WATCH: The Boys of the NYPD Choir have finally sung ‘Galway Bay’

Stephen Porzio

There was never was an NYPD Choir and they never sang ‘Galway Bay’. That is until now.

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum has orchestrated a one-of-a-kind celebration of Irish heritage this Christmas by getting the boys of the NYPD Choir to sing ‘Galway Bay’.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you should know that in the chorus of the famous Christmas song ‘Fairytale of New York’, Shane MacGowan – frontman of The Pogues – sings: “The boys of the NYPD choir were singing Galway Bay.”

However, did you know that there never was an NYPD Choir and that they never sang ‘Galway Bay’? That is until now.

As an ode to Irish emigrants and Irish diaspora all over the world, the EPIC museum handpicked a group of retired NYPD officers with Irish heritage who – joined by a local amateur choir – gathered in a New York City recording studio to lend their voices to a rendition of the timeless Irish song.

In a statement about the cover, the museum said: “As champions of Irish emigrants the world over, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum wanted to bring this famed line to life, and celebrate the song ‘Galway Bay’, another timeless Irish classic, penned by Irish emigrant, Arthur Colahan, as a tribute to his homeland.”

You can watch the video of the NYPD Choir performing the track right here:

The Boys of the NYPD Choir have finally sung ‘Galway Bay’

Meanwhile, the EPIC museum will also launch a supporting exhibition titled ‘They Gave The Walls a Talking – The extraordinary story of The Pogues and Shane MacGowan’.

Developed in collaboration with Hot Press and running from 1 December until the end of January 2024, it is said that the exhibition will delve into numerous themes, encompassing “songs of emigration, the creation of ‘Fairytale of New York’, literary influences and much more”.

Commenting on this exhibition, Nathan Mannion – Head of Exhibitions and Programmes at EPIC – said:

“The Pogues are one of the greatest Irish bands of all time. They were part of an increasingly successful wave of Irish emigrant artists who made it big in Britain in the 1980’s and ‘They Gave the Walls a Talking’ charts the marvellously wild, fiercely fiery, sometimes drunken and – in the end – wonderfully inspiring contribution The Pogues have made to music in Ireland and across the world.”