Age-old butter debate inspired a song and is the reason you'll never find certain item in an Irish home

From Dairygold to Kerrygold , butter has always been a big thing in Ireland . The ancient Celts are believed to have introduced butter making techniques into a lot of Europe and there's even a patron saint of dairy workers - St Brigid .

When it comes to high standard spread, Irish consumers can normally find what they're looking for on their very doorstep. Irish butter is the best in the biz due to the country's unique climate for dairy farming and grass-fed cattle.

In 2023, butter remained the nation's top dairy export, according to NIQ Ireland, much to the delight of expats who can pick up some of their much-loved brands in import shops in New York, Philadelphia , and other parts of the US.

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The country's love of spread doesn't come without its controversies , though, namely using butter instead of margarine, which is a very Irish thing . This is because margarine is not always looked on favourably by the Irish.

Indeed, the famous Irish folk music band The Clancy Brothers sang about the distinction in their song Children's Medley. The lyrics light-heartedly reference the age-old debate between butter and margarine on the Emerald Isle .

The song, which The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1962, goes: "Ahem, ahem. Me mother has gone to church , She told me not to play with you because you’re in the dirt, It’isn’t because you’re dirty, It’isn’t because you’re clean , It’s because you have the whooping cough and eat margarine!"

Margarine was invented in France in 1869 as a cheap alternative to butter and has tried to make its way into pop culture , too. Dairy Crest used The Wild Rover, the infamous Irish folk song , to advertise Clover margarine in the UK.

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As economic challenges and changing diets continue to plague Ireland and the US , many could be tempted to go back to margarine as a substitute. For many, though, they might think they're 'butter' off with the original product .

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