families, followers, and priests and boarded ships at Rathmullan on Lough Swilly. As the sails caught the wind, Ireland watched its nobility vanish into the western sea. Yet this Irish ballad does not weep in silence; it beats like a drum of farewell. The fiddles rise, the bodhrán strikes, and the voices of the people send their lords away...

The Irish State Wears Borrowed Shame is a fierce modern protest song that tears the mask from the face of a nation that has forgotten its own rebellion. It speaks from the soil upward, from the people who still toil and pay while the powerful trade away Ireland’s soul for comfort and position. The verses echo the cadence of old rebel ballads yet strike with the anger of the present age. In its first verse, the song paints the image of ordinary men and women working the same fields their ancestors fought for, but under a new kind of bondage — not the red hand of empire but the polished bureaucracy of Brussels and the greed of homegrown elites. It condemns the false promises of parties that once claimed to fight for freedom but now live on deception and foreign favour. The second verse turns the blade inward, calling out Sinn Féin, once the banner of resistance, now accused of wearing the tricolour while serving the same masters they once swore to overthrow. The third verse widens the sc...

The Song of the Volunteers of 1782 celebrates a moment when the Irish people stood together in unity and strength, not as rebels against their own soil, but as free men demanding the rights of a nation long denied. It was the year when Ireland, weary of foreign control and unfair laws, found its courage through the ranks of citizen-soldiers known as the Irish Volunteers. These men were not professional troops nor rebels in hiding; they were farmers, merchants, tradesmen, and patriots who took up arms to defend their country while England’s army was distracted by war in America. The Volunteers began as a force to protect Irish shores from invasion, but their spirit quickly turned toward freedom. They saw that a people willing to defend their land should also govern it. Across Ulster, Leinster, Munster, and Connacht, the green and gold banners of the Volunteers rose over towns and fields, and Ireland for a brief and shining moment stood tall in the pride of self-respect. The song itself ...

The Rath of Mullaghmast stands as one of the darkest and most haunting places in Irish history, remembered for a massacre that symbolised the total betrayal of Ireland’s ancient clans. In the late sixteenth century, as English rule tightened its grip across Leinster, the Gaelic chieftains were invited to a grand assembly at Mullaghmast in County Kildare. The summons came under the seal of friendship, a promise of peace and protection from the Lord Deputy of Ireland, who claimed that reconciliation would end the turmoil between the Irish lords and the English Crown. Trusting in his word, the chiefs of Leinster came unarmed, accompanied by their families and followers, dressed in the rich garments of their rank and carrying the pride of generations that had ruled long before foreign power came to their shores. What awaited them was treachery. Hidden among the English soldiers and servants who welcomed them with smiles were the very men chosen to destroy them. At a prearranged signal, the...

A Chuisle Mo Croí — An Irish Ballad of Love, Loss, and Eternal Devotion “A Chuisle Mo Croí” — meaning  “ Pulse of My Heart ”  in Irish — is more than a love song. It’s a soul-deep ballad that bridges time, language, and emotion, telling the timeless story of a love so strong it lingers beyond goodbye. Sung in both English and Irish, this haunting melody speaks directly to the heart, offering comfort, connection, and a sense of something eternal. From the opening line,  “Since the day we met, love, you’ve been my guide,”  the listener is drawn into a relationship built on unwavering support through life’s storms. The chorus —  “A Chuisle Mo Croí, the pulse of my heart…”  — acts as a heartbeat itself, anchoring the song in love’s quiet strength. Laced with poetic Irish phrasing like  “Feicim thú i mo bhrionglóidí”  ( “I see you in my dreams” ), this ballad honours the traditions of Irish storytelling while weaving a modern emotional truth. Whether...

Tinte na Tíre – Fires of the Land: A Cinematic Tribute to Ireland’s Ancient Pulse Step into the ancient heartbeat of Ireland with “Tinte na Tíre” — Fires of the Land — a stirring visual and musical journey that blazes through rhythm, ritual, and the resilience of Irish spirit. This short film isn’t just a performance; it’s a cinematic ritual that reawakens the primal soul of the Gael. As the bodhrán strikes with steady defiance and embers spiral into the twilight air, you are drawn into a world where past and present burn side by side. Set against windswept hills and stone-walled fields, the fire becomes more than flame — it is the eternal hearth of memory, community, and ancestral calling. Dancers move with instinct, not choreography, echoing footsteps taken a thousand years ago, around fires that once lit the high places of Éire. Every beat in Tinte na Tíre evokes a forgotten tale — the whispered chants of druids, the stomp of rebel boots, the roar of tribal joy. Music is not e...

The Perfect Holocaust — A Ballad of Ireland’s Great Hunger (An Gorta Mór) This is not a famine song. This is a cry from the soil. “The Perfect Holocaust” is a modern Irish protest ballad rooted in the Great Hunger of 1845–1852 — a catastrophe that reshaped the Irish identity forever. The common schoolbook line calls it “the potato famine.” The real history is harsher. Ireland during those years was exporting grain, beef, butter, and provisions at industrial scale, while entire parishes starved. This ballad points directly to that contradiction — that the land was productive, yet the people were dying. In this piece, the music is built around uilleann pipes, low whistle, fiddle laments, and the relentless pulse of the bodhrán. The sound is intentionally stark — not romanticised, not softened — because the story demands uncomfortable honesty. The ballad names the policy makers and the ideology behind them. Trevelyan’s famous belief that starvation was “a moral lesson” echoes through t...

The Wraggle Taggle Gypsies O — From Silk Gowns to Leather Hose “ The Wraggle Taggle Gypsies O ” is one of those folk songs that refuses to die. It has moved through centuries, accents, and counties, yet its story is instantly recognisable even today: a noblewoman, smothered by wealth, hears the wild song of wandering men at her door — and leaves everything behind to follow them. In a world obsessed with safety, status, and comfort, this little ballad quietly raises a deeper question: who is truly free? In the song, we see her dressed in silk gowns, surrounded by feather beds and privilege. That is the world she is supposed to love. But she throws the entire social structure into chaos by simply changing clothes — stripping off the silk, and choosing leather hose like the gypsies themselves. One garment symbolised property and class. The other symbolised independence, risk, and the open road. People often interpret the song as a romantic fantasy, but it is something sharper: she doe...

Experience the Soul of Belfast – A Ballad of Pride, Pain, and Resilience Belfast is not just a city – it is a feeling. A heartbeat. A memory of generations who worked, struggled, laughed, fought, and kept going through some of the greatest challenges any European people have ever endured. This new ballad celebrates more than buildings or tourist landmarks – it honours the spirit of the people who shaped Belfast into what it is today. From the shipyards where the Titanic was built, to the proud working-class streets of the Shankill and the Falls, Belfast has always produced voices that refuse to bend. The cranes of Harland & Wolff still stand like mighty sentinels over the Lagan, reminding us that this city once powered the seas of the world. Cave Hill watches from above, just as it did during the Victorian era, and long before that when ancient Irish clans and warriors roamed beneath it. This ballad captures that mixture of history and heart. Yes, Belfast has known hardship. Yes...

The Famine Year – Lady Jane Wilde’s cry from the grave of a starving nation “The Famine Year” remains one of the most important poetic documents of Irish suffering, anger, and historical truth. Written by Lady Jane Wilde — mother of Oscar Wilde, and known in her own right as a fierce nationalist, a radical intellectual, and a woman who risked her position in society to speak for the poor — this poem is not simply literature. It is testimony. A direct accusation. A written scream from the shores of a nation left to die. When we talk about the Great Famine (1845–1852) in general terms, we often hear cold language: crop failure, blight, emigration, poverty, “famine conditions.” But Lady Wilde strips away the polite terms. She removes the veil. In “The Famine Year,” she writes from inside the wound. This is a poem written as the horror unfolded — not as history, not from academic distance, not with comfortable hindsight. Lady Wilde stood in the middle of a country where mothers buried th...

The Night Before Larry Was Stretched — A Gallows Ballad of Wit, Grit, and Irish Black Humour “The Night Before Larry Was Stretched” is one of Ireland’s most unique and compelling traditional ballads. A product of early 19th-century Dublin street balladry, this song stands apart from the usual sorrowful laments of Irish rebel tradition. Instead of weeping over a doomed hero, it gives us Larry — a condemned rogue, full of wit and mischief, facing his final hours with a mix of gallows humour, bravado, and undeniable charm. The ballad is set in a prison cell on the eve of Larry’s execution. His friends have come to visit, to drink, smoke, and say farewell. What follows is a vivid, humorous, and strangely human portrait of a man who knows the rope is ready for him at dawn — yet refuses to let despair take hold. He jokes, he drinks, he reminisces. Larry isn’t just a prisoner; he’s a symbol of the Irish spirit — defiant even in the face of death. This version remains true to the tone of t...