The Juice Of The Barley Whiskey You’re the Devil Johnny Jump Up Wild Rover Nancy Whiskey Seven Drunken Nights and The Olde Dung Cow all pertain to drinking either beer, whiskey, cider or the hazards associated with consuming them. Songs like Beer, Beer, Beer Mountain Dew Jug Of This Drink It Up Men All For Me Grog The Jug Of Punch. And although the Irish Drinking Song has not taken the musical world by storm like Adele, there are plenty of examples out there. We’re drinking, and to keep us entertained while we drink, we’re going to sing songs about – drinking!! It’s like peanut butter and jelly (ok, it’s not). Now let’s take a moment to reflect on the simplistic brilliance of this. Sadly, the flat screen TV and the NFL Network were hundreds of years from being a reality (and not of interest to anyone who lives in Ireland anyway), so they came up with the next best thing – the traditional Irish drinking song. Something that the men could collectively participate in that would bring them together.

Wisps of pipe smoke would circle up to the ceiling while behind the bar, the landlord would fill glass after glass with frothy beer. Here men would gather after a busy day and discuss everything from politics to farming to the weather.

In Ireland’s history the focal point of everything was the public house,or pub. While that statement can be said with a little tongue inserted into cheek, the basic premise is true. No quite the opposite really, they started with the drinking, and then found a form of entertainment that fit well with it. See, they didn’t gravitate to some form of entertainment and then figure out how to incorporate beer into the equation. But trust those Irish to put a different spin on things. Whether that entertainment is music, movies (the sooner my local theater takes my suggestion and puts in a bar, the better off they’ll be), sports, etc, there aren’t many times where the experience can not be made better with a beer in your hand. Let’s be honest here shall we? Drinking and entertainment just go hand in hand.

Luck of the irish drinking game