"The Emigrant Irish"

Patience. Fortitude. Long-suffering

In the bruise-coloured dusk of the New World.

And all the old songs. And nothing to lose.

 Eavan Boland, 'The Emigrant Irish' (Boland, E. (1995) Collected Poems Manchester: Carcanet).

Recent times

Continuing emigration in the 1950s, the 1980s and down to the present day has ensured the continuation of a strong tradition of composition, with many new songs becoming part of an enduring repertoire. Pete St John's 1970s composition The Fields of Athenry, about the Great Famine, is sung around the world wherever Irish people gather and has already taken on the timeless quality of the traditional song, a classic in its own age. But many sentimental songs of emigration from the late 19th to the mid-20th century, such as The Old Bog Road and Boys from the County Mayo, are also still sung today.

A variety of themes is evoked in these songs - the beauty of the home place, nostalgia, loss, the pain of departure and exile, but also anger and even bitterness - Black 47's Livin' in America and the Pogues' iconic Fairy Tale of New York are examples from the modern period. There are relatively few songs in the Irish tradition which celebrate emigration as opportunity, challenge and a better life.

The list which follows is in no way intended to be definitive or exhaustive or especially scholarly. The intention is simply to give a flavour of the range and different styles of songs dealing with Irish emigration and as far as possible to provide links to accessible versions of these songs. We welcome additional material!

DISCLAIMER: all of the links below are provided in good faith to publicly accessible material on Youtube and other sites; we do not own the copyright to the content. If any of these is the subject of a copyright dispute please contact us.

Piaras Mac Éinrí

Table of music