Poitin is a term for illegal whiskey. Illegal because taxes were not paid to the British government for its creation. In gaelic it is called uisce beatha (pronounced ish-ka bah-ha), the water of life. And the Irish of have tons of different names for it which you'll see throughout the song. The lyrics are no older than the early 1800s. Released under a Creative Commons Noncommercial ShareAlike License. If you enjoy this recording pick up our CD, "Pogue Mahone Means Kiss My Arse" at www.IrishSong.net or by calling 1-800-BUY-MY-CD.