Celtic Punk Facts

Origins and early development

Celtic punk's origins date back to 1960s and 1970s folk rock musicians who played Irish folk music and Celtic rock in the UK, as well as in more traditional Celtic folk bands such as the Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. The Scottish band the Skids were possibly the first UK punk band to add a strong folk music element on their 1981 album Joy. Around the same time in London, Shane MacGowan and Spider Stacy began experimenting with a sound that became the Pogues, which most consider to be the prototypical Celtic punk band. Their early sets included a mixture of traditional folk songs and original songs written in a traditional style but performed in a punk style. Other early Celtic punk bands included Nyah Fearties, Australia's Roaring Jack and Norway's Greenland Whalefishers.

Evolution or diversification

The genre was popularised in the 1980s by the Pogues. The 1990s gave rise to a Celtic punk movement in North America, centered around the likes of the Dropkick Murphys of Quincy, Massachusetts, and Chicago's The Tossers as well as LA's Flogging Molly and The Real McKenzies of Vancouver, B.C. The genre was reinforced in the 2000s by bands such as Dropkick Murphys and Flogging Molly. North American Celtic punk bands have been influenced by American forms of music, and commonly sing in English.

Cultural or musical significance

Celtic punk is considered part of the broader folk punk genre and is a form of Celtic fusion. While popular around the world, Celtic punk is often criticised for certain non-Irish bands appropriating and misrepresenting Irish culture, perpetuating 'Plastic Paddy' stereotypes with an excessive focus on drinking and fighting. The Scottish Gaelic punk scene is considered part of the larger Celtic punk subculture; many bands in that scene sang in Scottish Gaelic in support of their traditional language and taught each other the language in DIY classes called 'Gaelic for Punks', with the scene centered around the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig college on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.