The Mary Wallopers share Paul Duane-directed video for 'Cod Liver Oil & The Orange Juice'

Following the release of their first EP, A Mouthful of The Mary Wallopers, this summer, Dundalk folk group The Mary Wallopers are back with a new music video for 'Cod Liver Oil & The Orange Juice'. Bringing a bold new energy to the Scottish ballad, the group (made up of Seán McKenna and brothers Charles and Andrew Hendy) once again prove that their trademark charm and irreverence is matched only by their staggering talent.

'Cod Liver Oil & The Orange Juice' was originally penned by Ron Clark and Carl MacDougall, after hearing 'Virgin Mary Had A Little Baby' one too many times at a Glasgow folk club. Hamish Imlach, a Scottish singer who had a major influence on the likes of Christy Moore and John Martyn, had a hit with the song in the late '60s – though his version was banned by the BBC for its double entendres.

The video sees The Mary Wallopers taking the Nativity to terrifying new heights, and performing the ballad in their local, Toales in Dundalk. Director Paul Duane notes that he filmed the visuals "on ancient obsolete 1980s cathode-ray tube cameras."

"Everything we pointed it at looked like it was back in 1983 - we’d invented a time machine," he continues. "The lads had shown me some videos of people in the 1960s singing Dominic Behan songs so we used that for inspiration, going for an ancient daytime television vibe, bearing in mind the Mary Wallopers instructions - the video had to look “as Christmassy as fuck”.

"With that in mind I suggested going for a Nativity play theme - of course as the lads pointed out, we could have a Mary but no Joseph, because that’s what the song is about. The Three Wise Men were obviously going to be the band, and they had an angel in mind who you might recognise from some earlier TPM videos.

"The rest of it was just a case of re-enacting the story of the song in their local, Toales of Dundalk. There’s nothing that says Christmas like getting thrown out of a pub for drunkenly wearing the face off some young one you’ve only just met."

Take a look at the video below:

Under the guise of hip-hop act TPM, the Hendy brothers, backed by their resident DJ, Snakey Bastard, have been among the highlights of 2019's festival season, with incendiary sets that have seen the pair take their live show to raucous new heights. Recents months have also seen the pair embark on an Irish tour, and support American sensation Marc Rebillet at Vicar Street.

See The Mary Wallopers upcoming tour dates below:
Dec 6th Debarras, Clonakilty
Dec 7th Kino, Cork
Dec 12th Whelans, Dublin w/ Junior Brother
Dec 13th INEC Acoustic Club, Killarney w/ Junior Brother
Dec 14th Button Factory, Dublin w/ The Scratch
Jan 5th Vicar Street, Dublin w/ Lankum