In 1167 they came to Ireland on the make
they were followed by invasions and by
conquests in their wake
the kings and queens of England
made our land a battle ground
they took our land, by fraud defeat,
by poison murder and deceit

Murder plunder faugh a balla clear the way
cheating stealing diddle idle day
ducking diving faugh a balla clear the way
diddlily i dle de di diddly idle day

By the 15th century they held precariously to The Pale
The invaders were more Irish than the Irish that's the
tale,
a fat greedy king called Henry
his dick was bigger than his brain
imposed on us his Reformation
confiscations and usurpation

CHORUS: You'll never beat the Irish
no matter what you do
you can put us down and keep us out
but we'll come back again
you know we are the fighting Irish
and we'll fight until the end
you should have known
you'll never beat the Irish

Then the virgin Queen Elizabeth brought
war and turmoil to our land
she decimated Munster

Scorched the earth and all at hand,
then James 1st and Charles the mad
brought out other greedy bands
they took the land of Ulster killed the
chieftains poisoned plundered

Murder plunder faugh a balla clear the way
cheating stealing diddle idle de
ducking diving faugh a bala clear the way
diddlily i dle de do diddly idle day

By fraud and defective titles they
cheated Connaught and the west
across the seventeenth century
from war we had no rest
for the curse of Cromwell plagued the land
till our towns were red with blood
then the Battle of the Boyne was fought
by William, James and foreign hoards

You'll never beat the Irish
no matter what you do
you can kill us off and put us down
but we'll come back again
and exterminate us too
we are the fighting Irish
we'll fight untill the end
you should've known
You'd never beat the Irish
Part 2

Twas at the Siege of Limerick 
Patrick Sarsfield won the day
but the Irish they were cheated
when his army went away
then Queen Anne and her successors
enforced on us those Penal Laws
denying their rights and liberty
of religion lands and property

Murder plunder faugh a balla clear the way
cheating stealing diddle idle de
ducking diving faugh a balla clear the way
diddlily i dle de do diddly idle day

Then came the three mad Georges
and they had us nearly fooled
they couldn't speak the lingo
of the countries that they ruled
puppets of the ascendancy they kept the Irish down
but the rebels and the whiteboys kept
their armies and their forces on the run

CHORUS

Then the famine Queen Victoria
came to rule us by and by
she was on the throne so bloody long
we thought she'd never die
she presided over hunger
famine poverty and disease
she drove the people from their home
to their deaths or lands beyond the foam

Murder plunder faugh a balla clear the way
cheating stealing diddle idle de
ducking diving faugh a bala clear the way
diddlily i dle de di diddly idle do

Across the 19th century we fought oppression
with great zeal
O'Connell spoke his blarney
for emancipation and repeal
Young Ireland and the Fenians
tried with dynamite and gun
Parnell, the Men of Sixteen, then Collins
had their army on the run

You'll never beat the Irish
no matter what you do
you can kill us off and put us down
but we'll come back again
and exterminate us too
we are the fighting Irish
we'll fight untill the end
you should've known
You'd never beat the Irish

Murder plunder faugh a balla clear the way
cheating stealing diddle idle de
ducking diving faugh a bala clear the way
diddlily i dle de di diddly idle do
Part 3

In 1922 well they divided up our land
Six counties held by England, it was all they could
command
Against the wishes of the majority of the people of our
land
they drew a border through our country, through town
and home and mountains

Murder plunder faugh a balla clear the way
cheating stealing diddle idle de
ducking diving faugh a bala clear the way
diddlily i dle de di diddly idle do

Then the country was engulfed into a bloody civil war
between those against the treaty, and those who voted
for George the IV,
he opened Parliament
for the stalled in the north
while the rest were building Ireland
from the ruined colonial lashes

CHORUS.

Then Edward, George and Elizabeth, looked after
Ireland's fate
they watched discrimination grow in a gerrymandered
state
homes and churches burnt, while the orange power did
grew
discrimination bigotry in housing, jobs and liberties

Murder plunder faugh a balla clear the way
cheating stealing diddle idle de
ducking diving faugh a bala clear the way
diddlily i dle de di diddly idle do

From the ashes of the past, the Phoenix did emerge
a new declared republic, on the world it did converge
the search for peace, prosperity and unity in our land
we too are locked in Europe, till they made their peace
agreement

CHORUS