"The Irish Rover" is an Irish folk song about a magnificent, though improbable, sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, some of whom have made changes to the lyrics.
The song describes a gigantic twenty-seven masted ship with a colourful crew and varied types of cargo in enormous amounts. The verses grow successively more extravagant about the wonders of the great ship. The seven-year voyage comes to a disastrous end after losing its way in the fog, striking a rock, and spinning nine times around before sinking with most of the crew and the captain's old dog aboard – everyone except the singer, who in the last line of the song is revealed to be the lone survivor of The Irish Rover's ill-fated final voyage, so there is no one alive to contradict the tale.
According to the 1966 publication Walton's New Treasury of Irish Songs and Ballads 2, the song is attributed to songwriter/arranger J. M. Crofts.
"The Irish Rover" is one of the most popular Irish-Gaelic Scottish country dances and is set to the music of the song.
The Irish Rovers, created in 1963, were named after the traditional song "The Irish Rover" by their mother in Ballymena, N. Ireland. They first recorded the song on their 1966 debut album, The First of the Irish Rovers.
Slugger O'Toole – a character referred to in "The Irish Rover" has been adopted as the name of a major political website in Northern Ireland.
In issue 26 of DC/Vertigo series Preacher, when Cassidy describes his drinking buddies in New York City, the names are all taken from the Irish Rover.
"The Irish Rover" has been recorded many times. Versions are listed below by notable artists in descending chronological order.
2012 - Santiano on their album Bis ans Ende der Welt
2012 - The Mudmen on their album Donegal Danny
2011 - Fiddler's Green on their album Wall of Folk
2011 - Dropkick Murphys on their album Going Out in Style
2011 - CRAIC on their album It's Still New Enough It's Forgivable
2010 - Patrick Clifford on his album American Wake
2010 - The High Kings on their album Memory Lane
2009 - Culann's Hounds on their album One for the Road
2007 - Tommy Makem on the posthumous release The Legendary Tommy Makem Collection
2005 - Liam Clancy on his album Yes... Those Were The Days: The Essential Liam Clancy
2005 - Bounding Main on their album Lost at Sea, with an added chorus
2005 - Blaggards on their album Standards
2003 - Off Kilter on their album Celtic Armadillo
2001 - The Tossers on their album Communication & Conviction: Last Seven Years
2000 - Sons of Maxwell on their album Sailor's Story
1998 - The Corsairs on their album The RED One
1996 - The Irish Descendants on their album Livin' on the Edge
1994 - Orthodox Celts on their self-titled début album
1987 - The Dubliners with The Pogues on The Dubliners's album 25 Years Celebration. When released as a single in the same year this version reached number 8 in the UK Singles Chart, number 1 in the Irish Singles Chart and number 45 in the Euro Chart.
1975 - Ronnie Drew on his self-titled début solo album
1966 - The Irish Rovers on their début album, The First of the Irish Rovers
1962 - The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem on their album Hearty and Hellish
1960 - Dominic Behan on his album The Irish Rover
