Browse Content (196 total)
- Subject is exactly "Fiddle tunes--Ireland"
Old Torn Petticoat
I believe it is important to feature master fiddle player Julia Clifford and her son Billy playing the first dance tune in this collection. It was the first reel that they recorded for me that night in Tralee over fifty years ago, when Julia invited…
Planting Stick, The
'The Planting Stick' is a variant of the venerable jig 'Bryan O'Lynn', a tune I first learned from my grandmother, Elizabeth Collins (née Rochford). A number of versions of 'Bryan O'Lynn' are to be found in this collection. The tune appears in…
Is It Any Good, Séamus?
Fiddle player, accordionist, and composer Eddie Kelly played this tune for me and asked, 'Is it any good, Séamus?' I recorded Eddie playing it in a session on the street at an All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil around 1990. The title somehow suggests…
Humours of Castlelyons
I am joined on this track by my friends Kathleen Lawrie from Birmingham, England, and Kevin McElroy from Freeport, Maine. Kevin played banjo and Kathleen played piano. I first heard this tune played by musicians from Ballinakill, County Galway on an…
Gearóid Ó Laidhigh's
Fiddle player Gearóid Ó Laidhigh and flute player John Darcy recorded this tune, a composition of Mr. Ó Laidhigh's, for Ciarán Mac Mathúna. Ciarán traveled throughout Ireland recording musicians and singers,…
Corney Drew's
This hornpipe as played on this recording comes to us courtesy of fiddle player Liz Knowles. The original sources for the tune, Denis Murphy and Charlie Mulvihill (fiddle and accordion, respectively), recorded it for Ciarán Mac…
Liam Rowsome's
The name Rowsome is ubiquitous in the world of Irish music. Down through the years I have had the honour of playing music with the piping master Leo Rowsome and with his children, Leon, Liam, and Helena. Fiddle player Liam Rowsome composed this tune…
Come to the Fair
'Come to the Fair' was a very popular waltz/song played by The Kilfenora Céilí Band in the 1960s. I have always enjoyed listening to the band's singer Mary Higgins performing the song on a recording made at a céilí in…
Lynches and Wards of Clogher, The
Throughout its illustrious career, the celebrated Kilfenora Céilí Band from north County Clare has had various band members with the surnames Lynch and Ward, including P.J. Lynch, Tom Ward, and Jimmy Ward. This composition by the…
Flowery Hills of Scotland, The
According to Nicky McAuliffe, Michael Coleman and James 'Lad' O'Beirne, master fiddle players from County Sligo, recorded this reel on a 78 RPM recording machine in Mr. O'Beirne's home on November 5, 1941. I have not had the opportunity to hear that…
Visit to Chicago, A
Johnny McGreevy had an amazing repertoire of Irish music. He kept so many tunes circulating in his native city, and he was always generous in passing them along. The prolific composer, fiddle player, and pianist Josephine Keegan graciously recorded…
Jenny Dang the Weaver
This tune is also known as 'Tom Fitzgerald's'. A version may also be found in O'Neill's Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody. Thanks to Johnny McGreevy, who introduced this tune to me, and thanks to one of America's wonderful young musicians, Tina Lech,…
Mrs. Galvin's Barndance
The fiddle playing of Mrs. Ellen Galvin, who was born in the 1880s, certainly did sound as though it were from an earlier time in history. I remember seeing her perform in a concert in West Clare in the late 1950s. I was enthralled with her music…
Whistler and His Dog, The
Rose Murphy, a sister of accordionist Peter 'P.J.' Conlon, recorded this reel for fiddle player Paddy Ryan from County Roscommon. Kevin Burke, my good friend and wonderful fiddle player, plays the tune on this recording with his lovely swing and…
Polka for Matt, A
Matt Cranitch, the well-known fiddle player and scholar from County Cork, came to visit Sandy and me in Maine a few years ago. Matt loves to play polkas, so I composed this three-part tune for him. I play it here with my friends Kevin McElroy on…
Mountain Pathway, The
Kevin McElroy, Barbara MacDonald Magone, and I came together to record this tune, which we learned from the cassette tape of fiddle player Mrs. Ellen Galvin that was given to me by Tony MacMahon. A version of this tune was recorded by the great Sligo…
Tom Turkington's in C Major
I met Tom Turkington, a fiddle player from Cookstown, County Tyrone, only once. It was at the beginning of the 1960s at a County Clare Fleadh Cheoil, when he performed at a celebrity concert with his son David on the piano. Musicians love talking…
Kathleen Lawrie's
Kathleen Lawrie, Bobbie's sister, recorded this reel for me when she visited me in Limerick in the early '70s. When Kathleen and her husband Tommy Boyle visited Sandy and me in Maine just a few years ago, I played the tune for her on the fiddle and…
Larry Redican's in F Major
I am delighted to feature the fiddle playing of composer Larry Redican, who lived in New York City. This music comes to us from a recording he made for his friend Roger Casey, an Irish dancer from New York. Both of these gentleman would get together…
Jimmy Hogan's (Number One)
Jimmy Hogan from Liscannor in County Clare loved to play his whistle and batter out the County Clare set dances on the floor. Jimmy was an icon in Boston and he was loved by everyone who met him. This tune from north County Clare was one of his…