If I Should Fall from Grace with God saw the arrival of three new members: bassist Darryl Hunt replaced Cait O'Riordan, while Philip Chevron joined on guitar and Terry Woods played cittern and other instruments.

The group parted ways with Costello, and after increasingly erratic behaviour which included not turning up to play shows, O'Riordan also left the band in October 1986.

[4] During 1986, the group occupied themselves by guesting on a cover version of "The Irish Rover" with the Dubliners, and taking part in Alex Cox's comedy action film Straight to Hell, shot in southern Spain and also starring the Clash's frontman Joe Strummer.

[5] The band had chosen Darryl Hunt, a former bandmate of O'Riordan in Pride of the Cross, as her replacement on bass, and multi-instrumentalist Terry Woods (ex-Steeleye Span) was also brought in to add his expertise on a range of instruments.

Featuring what has been described as a "heartfelt lyric, soaring tune and compelling chorus on the theme of emigration from Ireland to America", "Thousands Are Sailing" inspired the 2012 Derek McCullough graphic novel Gone to Amerikay.

[13] Although Chevron also contributed other songs to later Pogues albums, "Thousands Are Sailing" remains his most popular composition, and it was played at his funeral when he died of cancer in October 2013.

The chorus of "Fiesta" also contains elements of "Liechtensteiner Polka", written by Edmund Kötscher and Rudi Lindt, and on later Pogues compilation albums they are given co-writing credits.

The song also makes a passing reference to the Loughgall Martyrs, with the line "while over in Ireland eight more men lay dead, kicked down and shot in the back of the head".

"[6] "The Broad Majestic Shannon" is named after the longest river in Ireland and, according to MacGowan, is a song about an Irishman returning to his home town in County Tipperary after many years of living in London, and finding that everything about the place he grew up in has changed or disappeared.

The alternative album cover, issued in the United States and Canada, is a collage of faked photos of the group's members standing in a line, in which each of their faces have been superimposed onto a shot of Irish author James Joyce.

In the UK the NME lauded the record; Terry Staunton's review for the magazine stated, "If I Should Fall from Grace with God sees The Pogues venturing towards the area occupied by the latter day Madness, troubled words on top of happy tunes, stormclouds casting shadows across forced smiles ... With their new LP, The Pogues have given us a thing of beauty, the bleakest of masterpieces which will find few equals in 1988.

[18] Record Mirror's Eleanor Levy said that the band had added "depth to their 'Irish Rover' charm" and produced "quite simply, the most lively, enjoyable 'good time' album you will have heard this, or any, year.

"[20] Michael Corcoran of Spin stated that "it's got guts and soul, and will make poor people dance until 4 a.m., even if they have to be at work until 7 a.m." and that despite containing a few songs that could be skipped over, "this LP on cassette will cause more wear on the rewind button than on the fast forward".

[26] The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said that "neither pop nor rock nor disco crossover stays these groghounds from the swift accomplishment of their appointed rounds".

[23] Reviewing the 2004 reissue, Mojo's Pat Gilbert called If I Should Fall from Grace with God "an amazingly original, democratically written and ethnically adventurous album".