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Irish folk music is famous the world over for its toe-tapping melodies and emotive ballads.\u00a0 Quite simply Ireland\u2019s traditional music, nurtured by generations of singers and instrumentalists, is extraordinarily fertile and remains a potent source of cultural expression in clubs, bars and concert halls.<\/strong><\/p>\n Here are our favourite Irish folk songs<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div> <\/section> Like many folk songs, the origins of the traditional Irish ballad \u2018Whiskey in the Jar\u2019 are unclear \u2013 but thanks to a resurgence in the latter half of the 20th century, it is one of the few songs that you\u2019ll hear being rowdily sung in Irish pubs around the world on St Patrick\u2019s Day. The earliest known copy of \u2018Whiskey in the Jar\u2019 is held in the Bodleian Library\u2019s collection of broadside ballads (a ballad printed on one side of a single sheet of paper), dating back to around 1740. Its popularity is unequivocal, with folk music historian Alan Lomax having even suggested that John Gay was inspired to write The Beggar\u2019s Opera when he heard an Irish singer perform this song.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Set in the southern mountains of Ireland, \u2018Whiskey in the Jar\u2019 tells the story of a highwayman on his travels. He robs a military man and takes home his winnings to a woman, who promptly betrays him. The highwayman ends up in prison. There has been speculation that the song might be based on Patrick Fleming, an Irish highwayman who was executed in 1650 and is the subject of many Irish songs and poems.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n When Irish folk band The Dubliners covered \u2018Whiskey in the Jar\u2019 in the 1960s, the song entered public consciousness in a more noticeable way. Irish rock band Thin Lizzy then followed suit, releasing their own unique interpretation of the song, followed swiftly by The Pogues and later Metallica, who were awarded a Grammy for their version in 2000.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The benefit of many of these Irish folk tunes is that their catchy refrains and easily learned melodies are perfectly suited to large sporting crowds. As a result, they have become favourites of football and rugby fans, with \u2018The Wild Rover\u2019 often sung by Celtic Football Club fans at their away matches.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lot of ambiguity around the origins of this particular tune \u2013 in fact, it might not even be Irish, due to the fact that it has been sung around the world for many centuries. But we can safely assume there is an Irish link, due to the fact that it shares similar themes with many other Irish folk songs, telling the story of a young man finally returning to his hometown to settle down. He visits his local pub, showing off the money he has earned while he was away.<\/p>\n Its contemporary association with Irish drinking culture is ironic, seeing as it was initially used as a temperance song. The protagonist bids farewell to his wild roving ways, claiming he \u2018never will play the wild rover no more.\u2019<\/p>\n The 1960s folk revival helped bring it back into public consciousness and has tied it to Irish culture. You might recognise the familiar melody as the theme from the Clover margarine advert.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This 19th-century Irish ballad has become so popular it has even helped launch its very own festival, celebrating the beauty of local women and crowning the winner as the \u2018Rose\u2019. The song itself is an ode to a woman called Mary, who is called \u2018The Rose of Tralee\u2019 because of her immense beauty. The lyrics reflect on a time in which the singer knew and \u2018won the heart\u2019 of Mary, and the \u2018solace and comfort\u2019 she brought him while he was \u2018in the far fields of India\u2019.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The Rose of Tralee Festival is still held every year in Tralee, County Kerry, with additional \u2018Roses\u2019 selected from the other counties around Ireland and from around the world. These women compete in a televised final, with one crowned the ultimate \u2018Rose of Tralee\u2019.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n There is little speculation around the origins of this rousing ballad, due to its narrative-led lyrics and clear subject matter. The 19th-century tune of \u2018Rocky Road to Dublin\u2019 is set to text by the Irish poet DK Gavan, who was known as \u2018The Galway Poet\u2019. So many Irish folk songs tell stories of those leaving Ireland and reflecting on their love for the country \u2013 and this is no different. Gavan paints a picture of a man\u2019s travels to Liverpool from his home in Ireland, describing his adventures (and mishaps) along the way. He is robbed, gets left off a boat and is abused by Liverpool locals for being Irish.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n While many traditional Irish tunes and standard jigs are written in 6\/8 time, this is written in the \u2018slip jig\u2019 time signature of 9\/8.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The version we now know of this song actually only came into existence in 1913, when Frederic Weatherly wrote the now iconic \u2018Danny Boy<\/a><\/strong>\u2019 text. Despite this relatively recent reinvention, we\u2019ve chosen to include it here because it is set to the traditional Irish melody, \u2018Londonderry Air\u2019, a folk song collected by Jane Ross of Limavady in the 19th century.<\/p>\n It was first publicised by opera singer Elsie Griffin, who would go on to perform it to the troops in France during\u00a0World War One<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n It\u2019s not entirely clear what the meaning of the lyrics are \u2013 or who Danny Boy might be. The line \u2018the pipes, the pipes are calling\u2019 has led people to believe it might be a message from a parent to a son going off to war or leaving to emigrate. It\u2019s become a symbolic song for Irish people for this reason, intimately associated with Irish culture.<\/p>\n Thanks to its haunting, lilting melody and exploration of themes of separation and loss, the song has also become a mainstay in the funeral tradition, having been played at the funerals of Princess Diana and Elvis Presley, and was performed by Ren\u00e9e Fleming at the funeral of senator John McCain. Like \u2018Whiskey in the Jar\u2019, \u2018Danny Boy\u2019 has been performed, arranged and recorded multiple times in various guises by the likes of Judy Garland, Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley and Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\nMost beautiful Irish folk songs of all time<\/h2>\n
Whiskey in the Jar<\/h3>\n
The Wild Rover<\/h3>\n
The Rose of Tralee<\/h3>\n
Rocky Road to Dublin<\/h3>\n
Danny Boy (Londonderry Air)<\/h3>\n
Molly Malone<\/h3>\n