Category Archives: Reel
Heather Breeze (G)
“Heather Breeze” is #779 in O’Neill’s 1001 (1907), and it is related to the tune “Crossing the Fields,” in O’Neill’s Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody (1922). This tune too goes by many names: “Coppers of Brass” (in Tipperary and Kerry), “The Heather Bloom” (in county Monaghan), “The Heathery Braes of Ballyhealy” (in Leitrim), and […]
Toss the Feathers (Dmix)
The Dmix “Toss the Feathers” reel seems to be more popular in Ireland than the Eaeol “Toss the Feathers” reel, and the opposite is true on this side of the pond. Â Some people have taken to calling the tunes “Toss the Feathers #1” and “Toss the Feathers #2,” though in general it remains unclear which […]
The Boyne Hunt (D)Â Â Â Â
“The Boyne Hunt” reel is called TĂłir na BĂłinne in Irish. It is #1241 O’Neill’s 1850 (1903) and tune #514 in O’Neill’s 1001 (1907). Even though O’Neill’s has three parts, the tune is usually played with the first two parts only. The tune was originally composed by Miss Striling of Ardoch, Perthshire, Scotland and called […]
Jenny’s Chickens (Baeol)
“Jenny’s Chickens” is a reel is usually preceded by “Bonnie Kate” due to the recordings of Michael Coleman and Joe Burke. Michael Coleman was the first to make this tune popular. I have been told that every time he played it, he would change it a little bit. This may make the tune more interesting […]
Toss the Feathers (Eaeol)
There are a few tunes that go by “Toss the Feathers.” This one, in Eaeol, is popular. The other, in Dmix, is popular too. This one is identified by Stanford and Petrie as a Clare reel. Brendan Breathnach says it is known in County Tipperary as “Thresh the Feathers” and “The Humours of Ballagh” (1976). […]
The Maid(s) of Mt. Kisco (Ador)
This reel, “The Maid(s) of Mt. Kisco” is named after a town.  Mount Kisco is described as both a village and a town in Westchester County, New York State. It is actually a small, but now very expensive town just north of NYC and bordering Chappaqua. One story,  according to Billy McComiskey, is that this […]
Danny Pearl’s Favorite (A)
This tune is “The Red Haired Boy,” a translation of the Irish title “Giolla Rua” – which is Anglicize as “Gilderoy” – and is said to refer to King James V.  It is called “An Maidrin Ruadh” (The Little Red Fox) in Bunting’s A Collection of the Ancient Music of Ireland (1840). There is also […]
Drunken Landlady (Edor)
This reel, “Drunken Landlady” and called “Bean an TĂ ar Meisce” in Irish, is clearly a version of “Pigeon on the Gate.”  The Bothy Band recorded this tune (in Ador) on their vinyl album Out of the Wind, Into the Sun (1976). The piper, singer, and folk-song collector Seamus Ennis (5 May 1919-5 October 1982) […]
John Brennan’s (D)
Historically the reel “John Brennan’s” was called by four names: “Silver Spire,” “The Great Eastern Reel,” “John Brennan’s (Reel),” and the ever-popular “Untitled” or Gan Ainm.  The tune was recorded (and paired with “Farrell O’Gara’s”) in 1931 by the fiddle-duet Paddy Killoran and Paddy Sweeney, both from County Sligo and both then-recent Ă©migrĂ©s to New York City. It was […]
The Abbey Reel (Ador)
Our tune here, the “Abbey Reel,” also called “RĂl na Mainistreach” in Irish, is a single reel. It is the second tune on the first track of Liz Carroll’s album Liz Carroll (1988), and the second in a set by De Danann on Colm Murphy’s CD An Bodhrán (2004).  It does have a number of names and associated variations, some […]