15 Essential Songs For Your St. Patrick’s Day Playlist

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Looking for some Irish music ideas for a St. Patrick’s Day playlist? If you’re throwing a St. Patrick’s Day party or just want to freshen up your old Irish pride playlist, here’s some St. Paddy inspiration. Our St. Patrick’s Day Playlist contains a diverse mix of new tracks, Irish and Celtic classics, cover songs, and even some Irish music novelty throwbacks.

“I Useta Lover” – Saw Doctors

In the Summer of 1990, this song skyrocketed to #1 on the Irish music charts. It can now be found on every jukebox in an Irish bar. The music video for “I Useta Lover” features cameos from the entire town and some puppets too.

“Drunken Lullabies” – Flogging Molly

Fiddles, beer, guitar distortion and skateboards. Welcome to Celtic skate-rock paradise.

“Whiskey In The Jar” – The Dubliners & Metallica

The song “Whiskey In The Jar” is centuries old and a favorite of musicians around the world. Hundreds of cover versions can be found on iTunes. But The Dubliners version is done in classic Irish style.

If you want a heavier modern style, there’s always Metallica‘s version. The music video takes place at an all-female house party that ends in destruction.

“I’m Shipping Up To Boston” – Dropkick Murphys

Got a traitor in your circle? This is the Irish song that you creepily whistle to everyone while you hunt them down.

“The Blood of Cuchulainn” (Boondock Saints Theme) – Mychael Danna

Troy Duffy’s film The Boondock Saints (1999) is a little over the top, but it has some great songs on its soundtrack. “The Blood of Cuchulainn” composed by Mychael Danna definitely gets a slot on this list of St. Patrick’s Day playlist songs.

“Zombie” – The Cranberries

This mega-hit from 1994 is a protest song about the conflict in Northern Ireland, also known as The Troubles. With hundreds of millions of views, it’s one of the most popular videos in the history of YouTube. Even though the song isn’t about flesh-eating horror film monsters, “Zombie” is also a very popular Halloween playlist song.

“Dirty Old Town” – The Pogues

Dirty Celtic punk. Sex Pistols + fiddle = The Pogues.

“An Irish Pub Song” – The Rumjacks

Celtic punk rock from down under. The Rumjacks are a folk band from Sydney, Australia. The music video for their 2011 hit song, “An Irish Pub Song” introduced The Rumjacks to Europe and The United States. Their popularity status in Irish music has been solidified ever since.

“Sunday Bloody Sunday” – U2

“Sunday Bloody Sunday” is one of U2’s best and most popular songs. But most people don’t know what it’s about. The song details an incident in 1972 called the “Bloody Sunday Incident” where British soldiers in Northern Ireland shot 26 unarmed civilians.

“Finnegan’s Wake” – Christy Moore

Poor Finnegan. Raise a glass and drink to his “pretty corpse” because that’s not at all really weird, right?

“The Irish Rover” – The Dubliners & The Pogues

An old Irish music classic, “The Irish Rover” is about a exaggerated sailing with with an exaggerated colorful crew, carrying an exaggerated amount of cargo on and exaggerated lengthy journey. As you might imagine, the gigantic twenty-seven masted sailing ship also has an exaggerated end. During its seven-year voyage it gets lost in the fog, hits a rock and spins nine times before sinking. Everyone aboard, including the captain’s old dog, perishes in the shipwreck except the singer. With no one alive to contradict the exaggerated tale the audience must accept it as fact. It’s common for musicians to exaggerate the lyrics of “The Irish Rover” even more. This 1987 collaboration between The Dubliners and The Pogues might be the best live TV version of “The Irish Rover” ever recorded.

“The Spicy McHaggis Jig” – Dropkick Murphys

“The Spicy McHaggis Jig” is an Irish bar tale about a guy who has an unfortunate one-night stand. This is one of the funnier tracks on this list of St. Patrick’s Day playlist songs.

“High Hopes” – Kodaline

“High Hopes” is a song by Dublin-based alternative rock quartet Kodaline. The music video tells the story of a couple that finds each other and endures a tragedy.

“Molly Malone” – The Dubliners feat. Ronnie Drew

“Molly Malone” (also known as “Cockles and Mussels” or “In Dublin’s Fair City”) is a popular song, set in Dublin, Ireland, which has become the unofficial city song.

“Danny Boy” – Celtic Woman

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen groups of drunk men cry while listening to this song. It’s last on this list on purpose. Save it for the finale of your St. Patrick’s Day Playlist. Celtic Woman does a beautiful job bringing “Danny Boy” to life.

Rejected St. Patrick’s Day Playlist Songs?!

What are some of your favorite St. Patrick’s Day songs? Please let us know if the comments. And if you want a real treat, check out our list of rejected St. Patrick’s Day Playlist songs.