Celtic punk is punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. The genre was founded in the 1980s by The Pogues, a band of punk musicians in London who celebrated their Irish heritage. Celtic punk bands often play covers of traditional Irish folk and political songs, as well as original compositions. Although the plight of the Irish people is often a topic of their songs, it's not considered an overtly political genre. Prevalent themes in Celtic punk songs include Ireland, Irish Republicanism, the Irish diaspora, drinking, and working class pride.

The typical Celtic punk band includes a rock instrumentation as well as traditional instruments such as bagpipes, fiddle, tin whistle, accordion, mandolin, and banjo. Like Celtic rock, Celtic punk is a form of Celtic fusion. Celtic punk is considered part of the broader folk punk genre. Many Celtic punk bands emerge from predominantly Irish communities in cities such as Glasgow, London, Cardiff, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Boston, Auckland, Christchurch, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. A related genre, Scottish Gaelic punk, is punk rock sung in Scottish Gaelic. Foremost of these bands are Oi Polloi from Edinburgh and Mill a h-Uile Rud from Seattle.