Welcome to The Rattlin' Bog Fan Shrine!
Well lads, it's finally here. After MONTHS of messing about with HTML and waiting for pages to load on my dial-up (thanks Eircom), I am proud to announce the launch of The Rattlin' Bog Fan Shrine — the internet's first, only, and best website dedicated to the greatest song in the history of human civilisation.
My name is Seamus, but you can call me BogLord2002. I'm from Ennis, Co. Clare, and I play tin whistle and bodhrán at the Tuesday sessions at Cruise's pub. I have a cat named Rattlin'. She is orange and doesn't care for music, but she tolerates me, and that's enough.
Why This Site Exists
I searched the entire internet — and I mean the ENTIRE internet — and there is not a single website dedicated to The Rattlin' Bog. Not one. There are sites for every band, every album, every genre. There's a website for a lad who collects pictures of his cats. But nobody has built a shrine to the song that has brought more joy to more pubs, more buses, more family dinners, and more school halls than any other piece of music on this earth.
That ends today.
What You'll Find Here
I've got big plans for this site. We're talking:
- Full lyrics with the correct verse order (and yes, I will fight about this)
- History and analysis of the song and the cumulative folk tradition
- Session stories from Cruise's and beyond
- Regional variations — because not everyone sings it the same way, and that's grand
- A guestbook — sign it, leave a message, tell me your favourite verse
- Blog posts — you're reading the first one right now!
A Bit About Me and The Song
I first heard The Rattlin' Bog when I was about six years old. My nan sang it at Christmas, and by the time she got to the flea on the hair on the feather on the bird, I was gone. Absolutely gone. Crying laughing on the floor of her kitchen in Kilrush. From that moment, I was hooked.
I've been playing trad since I was twelve. Started on the tin whistle, picked up the bodhrán a few years later. The sessions at Cruise's on Tuesday nights are the highlight of my week. And when someone starts The Rattlin' Bog at the end of the night — and it is ALWAYS at the end of the night, that's important — there is no better feeling in the world.
The Mission
This site exists to celebrate The Rattlin' Bog in all its chaotic, cumulative, tongue-twisting glory. I want to build a community of people who love this song as much as I do. I want to document every version, every story, every time the bog brought a room together.
If you've got a story about The Rattlin' Bog, email me. If you know a verse I don't, email me. If you think there's a better song, you're wrong, but email me anyway and I'll explain why.
Thank You
Thank you for visiting. Seriously. The hit counter says you're one of the first, and that means something to me. Bookmark this page. Tell your friends. Tell your nan. The bog is calling.
Now if you'll excuse me, Rattlin' the cat has just walked across my keyboard and I need to make sure she hasn't deleted anything.
Slan go foill, BogLord2002 (Seamus)
P.S. — If this page takes ages to load, sorry about that. The background MIDI might be a bit much but I think it adds to the atmosphere.