At Boston’s third “No Kings” protest on Saturday, Quincy-born Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys performed their famous song, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” changing the lyrics to “Ship Them Out of Boston” and calling it a “special ICE edition.”

“No Kings,” organized by several advocacy organizations, coordinates protests against the President Donald Trump’s administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity and the war in Iran, among other issues.

“You know what the Dropkick Murphys want to bring to this event and to all these protests? A little less kumbaya and a little more of ‘we’re sick of this bullshit,’” Dropkick Murphys lead singer Ken Casey said to protesters at the Common. Boston saw 180,000 protestors. Nationally, the count exceeded 9 million protesters and 3,300 protests.

“This is America, and power belongs to the people, not to wannabe kings or their billionaire cronies,” the “No Kings” website reads.

Politicians and activists, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Marcelo Gomes da Silva, the Milford teenager who was illegally detained by ICE agents last May, spoke at the rally. 

The Dropkick Murphys have long supported social justice campaigns. Their 2025 album, titled “For The People,” contains several songs with political themes including “Bury the Bones,” a resistance song they also performed Saturday.

“I think it’s so great that they do this and they do it for free, and their songs are political,” said Janice Peneno, a Boston native who has attended all three “No Kings” protests. “They have always stood up for Boston, and they’ve always stood up for the working people.” 

Founded in Quincy, Mass., in 1996, the Dropkick Murphys are deeply rooted in New England. 

The band’s charity, The Claddagh Fund, donates to several New England and Boston-based organizations, such as the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester, Boston Centers for Youth and Families and the New England Center and Home for Veterans. 

From the stage in the Commons, the band’s signature punk-Irish jig blared its unreleased song “Don’t Call Me a F***ing Terrorist” about everyday Americans who “pay their taxes, help the poor” and are still labeled as terrorists.

Casey called out the “irony” of cities like Boston with an abundant immigrant population.

“Here we are, people with just a generation or two [removed], who want to forget how their family benefited from this country’s welcoming hand and want to shut the door right behind them,” he said.

Casey said the band first debuted the song at its March 6 performance in Minneapolis at the memorial of Alex Pretti, the man killed by ICE agents in January, looking from the stage at the spot where Pretti was shot.

“I’ve always been a big fan of the band,” said protester Claire Myers from Charlton, Mass., who came to the Common protest on her day off. “It really makes me happy that someone who, indirectly, was a big part of how I grew up is leaning more towards [the way] I am.” 

Dropkick Murphys changed another iconic song, titled “First Class Loser,” in protest of the presidency. Originally a generic anthem for jerks, the band has slightly altered the words to criticize Trump. Introducing the song onstage, Casey said the band thought it “fit him to a T.”

One change, for example, altered the original words from “he’s wicked unemployed” to “he should be unemployed.” 

Jay Gillespie, a South Boston resident who said he attended the protest to fight for democracy, said he’s been a fan of the Dropkick Murphys since the 1990s.

“The fact that they’re standing up and speaking truth when no one else is, and for him to be here and help us all find our voice together, means the world to me,” he said.

Looking out at the crowd, Casey noted the signs, some calling out ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and some expressing disapproval of the war in Iran. 

“So much to talk about,” Casey said. “I could go on a tirade that lasts an hour, so we’ll just keep playing music.”