Another month, another batch of completely unhinged Rattlin' Bog content on TikTok. My niece Aoife sends me the best ones and I'm passing them along because you all deserve to see these.
The Melbourne Community Choir — Fifty-odd people in matching green t-shirts doing a four-part harmony arrangement of The Rattlin' Bog. FOUR-PART HARMONY. Of a song about a flea. It's genuinely beautiful. The soprano section on the chorus nearly made me weep. 2.1 million views.
The Speed Run — Some lads in Galway tried to do every verse in 47 seconds flat. They did not succeed. They got as far as the feather before dissolving into absolute chaos. One of them fell off his stool. It has 800k views and the comment section is people posting their own times. The current record seems to be 52 seconds, held by a group of secondary school students in Donegal. I refuse to attempt it because I value my dignity. (I value my dignity. I do. Stop looking at me like that.)
The Dog — Someone in Limerick filmed their collie howling along to the chorus. The dog hits the high note on "valley-o" better than most humans I've heard in sessions. The dog has been offered a recording contract. (That last bit isn't true but it should be.)
The Wedding — This is the one that broke me.
A couple in Sligo — Ciara and Eoin, if you're reading this, congratulations — did their first dance to The Rattlin' Bog. Not a slow version. Not a waltz arrangement. The actual song, full speed, all verses. They started slow and formal and by the flea verse the entire wedding party was on the floor doing what can only be described as extremely enthusiastic céilí dancing. The bride's veil came off. The groom's jacket was gone. The flower girl was standing on a chair.
I watched it four times and cried at least twice. The idea that someone would choose this song — OUR song — for the most important day of their lives is just... I don't have the words. I sent them a message through TikTok (Aoife showed me how) and they wrote back saying the site was how they first bonded. They both loved it as kids and found rattlinbog.fun independently.
The bog brings people together, lads. Even at weddings.
Slan go foill, BogLord2002
P.S. — If anyone has footage of the Donegal speed-run record, send it on. I want to see this with my own eyes.