Browse Content (88 total)
- Collection: Jigs
Young When He's Dancing
This tune was composed by Chicago fiddle player Devin Shepherd. He plays it here with his friend Sean Gavin on flute. Devin named the tune for Mike Doyle from County Wexford, who now lives in Chicago. Mike is an avid enthusiast of the music and can…
Will Hardy's Twiggy Jig
My friend Beth Sweeney is the librarian for the Irish Music Archives at the Burns Library of Boston College. When she finds time in her schedule, Beth likes to play music and compose. On this track she plays one of her own tunes, which she describes…
Whelan's Auld Sow
The leader of the band Cherish the Ladies is Joanie Madden, who plays this tune for us on the flute. I first heard Eddie Moloney play it. Eddie came from Ballinakill in County Galway and may have named the tune. Tommy Whelan was a member of the…
What Care I for the Minister?
This slip jig from the Scottish tradition was taught to me by Boston harpist Kathleen Guilday. I told her about this project and asked her if she would record it for me. Kathleen was delighted, and graciously agreed to come to Maine to do the…
Victor's Return, The
I recorded this tune with another nephew, Karl Connolly, playing piano, on the same day as Kevin Crawford's unfortunate experience. I first heard the tune in the 1950s played by the Tulla Céilí Band from County Clare. A version of this…
Vermont Jig, The
Another composition from the multi-instrumentalist Eamon Flynn from Mountcollins in County Limerick. Eamon moved from Boston to The Green Mountain State, Vermont, in 1987. His memories of the hills and fishing brooks of this beautiful state in New…
Thomas Reilly, Clerk of Fore
Rev. John Quinn from County Leitrim sent me this tune in the 1980s. It was a copy of handwritten music from The Mulvey Manuscript. Stephen Grier wrote it out on the twenty-fifth of May, 1883. Father John has supplied me with many tunes from his part…
Thomas Power's Jig
This jig, played here for us by Josephine Keegan from South Armagh, was learned from the cassette tape that Michael Power sent me of the playing of his father, Thomas Power, a lovely fiddle player from Doonbeg in west County Clare (see 'Thomas…
Terry's Jig
Here we have another melody composed by the Grand Lady of New Brunswick fiddle music, Mrs. Matilda Murdoch. Its performer on this track, who once again gives Matilda's music a genuine Irish flavour, is none other than Maeve Donnelly.
Tart ar an Ól
A version of this tune can be found in The Roche Collection, but I first heard it played by Eddie Moloney from Ballinakill, County Galway. Eddie, Tommy Mulhaire, and his son Brendan were among those who travelled on a number of occasions in the 1960s…
Shoemaker's Fancy, The
The young fiddle player Liam Lewis played this jig on a tape given to me by a friend one night after a concert. I stuck the tape into the cover of my fiddle case and forgot about it. Finding it later was a lovely surprise. My friend Laurel Martin…
Shandon Bells
Having lived in the beautiful and historic city of Cork in the 1960s, I often think back to the happy times I had while beginning to find my feet in the big world of city life. The clock tower of St. Anne's Church has special meaning for me because…
Sarah's Valentine
Eamon Flynn composed this slow jig for his daughter Sarah on Valentine's Day when she was five years old. Sarah asked her dad to 'do a song' for her. What a lovely present to get, one that will remain documented forever. This recording comes to us…
Rock Point Lane
'Rock Point Lane' is the name of the street in California where Sandy's parents live. One Christmas day, around 1990, when she and I were visiting them, the basic outline of this jig came to me. After working on it for a while and deciding which key…
Road to Durham, The
Cathal McConnell, 'The Great One', gave me this tune, and he also gave it the above title. Recently, I discovered that the other 'Great One', Liz Carroll, had recorded her rendition of the tune on her long-playing record A Friend Indeed. Liz informed…
Quadrille
I had no idea of the name of the fiddle player who performed this jig on a cassette tape I had of an old 78 RPM recording. However, my friend Paul Wells knew the tune and the fiddle player, whom he identified as Leizime Brusoe. Mr. Brusoe was born in…
Pride of Erin
Sean Nugent and his Pride of Erin Céilí Band from County Fermanagh loved to play this jig. So too did Johnny McGreevy from Chicago, who played it for me in 1972 with piano player Eleanor Kane Neary. Jimmy Noonan on flute and Dan Gurney…
Port an Deoraí
This lovely and unusual slip jig is played here by Geraldine Cotter. It may also be found in her collection of fifty traditional Irish tunes called Rogha, Geraldine Cotter's Choice.
Poke and a Tickle, A
While reflecting on Eric Eid-Reiner's musical compositions, my first thought was that he created 'happy music'. Indeed, as Eric himself described it, this is 'a light-hearted jig with a sense of humour'. Eric kindly arrived at Boston College one…
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…