Irish Flute Tunes

Introduction

04 June 2023 - I've just noticed that the index has been upgraded from 'Muddled Up' to 'Deleted'.

 I am in the process of adding the tune types to a drop down list at the top of the page. This process is incredibly boring (or maybe just predictably boring) - it's definitely boring anyway - and will take me a while. In the meantime you can browse the site page by page or just search for tune titles. Thanks, Michael.

  

 

 **** Tune Index all Muddled up ****

 

I've just posted a tune here for the first time in months. While I was on the site I noticed that the tune names are no longer in alphabetical order. I think they are now in chronoligical order. If you just type Ctrl +F and then put in the tune name, or part of the name,  it will take you to the link for that tune if it is on the site.

 

*** Some recordings not playing ***

 

Some recordings go missing from this site from time to time; the internet seems to suffer from memory laspses jist like the rest of us. If you find that a recording doesn't play, please let me know. I have the recordings backed up somewhere (though I'm not sure where) and as a last resort I think I might be able to find some of the tunes in my head and somehow transfer them from there back onto the site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello. This site contains recordings I have made as a source of tunes for people who play the flute, or other instruments for that matter. They are often just versions of tunes as I remember them. My memory isn’t the best so in some cases I cheat and find the dots online. In some cases the online versions and the dots inside my head aren't quite the same so there may be a sort of 'average' appearing. I usually play the tunes once through slowly to make them easier to learn, then I have a bit of a run at them to give another view of them. I hope this approach is OK. If anyone has any comments, or tune suggestions, please get in touch (iflute@googlemail.com).

Thanks, Michael Clarkson (Belfast, Luxembourg and on the Dublin-Belfast Aircoach). 

 

Slowing Down Tunes

 

Just in case the tunes on this site aren’t dull enough, you can slow them down using recent versions of Windows Media Player (I’m sure there are plenty of other ways of doing this too).

 

In Windows Media player click Now Playing at the top of the screen then pick Enhancements and then Play Speed Settings. There is a nice range of speeds displayed but I can only get the half speed one to work. That’s probably enough to be getting on with in any case.

The Wren Hornpipe

Here's another tune from O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland. I hadn't noticed it before, despite its being there since 1907. I don't remember ever seeing a wren either. Maybe because they're so small.

 

Clarkson’s reel

Tune number 748 from O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland - 1001 gems 

There are 1000 tunes in this book with better names but only some of them are better tunes.

 

 

 

The Cat in the Corner (jig)

O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland tune number 129

 

I probably would have been better getting the cat to play it.

 

The Day We Paid the Rent (reel)

I play this tune by direct debit.

 

The Tongs by the Fire (jig)

Here's another tune from Francis O'Neill's 'Dance Music of Ireland - 1001 Gems'.

My understanding of 'gem' in today's context is a tune without syncopation and notes keeping close company with other notes they don't get on with.

 

Molly What Ails You? (reel)

Here's tune number 652 in O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland.

 

It's the best tune between tunes 651 and 653.

 

Jackson’s censored Reel

As requested, here's an attempt at a flute version of a steadfastly fiddle tune.

 

 

X: 1
T:Jackson's Reel (sort of flute-friendly'ish)
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|:F|D2FD EDFE| DEFD EAcE|GE ~E2 GABd| ceAc dBAF|
D2FD EDFE| DEFD EFGE| ABce dBAG| F/2G/2F EG FDD:|
|:g|fd d2 ~d3f| edef edcB|A2cA BAcB| ABcA Bcde|
fd d2 ~d3f| edef edcB|ABde faea|1fd d2 ~d3:|2fddc d/2d/2c dB||
A3A B2AG| FAAF G/2F/2E F/2E/2D| ~E3F GFEG| Agec dBAF|
D2FD EDFE| DEFD EG ~G2| ABce dBAG| FAEG FDAF||

 

Here's the uncut version: https://thesession.org/tunes/1665

 

 

Money in Every Pocket but My Own

Here's a tune high in vitamin C. Also called the 'Belfast March', named after a town low in every vitamin.

 

 https://thesession.org/tunes/5000

The Church Street polka

Here's a tune I was asked to post here. It's a great tune but I can't play polkas, so I never play them, so I can't play them, so I never play them, so ...

 

The associated polka dots are here: https://thesession.org/tunes/1560

 

The London Clog

Here's a tune which Tom Morrison recorded i 1928. London clogs are probably mainly fatbergs in the sewers these days.

 

Here it is played properly:

https://archive.org/details/TomMorrisonTheLondonClog

 

Here it is written out badly:

The Milky Way (reel)

This reel was made in space for the flute; sorry this effort isn't as out of this world as the title would suggest.

 

 

Peg McGrath’s reel

Here's a tune written by Josie McDermott in honour of Peg McGrath who made one of the nicest flute noises I've ever heard.

 

The Whistling Postman - jig

A short tune to fill a spare minute. I don't know how much postmen/postwomen (or even postmodernists) whistle now under the burden of Amazon boxes.

 

Jack Rowe - reel

Here's a tune I first heard from a recording of John McGuire - Seán's father. The guy in the photo was Jack Rowe - looks like he could blow a flute with the back of his neck. Some feat. Some neck.

 

 

The Mount Collins Reel (The Girls of Farranfore)

Here's a reel which you can hear Denis Murphy playing at: Mount Collins Reel / Doon Reel. There are special wobbles in the second tune which, according to the info at archive.org, are due to a hole being 'punched slightly off-center'. I'd imagine that could cause a wobble or two right enough.

 

Here are some notes: https://thesession.org/tunes/4026

 

Black Pat’s Reel

 

I've been living in a teeny weeny flat in Luxembourg for the last three weeks and have been afraid to play in case the people in the teeny weeny flats above and beside me objected. I finally got playing last night in a pub at a session with 4 flutes - just like home only the drink was a lot dearer. This tune was mentioned (not by me) but nobody knew it well enough to play it. I've given myself a crash course in playing the tune today in my teeny weeny apartment in this nice little country. I think the first half of the term 'crash course' might be the most relevant here. I'll blame that on my fear of annoying the residents near my little Luxembourgish lodging.

 

I think Tommy Peoples made this tune up. Best to find a recording of him playing it, or any other tune for that matter.

Sweet Biddy Daly (jig)

This jig is also known as 'Health to the Ladies'. It's a good tune for getting used to playing in A as it doesn't need any G sharps.

As for the identity of Sweet Biddy Daly: I think she was the alter ego of Sour Suzie Knightly.

https://thesession.org/tunes/327

The Gates of Mullagh (reel)

Here's a reel composed by Josephne Keegan. I can't tell you much about the title though I know that a gate is like a door with the outside on its inside and outside; a Mullagh (or mullach) is a hilltop and so lots of hilly places are named after this feature:http://www.teanglann.ie/en/fgb/mullach.

 

Here are some dots: https://thesession.org/tunes/2243

The One Horned Cow (reel)

Here's a reel which was included in O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland in 1907 as 'An Bhó Mhaol / The Hornless Cow' but was recorded by Liam Walsh in 1933 as 'The One Horned Cow' 

https://archive.org/details/LiamWalshTheFairyReelTheOneHornedCowTheLimestoneRock.  The beast must have sprouted a bit in the intervening 26 years; unless 1930s Waterford had a population of bovine unicorns - possibly only visible to Uilleann Pipers.  Maybe it still does.

(There's a baby battering a table in the background of this recording - more in time than many percussionists). 

Here are the cow's dots.

https://thesession.org/tunes/2825

The Lonesome Jig

Here's a Lonesome Jig.  It only has 681 companions on this site so far - no wonder it feels a bit isolated.

The Blarney Pilgrim (jig)

Here's a tune I've managed to overlook during the years I've been putting tunes on this site.  It refers to the Blarney Stone the kissing of which is reputed to leave a great facility for fine talk on the lips which were in contact with said stone.  I was taken for my contact with the Blarney Stone when I was a child, though I think I was held the wrong way up and the incorrect bit of me made contact with the little rock of eloquence.

You can find the dots here:

https://thesession.org/tunes/5

Mama’s Pet (3)

I've just got my nice old flute back from a period in a flute hospital so felt inspired to post a tune on it before I break it again.

This tune appears to be the third Mama's Pet I've posted here so she'll maybe able to open a small zoo.  I'm not sure what species this pet is or even how many limbs it has, if any, or whether it has fur or just skin or scales.  The details I could find are here:

http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=1290-12.abc-1-Mama~s~Pet

The Shamrock Barndance

Here's a tune popular among some fiddle players in Donegal.  I'm not sure whether it is unpopular among everyone else in that county but I'll maybe avoid playing it there just to be on the safe side.

There is a version of it here: http://thesession.org/tunes/11250 taken down from the fiddle playing of Vincent Campbell (presumably one of the Donegal fiddle players amongst whom this tune is popular).  I've also heard a recording of John Doherty playing it and I first learned it from another fiddle player, i.e. Paul O'Shaughnessy who has a keen awarness of the Donegal fiddle zeitgeist.

The Walls of Limerick (Reel)

Just grabbing a rare moment in the house when not being entertained / attacked (it's a fine line) by children.  The first 2 minutes of that moment have been used up by playing this reel.  www.tunepal.org told me it is called the Walls of Limerick.  I have it on a recording of John McKenna on the flute with Michael Gaffney (I think) on the banjo.  The notes at http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=266-hnr2.abc-2-Walls~of~Limerick%2C~The look very like it.  I'm sure all will be revealed and explained when 'Imminent' becomes 'Recent' in a while ... http://www.johnmckenna.ie/irish-time/.

Down The Meadow - Reel

Here's a tune which John McKenna recorded.  To hear it played properly in digitised ex-shiny-shellac format you'll soon be able to buy the CD referred to here:

http://www.johnmckenna.ie/irish-time/

The notation here isn't too far off the way McKenna had it (closer that I could manage in any case).

http://thesession.org/tunes/12577

Last Night’s Joy (reel)

Here's a reel I just heard on a recording of the Donegal fiddle maestro John Doherty.

There are a few written versions here:  http://tunepal.org/tunepal/search_titles_new.php?q=last+night%27s+joy

As for the title - I think mine was finding half a packet of Kettle Chips and only being beaten 9:3 at Connect Four by my phone.

Roger’s Jig

Here's an old, neglected Sligo jig.   There's a recording of Paddy Sweeney from Moylough in Sligo playing it on a fiddle in 1937: http://archive.org/details/PaddySweenyRogersJigVillageJig.  I like listening to recordings like that of tunes played at a quick pace and then hearing people who extol the virtues of Coleman, Sweeney, Killoran et al, giving off at people for playing too fast when they are playing much slower that their heroes every played.  I'm sorry if that was a very clumsily cobbled sentence - I'm not used to the heat - a bit of which has been visited upon us of late.  You'll be able to find the tune in squashed tadpole form at http://thesession.org/tunes/11483 and play it at whatever speed you like.

The Southwest Wind (An Ghaoth Aniar Aneas) - jig

Here's a jig from the South West - mar atá Co. Clare.  I associate it with Willie Clancy.  I'm not sure whether its title refers to the direction the air flowed through his pipes while he played it.  I think my flute was more Mecca-wards when I was playing it on this occasion - that would just be a west wind - with slight precipitation towards the end of the tune. For disciples of the dot there's always http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=8445-75.abc-1-Southwest~Wind%2C~The.

Michael Ryan’s reel

Here's a Gan Ainm - one of a host of Gans Ainm in Breandán Breathnach's Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2.  At least the person BB got the tune from had an ainm - namely Michael Ryan, a flute player from Co. Sligo, so (that's 'so' the conjunction rather than the Sligo 'SO' that you may see on a numberplate in Ballymote) I'll call the tune after Mr. R.   Mr. B. gave the reel the rather appealing number 142 in his book.

Lad O’Beirne’s Reel (2)

Here's another Lad O'Beirne's reel.  I don't know much about it. The notes in dotty form can be found here: http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=1209-misc-tunes2_A-M.abc-30-Lad~O~Beirne~s~Reel~%28a%29~%28key~D%29~%25~misc%3CBB

The Morning Lark (jig)

Here's a close relative of the 'Lark in the Morning'.  This one has fewer parts - from my playing it sounds as though it may be missing a wing and part of its voice. http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=87-cces-tunes2.abc-20-Morning%7ELark

Paddy Fahey’s reel

Here's a reel I was reminded of today by listening to a recording of Brendan McGlinchey, the great fiddle player from Armagh.  He plays it in C on the recording but I'm all at sea without a paddle in that key for this tune so I'll wear my hat with a 'D' on it for now.

Ownie Davey’s Reel

Here's another effort on my Rudall and Lazarus flute.  The version of the tune here is decidedly dodgy.  I half learned it lots of moons ago before I ever heard a recording of it.  A more reliable version can be got here: http://tinyurl.com/auc5x3n .  I was reminded of the tune today about 10 minutes after the postman kindly delivered a copy of this lovely recording: http://claddaghrecords.com/WWW/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=3521 (the packaging was quite hard to open otherwise I'd have heard it a bit sooner).

John Dwyer’s Reel

Here's my latest attempt to play my old Rudall flute.  I've been using a combination of insulating tape, knives, scissors, super glue, our child's skin moisturiser and kettle steam as tools of resuscitation; maybe I should be trying them on the flute. http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=2708-25.abc-1-John~Dwyer~s

Up Sligo

Here's a jig which comes from up Sligo.  Dots can be found up here: http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=2272-21.abc-1-Up~Sligo

My Former Wife (jig)

Here's an old jig played on an old flute. This poor flute is falling apart, maybe due to modern nasties like central heating which weren't about when it was young.  It seems not to like being 'My Warmer Fife'.

The Stolen Purse (jig)

Here's a tune I've played for years.  I never knew a name for it so I played it into the magic tunepal.org machine and that is where this title came out of.  My first part for the tune is a bit different from the versions on the computer but I suppose there's no harm in that.  It's worth taking note of the advice on the photo even if the tune is of no interest.

Lavin’s Favourite (reel)

This also goes under the name of 'Lavan's Favorite' in 'Ryan's Mammoth Collection'.   I've tried to play it fairly close to the dotty version here: http://www.oldmusicproject.com/AA3Sheet/1201-1800/Sheet-1501-1600/1551-LarryChoice.gif (Larry Lavin's Choice). A combination of warm weather and a bit of recent, regular playing has allowed me to get through this tune on my boxwood flute without it falling apart (that's the flute I'm talking about - not so sure about poor Larry's reel).

Dillon Brown (aka Laington’s reel)

Here's a fairly straightforward version of a popular reel in A.  I avoided any G sharps in the slow version lest I may sustain a cut finger.  There may be one or two (sharps and / or damaged digits) lurking around the quicker version.

The Girls of Banbridge (jig)

Here's an approximation of O'Neill's version of a popular jig.  The dots can be found at: http://www.oldmusicproject.com/AA3Sheet/0701-1200/Sheet-0801-0900/0812-GirlsBanbridge.gif If you want to hear it played properly you could do worse than click on this link: http://archive.org/details/MichaelColemanGirlsofBainbridgeCherishtheLadies . The name  in Coleman's version is 'Bainbridge' - maybe a reference to characters in Beryl's very early work  (she'd have been 8 at the time).

Carolan’s Concerto

Here's a different sort of tune by way of a change.  I've just played each part singly the first time round.  If I appear to be rushing a bit during the quicker version that's probably because I was being distracted by the smell of the 'Young's Chip Shop Fish Fillet in Crisp Bubbly Batter' which is in the process of being turned into my dinner in my oven.  I bet Carolan never had that problem.  If he did occasionally salivate over the notion of some 17th / 18th century convenience food it was probably not too much of an encumbrance on his harp playing anyway.

The Thrush in the Storm

I hope the title of this reel refers to matters ornithological and meteorological and not medical. I was reminded of this tune today when I heard a recording of Sheila O'Dowd playing it (http://www.colemanirishmusic.com/shop/product.php?id=13 track 16).  It is in Breathnach's Ceol Rince na hÉireann vol. 1  and someone has kindly made the notes available at http://tunepal.org/tunepal/showdots.php?id=11667.  That's about all I have to say on the matter just now.

The Ballina Lasses

I've been trying to learn to play a C#D accordion and was reminded of this tune while playing through a few books as a way of telling my fingers that there's more than one melody in the world.  The box playing may be a sort of insurance against tooth loss which would make the flute sound a bit gummy; cleaning and flossing might be an easier approach. This tune is in the book 'Trip to Sligo' under the title 'Come up in the room I want you'.  I played it (on the flute) into the tunepal.org machine and was given the title I've used here.  The person in the 'up in the room' name may even have been addressing the Ballina Lasses at the time of utterance.  I don't know what Tunepal will think it's called if I try playing it on the squeezebox.

Terry Hi Ho the Grinder (slip jig)

Here's a tune with a funny name.  I learned it from a flute player with a less peculiar appellation, i.e. Harry Bradley. I recorded this on a mobile phone mp3 recording app (and a flute) and the end result seems to include some 78rpm type crackles.  That may have been an option which I inadvertantly chose on the recording device.

Peter Wyper’s Hornpipe

Here's a tune called Peter Wyper's hornpipe.  It is named after one of the Brothers Wyper who is pictured above.   I had intended posting a smaller brace of Wypers but couldn't find the shrink button to resize the photo.  You could look at the photo on a smartphone screen to make it small but I think the text would go all exiguous at the same time.

The Collier’s Reel

Here's a tune which as was correctly pointed out to me, I had forgotten to post up to now. I've played it on a poor, old and sick Rudall flute. I had even taken a picture of the flute but it's been so long since I've posted a tune here that I've forgotten how to include a photo (or else this site has forgotten how to have photos posted on it). The flute can't remember how to play bottom Ds yet. I'll be leaving it into a flute hospital in Galway shortly - maybe a bit of hypnosis from beyond the Pale will remind it of this particular alphabetic bark.

Knocknagow (jig)

Here's a tune I was asked a while ago to play. I've always been a bit allergic to this tune - I'm not sure why - I think something bad like the house falling down happened the last time I played it and that left a bit of an impression which didn't please me too much. It's a good tune all the same. I think it's really 2 jigs joined together. I'm away to stand outside for a while in case this house isn't up to the Knocknagow test.

Do you want any more? (jig)

I think this is also called The Collier's Jig.  There's a collier's reel too which has the same general selection if notes in it.  I'll post it on the site if it's not already here. I've been reminded a couple of times lately that some people are finding some use for some of the tunes on this site so I thought I'd try to add one or two more.  It remains to be seen whether they'll fall into the useful category or otherwise.  I have a couple of requested tunes still to post as well.  I'm just being delayed by not knowing them and almost never having a flute closer that about 20 feet away.  If I attended to the latter matter then my chance of sorting the former should increase accordingly.

Tonn Teine (reel)

Here's the one that goes with the other two (Paddy O'Brien tunes I posted a while ago).  I've just been reminded that I missed this one.  I hope late is better than never.

The Trip to Nenagh (reel)

Here's a reel I've just been asked to play.  It was composed by Sean Ryan.  I found a couple of written versions on the web and this effort is sort of a cross between both and neither of them.  Sorry if some (or most) of the notes are a bit on the fuzzy side.  I found some ready salted crisps just before I found the notes for the tune.

The Cow that ate the Blanket (reel)

I think there's also a jig with this name - or is that 'the milker that masticated the mattress' ?

Shamrock Hill (reel)

Here's a tune I never knew the name of until the arrival of the magic tune finding machine http://tunepal.org/tunepal/index.php. I see that people now even have telephones with this facility on them.  If someone sneezes at a session these days there's likely to be an iphonophile who will be try to identify the sneeze as some polka or other.  Any extraneous noises in this recording have passed without being interpreted as anything other than normal noise - any other noises are supposed to be the tune.

The Glenside Cottage (reel)

Here's a tune I think I learned from a recording of Jackie Daly.  It is also in Breathnach's Ceol Rince na hÉireann (vol 2) where the version is the same but for one note in the second part (answsers on a postcard to ...)

Iniscealtra (reel)

Here's another Paddy O'Brien reel which goes with the previous one though usually before it and another one rather than after it and before another one which isn't the same 'another one' I referred to on another part of this sentence just before now - I hope that all makes sense. All these tunes and information about them and Paddy O'Brien are to be found in an excellent compilation which is available from this site:  http://www.paddyobrienbook.com/

Ormond Sound (reel)

Here's a reel composed by Paddy O'Brien.  It is often played after two others in a set.  I don't know the other ones either.

Ambrose Moloney’s

Here's a great reel for the flute.  I'm sure I stole it from somewhere but the scene of that particular theft is now out of reach of my memory.

The Sailor’s Cravat (reel)

I've been at around 3 sessions in as many months and this tune was played at 2 of them (albeit by the same person).  According to my statistical analysis this tune is therefore played at 66.66666% of all sessions. I'm afraid that the flute here sounds a bit like it has a cravat stuck up it somewhere; possibly with a maritime person attached.

Jenny Picking Cockles (2) - Reel

Sorry for the lack of tunes in the last while.  I gave up playing for a while - as I sometimes do - and have only played the flute 4 times this year. The perenthesised '2' in the title here doesn't doesn't refer to the modesty of Jenny's shellflsh harvest target but just to the fact that there's already another tune with this name on the site.

The Humours of Ballyconnell (hornpipe)

Here's a new post after a very long gap.  I couldn't remember where I left the internet.  I was sent an mp3 file of someone playing this tune far better that it is played here.  I know that Séan Keane recorded it at some stage and hear it from time to time in sessions but I can't remember exactly how it goes.  I found a transcription in the bit of the internet referred to below.  I'm afraid I've lost / mis-ordered a few notes during the eye to mouth process but here's an approximation - hopefully enough to get a more accurate and diciplined person started learning the tune. http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/2748

Na Ceannabháin Bhána (slip jig)

Here's a slip jig which is really the tune of a song.  I think I have a CD somewhere including a recording of Séamus Ennis singing the song but it has been hidden somewhere more obscure than the side of the sofa by a young child. I've had to rely on memory therefore for the way the tune goes. The title means something like "The fair haired Canavans".

The Turnpike Gate (reel)

I'm not sure I've ever seen a turnpike gate so I'm not sure what qualities one might have to get a reel named after it. Anyway, here's a tune called after such a gate.

The Home Ruler (hornpipe)

Here's another request from long ago.  I don't think the tune's title refers to a domestic measuring tool.

The Mills are Grinding (reel)

I was asked back in August to play this tune.  I've at least managed it before October ended.  The flute hasn't forgiven me for spending a lot of the last hour playing a miniature version of itself (I think baby flutes have a special name but I'm always getting the 'cc's and 'll's confused in the spelling) and blowing into a big flute has proved difficcullt - (it's happenned again only worse). Anyway, thanks Mary for telling me about this tune on 2nd August, and I hope it sounds OK.

Charlie Lennon’s Number 4 (reel)

I was asked to record this tune so here it is, only a few days late.  I've always just known this tune from afar so if it sounds like I'm a bit unfamiliar with its finer points (like the notes and stuff like that) then that's probably just because I am. Like most of CL's tunes, it's a fine piece of music and might be strong enough to emerge intact from my mangling.

The Hunter’s Purse (reel)

Here's a popular reel - so popular that it has taken me 3 years to think of it.

Jackson’s jig

I've been laptopless for a while so have hadn't been able to post any tunes.   I now have a new laptop and it and an old flute have combined to record this not so new jig.  I'm not used to the recording level on the new computer so this post may only be audible to canine creatures.   Maybe they can be persuaded to bark a louder version out if necessary.

John McHugh’s Jig

Here's a nice jig.  I can't type any more as I can hear a baby stirrng; a baby who cares little about this site and the words and notes thereon.

The Torn Jacket (reel)

I've finally got around to looking at a couple of requests to record tunes.  This is the only one I've got around to playing though.  It's also the only torn jacket I've given any attention to although I seem to have several, the holes in which heavily outnumber the arms I can find to put through them.

Lad O’Beirne’s reel

Here's a tune I was asked to play.  It is named after the great Sligo fiddle player whose name escapes me just now.

Mary O’ the Wisp (reel)

This isn't really a flute tune.  It comes from the fiddle playing of Francie Byrne from Kilcar, Co. Donegal.

The Castlemahon Lasses (reel)

All I know about this tune is what I read about it in Ceol Rince na hÉireann vol 5.  It says there that the fiddler James McEnery composed it.  I hope I'm not decomposing it too much here.

Dúlamán na Binne Buidhe (highland)

The title of this tune (and song of the same name) translates as "The Seaweed of the Yellow Cliff". - a tune caught between a wrack and a hard place perhaps. There are a few versions of this tune but I could only think of this one just now.  I still have to think of the other tunes which are on my list to play here but my thought processes are running very slow these days.

Con Cassidy’s Highland

Here's a tune I stole from a recording of Con Cassidy. I don't know much about it, except for what the notes are.  I suppose that's a start.

Gurney’s Favourite (jig)

Here's a jig I heard on a recording of Michael Gorman.  It's called Guiry's favourite in O'Neill's. I was a bit distracted by an infant with a new set of noisy birthday presents but hopefully the tune recovers sufficiently frequently to make it possible to pick up.

The Lads of Laois (reel)

I'm a bit behind on recording tunes at the moment.  I'm even behind with being behind with things.  I think that's what's behind the delays. Anyway.  I was asked for "The Lads of Laois", so here it is / they are, unleashed.  I think I was asked for a nice version.  I never really had a nice version so I had to record a nasty one. I listened back to the start of this recording through my computer's speakers and it sounded as if the tune was being played underwater on a trombone but maybe once it has been hung out on the web for a while it'll dry out a bit.  I'll record the other tunes on my list once I find the list.

Higgins’ Hornpipe

I've just been asked to play this tune so here it is.  I'm not too sure how reliable this version is but it is maybe a bit closer to the version common in Ireland than the version on another website near you.  I think it mightn't originally be an Irish tune so maybe the funny version is the normal version where the funny version comes from and the normal version is maybe ... etc. This is also known as "The Cliff Hornpipe".  Whether that's the Cliff of "Summer Holiday" fame, I don't know.

Bill Malley’s Reel

I was asked a while ago to play this.  I think I've already played it under a different name but I'm happy enough to post it with this name and look like I know more tunes than I really do.  I can't remember what the other name I called it was so this is probably the one I'll use in future.

Mulqueeny’s Hornpipe

Here's one I wasn't asked to play.  I wasn't asked not to play it either so as it doesn't seem to be here already I thought I'd give it a go.  I think I was half the age I am now when I last played this tune and if I live to be twice the age I am now I'll either have too few teeth or too much sense to play it again. There's a touch of a farting in the bath sound about it.  Maybe it's more of a windpipe than a hornpipe.

Johnny Cope (hornpipe)

Here a very long hornpipe which I've been asked to play.  I maybe played it a bit too fast the second time around but as it has so many parts I had to rush to finish it before the shops shut. (This version is vaguely like the one in Ceol Rince na hÉireann Vol. 3 - No. 208)

The Bantry Lasses (reel)

I had to look this one up in "The Book" when asked tp post it.  I found it in O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland, 1001 Gems (No. 469).  I had just previously found "The Book" on the sideboard by the door into the kitchen.  There is some audible dissent in the background but O'Neill was from Bantry so I'd trust this version OK despite the critical opinion which is to the fore in parts of this recording.

The Battering Ram (jig)

I found a 'please play the battering ram' email so here's said man-ewe (not Man U which I believe is a soccer team). This rendition is more sheepish than extraordinary but most of the notes are there.

The Song of the Chanter (march)

I was asked to record this tune so here it is. I don't know what key it should be in.  Here's a go at it in D minor and then A minor.  I heard something once about dropping a piano down a coal shaft and getting A flat minor.

The Iron Man (highland / strathspey)

There's a character in The Magic Roundabout called Mr. Rusty.  I fear that my Homme de Fer may have become a Fear Meirgeach himself.

The Jolly Seven (reel)

Here's a Paddy O'Brien reel (I think). Instead of a jolly seven here I think I have a fairly happy seven and a mildly miffed number 8.  The overall recording quality is a bit dodgy here and the sound of the sean nós shouting infant in the background maybe doesn't help things too much (no infants were harmed in the making of this post).

Cois Abhann na Séad (slow air)

I can't think of any quick tunes at the moment so here's a slow one.  I want to spell this "Cois Abhainn na Seod" but forces I don't understand take me to the spelling I used instead.  This is a song air which comes from Cúil Aodha in Co. Cork.  I probably have it all wrong but I never go to Cork so I should be safe from close quarter retribution at least.  (The title in English is "Beside the River of Gems /  Jewels - I know how to spell that anywaieieieiy).

The Pigeon on the Gate (reel)

I just got an email from a pigeon fancier, or at least someone who wanted me to post this tune.  So here's my pigeon-post, or maybe pigeon on the gatepost.  I'm surprised not to have recorded a pigeon on the gate to date, but better late than never at any rate.

The Small Hills of Offaly (reel)

Here's a reel which I think Paddy O'Brien (from Smallhillsville) composed. The hills may be small but they seemed to take an age to upload onto this site.  They must be the wrong shape for internet pipes.  I know little of hills and tend not to go anywhere more topographically elevated than upstairs in a not too tall house in a low down town.  I hope the tune's shape hasn't been too distorted, either by its journey to the web, or by its time spent in my mildly mangled music head.

Aggie Whyte’s Reel

I've finally got round to playing another tune.  I stole my wife's flute to play it as I can't remember where I left my own.  The fact that this recording sounds like it was made in a sewer is no reflection on the flute.  The recording wasn't made in a sewer; I'd never bring someone else's instrument into such an environment.  Now I come to think of it, the same flute was once found in a wheelie bin after a burglary.

The Game of Love (reel)

Here's a tune I was asked to play.  Some people associate this time of year with Yule logs.  I appear just to have a backlog but this will hopefully have removed at least a sawtooth's fill from it. One reason I'm so slow about posting tunes these days is that I can't remember the names of any more of them.  I got this one by asking  Mr.Google about the name I was given.  He seems to call it 'The Girls of Farranfore'.

Father Tom’s Wager (jig)

Here's a jig about a betting Priest, or a Priestly bet.  I don't know how he fared in the gamble but the jig flutters on to this day. There are a few versions of this knocking about.  This is more or less like the one in O'Neill's Dance Music of Ireland.

A Fig For a Kiss (slip jig)

Here's a slip jig which I was asked to post here.  It's been so long since I posted anything that the requestor has probably forgotten requesting it. I don't know whether you need a special type of fig for a kiss; "can I have a fig please; one of those ones you use for ... ?" and if so is it the same sort which helps with the digestive processes.  Maybe just typing this little 'f' word will ease the blockage in my tune posting pipeline. I must go now and post some Santa cards.

The Little Stack of Wheat (hornpipe)

Here's a tune I've been asked to play.  I think there are various cereal crops piled up in hornpipe names.  In these straitened times maybe a little stack is the most appropriate choice for the days that are in it ... innit'?

The Mist on the Mountain (jig)

I've been asked to play this one so here it is.  There's a tune call "snow on the hills" a few posts down.  This one is continuing the theme but maybe has more to do with Kagools than with skis.

Tory Island (reel)

Here's a reel which is also called "Murphy's Hound".  I'm not sure how it got these two names or what the connection may be between them.  Something to do with the Isle of Dogs maybe, though as one island is in the Thames and the other in the Atlantic, I may well be barking up the wrong tree entirely.

Anything for John-Joe? (reel)

The question mark is part of the title, not an indication of doubt about what the title is.  Having said (or typed) that, I'm not sure whether said question mark should be in the title.  Maybe I should have typed (or written) 'Anything for John-Joe??'.  I'm not too sure about the hyphen either. Hopefully the tune is more straightforward???

Snow on the Hills (reel)

The recent weather which, according to the radio person, is the worst and snowiest since the last time we were told it was the worst since bad weather started to be bad and to be recorded as such, has reminded me that I was asked to post this tune. I didn't know it so here's just a rough guess as to what the dots at www.snowonthehills.org (http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/8535) say it goes like.

The Eavesdropper (jig)

Here's a tune I overheard someone asking for. I've a couple more to do too and I'll get around to them as soon as I find where I tied the knot in my hankerchief.

Dinny O’Brien’s Reel

I dinny play this before 'cause I dinny know it right.  Chance I still donny but here's a try. (See CRÉ 3 uimh.145 for more reliable version.)

The Hawthorn (slip jig)

Here's a wee tune I stole out of Ceol Rince na hÉireann 3 (uimhir 57). I know it's meant to be bad luck stealing or interfering with thorn bushes in the wild.  Hopefully na daoine beaga don't take such a dim view of thorn thefts from tomes.