Ireland is well known for its drinking and its music. Nearly every Irish person has been touched by music. Even if they can’t hold a note or play a tune, music is still something that has a brilliant habit of bringing them together.
There’s nothing quite like grabbing a beer in a quaint Irish pub when the entire bar breaks out into song in unison. Many of the most popular Irish drinking songs find their roots in the struggles of the Irish people, whether it be singing about the Brits when they tried to crush the Irish spirit or the struggles of the famine and Ireland’s subsequent mass emigration.
Our quintessentially Irish drinking songs may have a catchy tune but many of them have a much deeper meaning.
Quick answer: the best Irish drinking songs are The Irish Rover, The Fields of Athenry, Molly Malone, Galway Girl, Whiskey in the Jar, Sean South of Garryowen, Come Out, Ye Black and Tans, Dirty Old Town, Finnegan’s Wake and Seven Drunken Nights. If you only learn one, make it Seven Drunken Nights. Two of the ten, Galway Girl and Dirty Old Town, were written by songwriters from outside Ireland. Checked November 2026.
The 10 Best Irish Drinking Songs
Many Irish drinking songs have become more well-known worldwide thanks to the Irish rebel bands and musicians of Ireland, such as The Dubliners, The Wolfe Tones, and even The Pogues.
Irish rebel music, a strand of Irish folk song, really is the music of Ireland. Since the early 1900s, rebel music would describe and narrate many of the battles and experiences the Irish people endured and it became the music of the pub scene.
However, if you want to experience the true emotion and revelry behind the songs you need to get yourself inside a traditional Irish pub.
As you travel around Ireland, you will find that each different county, town, and even village will have its own favorite drinking songs. They may even rejig the lyrics to include the people they know and the town they live in but many songs are loved by the entire country.
Here are ten of the best Irish songs you should know if you plan to spend some time in Irish pubs.
Short on time before your first session? Here’s the whole list on one page, with who wrote each song and what it’s really about.
Pubs are for adults, so check the legal drinking age in Ireland before you bring younger travellers along.
1. The Irish Rover
One of the most famous and well-loved Irish drinking songs is ‘The Irish Rover,’ not to be confused with The Wild Rover. It tells the story of a massive sailing ship from the perspective of the only surviving crew member.
It is a song full of huge exaggerations – a ship with more than twenty masts and an impossibly sized cargo comes to mind. It is younger than many people think, as a 1966 songbook credits it to J. M. Crofts. But, like many Irish drinking songs, this one doesn’t end happily.
This Irish folk song has been loved and performed by many different musicians. Each musician has put their spin on the lyrics of the song. Every version tells a new exaggerated story of the magnificent ship, but it can make it tricky to know which version you’re supposed to sing.
The best-known pub version came when The Dubliners teamed up with The Pogues in 1987. Their single went to number one in Ireland and number eight in the UK.
If you find yourself in the middle of a rendition of The Irish Rover and you’re not sure which version is being sung, shouting ‘Irish Rover’ at the end of every verse should keep your novice skills under wraps.
2. Fields of Athenry
One of the best Irish drinking songs is Fields of Athenry. Written in 1979 by Pete St. John, this song details the unfortunate events that a fictional man from Athenry experienced during the Great Irish Famine.
It talks of how he stole food for his starving family only to be sent to the Australian penal colony, Botany Bay, just to try to feed his family.
It’s a song with a rather depressing theme but you’ll find this is common with Irish drinking songs. However, it has also become a song synonymous with Irish football and has even found itself on the Irish charts many times.
Paddy Reilly’s 1982 recording alone spent 72 weeks in the Irish charts, and Galway hurling fans were belting it out in the late 1980s before the football crowd picked it up.
Since being adopted by Irish football fans during the 1990 World Cup, it has become a football tradition.
3. Molly Malone
This unofficial anthem for the city of Dublin has a hazy history. Telling the story of the fishmonger, Molly Malone, as she pushes her cart of wares around Dublin before she passes from fever and continues to haunt the streets of Dublin. It’s another Irish song with a catchy melody and a sad story.
Even the song’s Irish roots are up for debate. The earliest printed version turned up in Boston in 1876, and an 1884 London edition credits James Yorkston of Edinburgh with the words and music.
There have been many investigations to discover whether Molly Malone was a real person but there is no concrete evidence that she actually existed. However, that didn’t stop the city of Dublin from erecting a statue in her honor.
The statue, unveiled on Grafton Street in 1988 and moved to Suffolk Street in 2014, is more commonly known as ‘The Tart With A Cart’ to the Dublin locals thanks to her rather buxom appearance.
She makes a good meeting point before a night out, and our guide to things to do in Dublin at night has plenty of ideas for where to go next.
4. Galway Girl
Despite not actually being an Irish song, Galway Girl is one song that’s known all over the world. It was written by American songwriter, Steve Earle, when he stayed in Ireland. Earle wanted his song to feel more authentic, which meant getting some of the Irish musicians he had been hanging around with to perform the song.
It was performed by some of the most popular Irish performers in Ireland at the time. Including national Irish treasure, Sharon Shannon. Galway Girl was about a specific woman that Earle was attracted to and, it’s said, that girl knows the song is about her but has never wanted her name to be known.
It wasn’t until 2008 when Mundy rerecorded Galway Girl, with Sharon Shannon again, that this song embedded itself in the Irish pub scene. Their version went to number one on the Irish Singles Chart in April 2008 and stayed there for five weeks. It’s a fairly modern song in comparison to many of Ireland’s best drinking songs but that doesn’t make its toe-tapping tune and cheery lyrics any less of a fun singalong Irish pub song.
5. Whiskey in the Jar
Whiskey in the jar is one of the most widely recorded Irish drinking songs with covers by Thin Lizzy, Metallica, The Pogues, U2, and Pulp. However, it is The Dubliners traditional version from the 1960s that most will consider the best version.
Thin Lizzy’s 1972 rock version topped the Irish charts and reached number six in the UK, and Metallica’s 1998 cover won them a Grammy in 2000.
This traditional song is set in the Cork and Kerry mountains in the south west of Ireland and tells the story of a man who his wife or sweetheart betrays after stealing from a British officer.
Having put water in his pistol and relieved him of his saber, the man of the song is left defenseless and is taken prisoner for his crimes.
Whiskey in the jar is a song that demands for all of its singers to actively tap their feet, clap their hands, and roar the chorus line ‘Whack fol the daddy-o’ with a sloshing beer or Irish whiskey in hand.
6. Sean South of Garryowen
Sean South of Garryowen is an Irish rebel song written about Sean South, a member of the IRA. He was fatally wounded during the IRA raid on Brookeborough barracks in County Fermanagh on 1 January 1957 and the words to the song were first published only a week after his death.
The words were written by Seán Costello and first appeared in The Irish Catholic newspaper.
This song is actually sung to the tune of a different song, Roddy McCorley but it has been sung by many Irish rebel bands, such as the Wolfe Tones.
Although Sean South was written about a real man, there was a little bit of artistic license used when it came to where the song’s subject came from. The real Sean South was actually born in Limerick city, on Henry Street, rather than in the Garryowen area. If the song gets you curious about the place, here is what Limerick is famous for.
7. Come Out, Ye Black and Tans
Another popular rebel song. Come out, ye black and tans refers to the special reserve constables that were recruited in Great Britain before being brought to Ireland.
The colors of their uniforms were the inspiration for their nickname, Black and Tans. It also uses the term with those living in Ireland, who were pro-British, during the Irish War of Independence (1919 to 1921).
It’s believed to have been written by Dominic Behan about his father Stephen Behan, who was a prominent Irish republican.
Although it’s a song that is supposed to incite rebellion it was used in a viral 2019 Irish advert for Brady Family Ham, with “Tans” swapped for “Ham”. Come Out, Ye Black and Tans is a relatively short tune, which makes it the perfect singalong pub song.
It’s still very much alive, too. In January 2020, The Wolfe Tones’ version shot to number one on the Irish and UK iTunes charts during a row over a planned State commemoration of the Royal Irish Constabulary.
8. Dirty Old Town
Although this song was originally written in 1949 by Ewan MacColl about the town he was born and raised in, Salford, Lancashire. Dirty Old Town is a song that sets a scene of chimneys, smog, and smoke, which many believe, even wrongly so, to be Dublin.
It became popular thanks to The Dubliners, who recorded it in 1966 and released it as a single in 1968. There have been many covers since, most notably by the Pogues in 1985.
The song was originally supposed to be a song for MacColl’s play, Landscape With Chimneys, but once Irish pub-goers got a hold of it, it became a lifelong part of some of the best Irish drinking songs in history.
9. Finnegan’s Wake
Finnegan’s is a fast-paced and lively traditional Irish folk song that tells the story of whiskey lover Tim Finnegan and how his love for the drink causes him to fall off a ladder, crack his skull and die. How very Irish.
True to Irish tradition his death is followed by a wake that begins with a quiet and civil atmosphere before it descends into a drink-fuelled riot.
The ballad also gave James Joyce the title for his 1939 novel, Finnegans Wake, which quietly drops the apostrophe.
It’s not a folk song for the faint-hearted and its speed could have you doing tongue twisters in seconds if you so much as stumble over a word but it does provide an immense amount of entertainment on a night out.
10. Seven Drunken Nights
If you only ever know one Irish pub song, this is the one you want to learn. It tells the story of a very gullible drunk man who is incredibly fond of Whiskey.
Over the course of seven nights, he comes home to his wife to see new evidence of her secret lover. Of course, his wife manages to convince him that no lover exists by blaming his drunken state, even when he finds another man in his bed.
Mostly performed by the popular Irish band, The Dubliners, Seven Drunken Nights has been performed for decades. It reached the UK top ten in 1967 even as it was banned from Irish radio and television.
Despite the ban, it still went to number one in Ireland. Most pubs only sing five of the seven nights, as the last two verses are generally considered too raunchy.
They even played the song for their first appearance on the show Top of the Pops in the 60s. However, many of the lines were reportedly altered, or removed entirely, due to the rather naughty nature of the song and its many dirty jokes.
Here is when each of the best-known songs on this list took the shape you hear in pubs today.
Ireland Wide · Data
When the famous pub songs took shape
Source: The Fields of Athenry, Galway Girl, Seven Drunken Nights, Dirty Old Town
As of October 2026 · irelandwide.com
FAQs
What is the Most Common Irish Drinking Song?
It depends on where you are in Ireland as to what is the most common Irish folk song. Different counties, and even towns, will have their own personal favorites. Songs like Seven Drunken Nights, Dirty Old Town, and Whiskey In The Jar will always be popular.
Even the industry that each town thrives from will alter the most common Irish pub song. For example fishing communities, the song Fiddler’s Green will be an often sung song in pubs.
What is the Most Beautiful Irish Song Ever?
The Fields of Athenry always makes an appearance in many of the beautiful Irish folk song lists but there are a few others, such as Carrickfergus and When Irish Eyes Are Smiling, that are also considered to be the most beautiful Irish songs.
It’s hard to say which Irish folk song is the most beautiful when there are so many of them that are full of the passion and music that creates a beautiful song
Is Galway Girl an Irish Song?
No. Galway Girl was written by American songwriter Steve Earle, who lived in Galway, and it appeared on his 2000 album Transcendental Blues. Sharon Shannon and Mundy’s 2008 version reached number one in Ireland.
Is Dirty Old Town About Dublin?
No. Ewan MacColl wrote Dirty Old Town in 1949 about Salford in England, where he grew up. The Dubliners released it as a single in 1968 and The Pogues recorded it in 1985, which is why many people assume it is Irish.
What’s the Difference Between The Irish Rover and The Wild Rover?
The Irish Rover is a tall tale about a giant sailing ship, credited to J. M. Crofts in a 1966 songbook. The Wild Rover is a much older ballad about a man who swears off the drink, and historian T. M. Devine says it was written as a temperance song.
Why Was Seven Drunken Nights Banned in Ireland?
Its cheeky lyrics kept it off Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTÉ, in 1967. The Dubliners’ single still reached number one in Ireland and number seven in the UK.
What Are Some Popular St Patricks Day Songs?
St Patrick’s Day is a holiday that has left the shores of Ireland and influenced the entire world. Traditionally a celebration of St. Patrick banishing the snakes from Ireland, it has become a holiday of drinking, pub culture, and music. Luckily for us, every Irish drinking song is perfect for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
So, if you’re ready to celebrate Paddy’s day (please don’t say Patty’s day or face the wrath of many an Irishman) here are some more songs to get that authentic vibe flowing.
- Beer, Beer, Beer – The Clancy Brothers
- The Broad Black Brimmer
- I’ll Tell Me Ma – The Clancy Brothers
- All For Me Grog – The Dubliners
- Jug Of Punch – Paddy Clancy, The Clancy Brothers
- Streams Of Whiskey – The Pogues
- The Green Fields Of France / Willie McBride
- The Rare Auld Times – Dublin City Ramblers
- Grace
Before the next round, learn how to say cheers with our guide to Sláinte and other Irish toasts, and pick up a few Irish sayings and phrases for the craic. If you are across the Atlantic, you can sing along at one of the best spots for Guinness in NYC.
