Damien Dempsey has shared a new lyric video for his powerful 2005 track 'St Patrick's Day' –  to coincide with both St Patrick's Day, and the 20th anniversary of his chart-topping album Shots, on which the song originally featured.

The video was created by Lavender – a graphic designer who's also renowned as a drag performance artist. Lavender is a frequent collaborator with CMAT (one of Damo's favourite Irish artists, he previously told Hot Press), and memorably accepted the Choice Music Prize for Irish Album of The Year on her behalf, back in 2023.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Shots earlier this week, we revisited our original 2005 album review – with Kim Porcelli describing the songs as "full of the kinds of truths most of the media stopped bothering to highlight long ago, all delivered with a warrior’s fierceness and a good son’s humility."

"The number of images and ideas per square inch in these songs is remarkable: they stack up unstoppably one beneath the next, and their cumulative effect is as shocking and undismissable as war reportage," she wrote elsewhere in the review. "But with Damo, the truth never comes at the expense of a genius melody or a lightness of touch.

"In anyone else's hands, this kind of fiercely political songwriting/repeated exhortation to live well would be worthy, flaky, eat-your-greens-ish. In Damo’s, it’s smart, grounded and full of fun: he’s wisecracking as well as wise, the kind of older brother you’d idolise when you're growing up."

Watch the new lyric video for 'St Patrick's Day' below:

'St Patrick's Day' lyrics:

Mammy sings wonderfully
Lamenting melodies
Then Daddy comes home from work
He falls in and goes beserk
The priest calls around for tea
He always seems so terribly lonely
Talks of industrial school
As he looks at me so cruel

On Paddy's Day,
Well they marched in Amerikay.
On Paddy's Day
Well they danced down Cricklewood way
On Paddy's Day
Well they sang around Botany Bay
On Paddy's Day
For my sanity I'll pray

Da fought the Black and Tans
So did our Uncle Dan
Then there was civil war
And we never saw Dan anymore.
We all have to walk to Cobh
A family of 13, both young and old
Transport our poverty
To a room and a ditch 'cross the sea

On Paddy's Day
Well they marched in Amerikay
On Paddy's Day, well they danced down Cricklewood way
On Paddy's Day, well they sang around Botany Bay
On Paddy's Day,
On my sanity I'll pray...

Damien Dempsey plays a special Windmill Live show on Thursday, March 27. Apply for complimentary tickets here.