Songfacts®:

• The conflict in Northern Ireland, which also spilled over into England and the Republic of Ireland dates from the late 1960s. After decades of violence the Belfast "Good Friday" Agreement of 1998 bought an end to most of the atrocities that were perpetrated by the various parties. This song finds Flogging Molly's Dave King singing about the self-destructiveness of the Irish. He explained to Alternative Press magazine:
  
  "In Ireland, we were always the underdog. We were always being pinned down. And in latter years, we were pinning ourselves down, fighting among ourselves. And it was pathetic, so f---ing ridiculous. And now we're really working on a lasting peace in Ireland. And now that you can look back on that in a country where I thought you never could have, it's such a positive thing, and it makes it easier to go back and sing songs like that.
  
  I think you have to be in a good state of mind to be able to go back and revisit [the bad] times. And when you do, you come up with songs like 'The Cradle Of Humankind' and 'This Present State of Grace' and 'The Worst Day Since Yesterday' and turn the bad times into a positive thing. And I've been very fortunate to be able to do that."