Dropkick Murphys celebrate their 20th anniversary

It’s safe to say that “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” by the Dropkick Murphys is about as well known a track in the music mainstream as it is the most unlikely song to have become a mainstream hit.

“We didn’t even play it a lot before the movie,” bassist Ken Casey recalled, speaking about the song’s memorable appearance in the Martin Scorsese film “The Departed” back in 2006. “It allowed us to go to more places.”

This year the band is celebrating 20 years as an unlikely success story, an underground Celtic-punk group that’s become synonymous with Boston, sports, St. Patrick’s Day and an in-your-face energy that still permeates every show.

amNewYork spoke with Casey about the band’s legacy.

So, 20 years in the business — how does it feel to have lasted this long?

Oh man, it makes me feel old [laughs]. No, we’re so fortunate to have done this for so long. We used to book all our own shows, VFW halls, stay in people’s houses, etc. When you do that, you make those grassroots connections. Those floors we slept on? Those folks are still backstage at our shows. Or bringing their kids. I don’t think we would have been around 20 years without paying our dues. You have to learn how to crawl before you can walk.

“I’m Shipping Up to Boston” not only put you guys in the mainstream, it connected you more to the sports world.

Oh man, as a huge sports fan, people will say, “What are your top five highlights of being in the Dropkick Murphys?” And I’ll say, “Being on the field when the Red Sox won the World Series and being on the ice when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup” [laughs]. So half of our greatest moments aren’t even music-related. They’re really related to the doors that music opened up for us.

You guys will be playing NYC close to St. Patty’s Day — how many times have you played the holiday here and what’s the most memorable experience?

We were banned from Boston for a few years in the late ’90s — things got a little out of hand at our first ever St. Patrick’s show up there. So one year we played the Lower East Side. We brought a busload of people down from Boston and I don’t even remember the rest.