10 Best Irish Drinking Songs

When you’re sitting at a bar on Saint Patrick’s Day, it helps to know what the top 10 best Irish Drinking songs are. As a wise man once observed, the best Irish songs are usually about fighting, drinking, and English oppression. The best songs combine one ore more of these elements. Here in no particular order is the list of the top ten Irish Drinking Song’s:

1. Dennis Leary’s "Traditional Irish Drinking Song."  Even with the accusations of plagiarism or at least the lack of originality, this song combines all the traditional elements of Irish music listed above.  However, most other songs are more serious and less racist in their implications.
2. "The Minstrel Boy."  This song does not include much drinking. It is simply a tale of a young minstrel who decides to defend his country. It is sad, but its lyrics also tell the tale of many young men who were drafted willingly or unwillingly into a war.
3. "Drink It Up Men." At its core, this song is simply an ode to ale. What is not to like in a sign about beer?
4. "Whiskey in The Jar." This is another traditional Irish drinking song and there is little more to say about it.
5. "Nancy Whiskey" – Two of the three possible combinations are listed above are in this song. If she were committing acts of English oppression, a common theme in Scottish music also, it would have rated higher on the list.
6. "Finnegan’s Wake." Who says drinking songs cannot be educational? Everyone in the word west has wondered about the origin of the word Whiskey at one time or another.
7. "Shipping Up to Boston." Irish music meets an American sea chantey. The punk rhythms and the penny whistle combination work to provide an upbeat pleasure to the ears.
8. "Kelly’s Pub." Kelley’s Pub is another offering by the Dropkick Murphies. There is no penny whistle in this song, but it’s more or less an Irish drinking song done in punk rock style.
9. "Christmas in the Trenches." This song isn’t much of a drinking song, but it usually leaves the author depressed enough that he wants to go for a drink.
10. "Drunken Sailor." This tune is only an Irish drinking song if the listener chooses a band like the Rover. This sea chantey, which originated far away from Ireland, has only a few verses but  determined person can make new ones up easily.