Let the music guide your Irish itinerary
How to travel Ireland, especially your first time? Driving our family of four back to our hotel after a High Kings concert, it hit me: Could someone plan a trip to Ireland around the lyrics and places mentioned in many of the songs The High Kings sing?
It turns out that, oh yes, you very much can. As you plan and ponder your own trip to Ireland, The High Kings not only deserve a place on your travel playlist but also as an inspiration for your Irish itinerary.
Place is very much a part of High Kings music
Ever since the four-man group debuted in 2008, The High Kings have woven beautiful, heart-wrenching harmonies around traditional, original, and cover songs.
We’ve been listening to the group from the get-go. I have fond memories of dancing along with a toddler Connor to “Marie’s Wedding.” Songs of repression and revolution such as “The Fields of Athenry” and “Son of Ireland” have prompted family discussions about liberty, rights, and the complexities of history. And more than a few times we’ve paused in our days to sing along together with songs like “Galway Girl” and “The Irish Roar.”
Many songs connect deeply to Irish cities, landmarks, history, and culture. Below are 14 High Kings songs that tie in directly with places throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland. They just might be what sparks your interest in including those destinations on your trip to the Emerald Isle.
While Anthony lived in Galway during his young adulthood, we haven’t visited Ireland yet as a family of four. The reason why? Connor asked that we visit Ireland only once he can have a pint of Guinness with his parents.
14 Irish destinations based on High Kings songs
Derry (Londonderry)
“The Town I Loved So Well”
This heart-wrenching song recalls the community, but also the tough history that goes hand-in-hand with the Troubles of the 1900s.
Derry’s geography, landmarks, and local character weave throughout every line, including the Bogside murals, the gasyard wall, the shirt factory’s horn, and Creggan, a housing estate in Derry.
The High Kings don’t shy away from difficult history, and neither does Derry. When visiting Northern Ireland, getting into that history and understanding how it informs modern times is an essential part of your trip.
Carrickfergus, County Antrim
“Carrickfergus”
Don’t be surprised if the ache and heartbreak of this trad tune leaves you in tears. To my mind, Carrickfergus is one of those songs that can give you catharsis from your hurts.
Carrickfergus itself also refers to one of Ireland’s best-preserved Norman castles. The castle sits in a picturesque setting on the banks of Belfast Lough, and the song’s melancholy tracks right along with the ups and downs of the town’s long history.
Banbridge, County Down
“Star of the County Down”
The soul-struck determination of this song, combined with the catchy tune and one of the best titles of all trad tunes, combines to make The High Kings version of this classic song one of our family faves. A fast tempo makes you want to move, and the beauty and yearning quickly stir the heart.
The lyrics put us right there: Banbridge is a town in County Down, and the River Bann is a major waterway for boating and fishing. But that chorus evokes all of Ireland, from Bantry Bay in County Cork’s southwest corner to Derry Quay in the northeast.
Today, Banbridge is especially known as a gateway to walking paths, the Mourne Mountains, and angling at nearby rivers and loughs.
Enniscorthy, County Wexford
“Kelly, the Boy from Killane”
The Irish endured centuries of English colonization, and it was not a good time for Ireland. English rule was often neglectful at best and brutally dehumanizing at worst.
This song takes us back to the 1798 Rebellion, along the River Slaney south of Dublin, where the fighting made the waters run red at Enniscorthy and New Ross. Killane itself is a nearby townland. Today’s traveler can visit a museum in Enniscorthy dedicated to the 1798 Rebellion.
Royal Canal and Mountjoy Prison, Dublin
“The Auld Triangle”
One of the sadder High Kings songs has its moment of joking, but it goes straight into the weary days of a man in prison.
The infamous prison in question? Mountjoy Prison and the Royal Canal towpath. Brendan Behan’s prison song puts you bang on the North Circular Road alongside the Royal Canal. Mountjoy remains a prison, but nowadays the canal towpath is part of the 130-km Royal Canal Greenway.
Dublin City
“Chasing Rainbows”
The 2023 album “The Road Not Taken” starts strong with this original song that combines the need to dull heartbreak with songs absolutely steeped in Dublin.
The song is a musical pub crawl, mentioning:
- Phoenix Park
- The Brazen Head
- The Long Hall
- McDaid’s
- Temple Bar
- The Palace Bar
- Trinity College
- St. Stephen’s Green
It doesn’t get more Dublin than this. You could use this song to plan a pub crawl and do a little rainbow chasing yourself.
Raglan Road, Dublin
“Raglan Road”
The subtle sadness, weariness, and hope for happiness beyond grief combine a poem by Patrick Kavanagh with the notes of a traditional air. You can find Raglan Road today. It’s part of the tree-lined, prestigious Ballsbridge neighborhood in Dublin.
The song anchors us in part on Grafton Street. That callout contrasts the lively shopping street with the melancholy and heartache in the song.
For the visitor, today’s Grafton Street is a 500-meter pedestrianized street that runs between Stephen’s Green and College Green in Dublin. It’s a hub for shopping, checking out street performers, and Trinity College Dublin, home of the Book of Kells Experience.
Cavan Town and Lough Oughter, County Cavan
“Cavan Girl”
How far would you go for love?
For the singer of “Cavan Girl,” it’s “twelve long miles”, or 19km, around the lake from Killeshandra. That’s 24 miles, round trip, or 39km. He tells his tale of persevering passion, and his weekly walk around Lough Oughter to where he seeks the heart of a woman in Cavan Town.
Visitors can check out the road, but especially the castle ruins on a small island in the lake.
Athenry, County Galway
“The Fields of Athenry”
Ireland’s 1840s potato famine, combined with the harshness of English colonial rule, drove people to desperation. “The Fields of Athenry” is one of the saddest Irish songs. A father resorts to stealing corn to feed his children, but is instead arrested, imprisoned, and shipped off as a convict to Australia—an all-too-common punishment of the time.
Today, Athenry maintains a well-preserved medieval town center. Its heritage centre keeps alive the lessons of the famine and English cruelty, with its interpretive exhibits about history in the area.
Tuam to Dublin via Mullingar
“The Rocky Road to Dublin”
From the Connacht region in the west of Ireland, our song’s high-lilting hero braves work, pigs, seasickness (and probably a hangover), and rogues, all for the sake of getting to good ole Dublin.
The song takes us on our own journey through Ireland, like a story in three acts. We start in Tuam (County Galway), have a moment’s breather in Mullingar (County Westmeath), and, of course, arrive at our destination, at last, in good ole Dublin.
Not only is it a fun song (and what The High Kings began their 2026 Road to Dublin concert tour with), the multiple place mentions bring people alive and truly take you on a trip across the Emerald Isle.
Galway City
“Galway Girl”
I knew the original Steve Earle version of “The Galway Girl,” recorded with Irish musician Sharon Shannon. Little did I know that in my early adulthood, I too would spend a fair bit of time in Galway, walking along “the Salthill Prom” that Steve mentions.
Personally, nowadays I prefer The High Kings version. It’s a little faster paced, and the harmonies fit the near-magical wonder of this song of love that happens fast, hits hard, and ends as quickly as a cloudburst downpour that just may have left me soaked one spring day on my own on The Long Walk.
The song sets us right away on The Long Walk, a scenic stroll starting at the Spanish Arch in downtown Galway, with views of the harbor and colorful houses. The Salthill Promenade (or “Prom”) is a bayside walk. Southwest of Galway, the Salthill Prom is a 3km walk, typically considered between Claddagh Quay and Blackrock diving tower.
These two stretches were among my favorite places to be when I lived in Galway after college. Every time The High Kings version comes up on a playlist, the harmonies take me right back to western Ireland.
Spancil Hill, County Clare
“Spancil Hill”
Known not only as an important crossroads in County Clare, Spancil Hill also hosts one of Ireland’s oldest annual horse fairs. There’s a longing, almost a franticness, in the song, for an emigrant thinking back to what he knew in the Ireland he left. If your Ireland travels include exploring your family tree, this is a song for you.
The Historic Horse Fair has been held over June 23 for over 400 years, and today is a draw for horse enthusiasts from around the world, as well as visitors to Ireland who seek a peek back in time.
Killarney, County Kerry
“Red Is the Rose” and “Whiskey in the Jar”
Okay, this one needed a two-fer. The songs are as different as can be. One explores love found and lost. The other is a tale of swashbuckling, thievery, and betrayal.
Both come to life in the Killarney area. “Red Is the Rose” sets a moonlit meeting of beloveds in the green woods of Killarney. The chorus also mentions the River Boyne, which flows from County Kildare through County Meath to the Irish Sea.
“Whiskey in the Jar” opens in the Cork-Kerry mountains, and later mentions Cork and Killarney as potentials for a new direction.
Kinsale, County Cork
“The Streets of Kinsale”
Centuries of history come to life in the harbor town of Kinsale. For The High Kings, they found inspiration to write this original song. Here, during a siege in the 1601 Battle of Kinsale, English forces prevailed against the Irish (and Spanish allies). The battle is viewed as when the old Irish Gaelic system and culture fully fell to English rule.
Though the song doesn’t touch on that history, it carries the same weight of longing that defines Kinsale’s story.
Today’s Kinsale draws in visitors who appreciate fine dining, especially seafood, and historic attractions such as Charles Fort and James Fort. Kinsale is also the gateway to the scenic coastal route the Wild Atlantic Way.
Let the music guide your trip to Ireland
Musicians such as The High Kings bring to life struggle, joy, sadness, and hope. While many of their songs focus on Ireland, along with the ups and downs of the Irish people, the yearnings and strivings, challenges and setbacks go beyond the music and the Emerald Isle. They speak to our universal experiences as people.
When we listen to High Kings with our kids, the songs often lead to family discussions, or give us an entry point into the complexities of history. They do something else too: We talk over where we’d love to go in Ireland. I can share memories of my time living there. And our kids imagine what it could be like to go to some places that come to life in our favorite High Kings songs.
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