Category Archives: Reel
 Drowsy Maggie (Edor)
“Drowsy Maggie” is a very popular reel at sessions all over the world. Itâs #1425 in OâNeillâs 1850 â i.e., O’Neill’s Music of Ireland (1903) â and so probably dates back to the mid-nineteenth century. However, thereâs not much clear information about the tuneâs origin or subsequent history. It should not be confused with a set […]
Chicago Reel (Ador)
The “Chicago Reel” is tune #797 in OâNeillâs Dance Music of Ireland (1907), often just called âOâNeillâs 1001â since it has 1001 tunes in it. As it does not appear in OâNeillâs Music of Ireland (1903) â which is called âOâNeillâs 1850â since it has 1850 tunes in it â we can guess that between […]
Congress Reel (Ador)
The previously unrecorded concertina player Gerard Commane (1917-2005) and often recorded Inagh fiddler Joe Ryan (1928-2008) â Co. Clare musicians who first met at harvest time in 1941 â recorded some tunes in 1999 at Gerdieâs house, and released a CD entitled Two Gentlemen from Clare (Ennis: ClachĂĄn Music, 1999 and 2002). The release was held […]
The Wise Maid (D)
The reel known as “The Wise Maid” seems to date only from the 1970s, but is now in the top twenty most widely-known Irish reels in the world. The well-known whistle player Larry McCullough, in his The Complete Irish Tinwhistle Tutor (1987), attributes the tune to the Ardara, Co. Donegal, fiddler John Doherty (1900-1980), as does accordionist […]
Father Kellyâs (G)
“Father Kellyâs Reel” in G is yet another tune that is played in sessions around the globe. Father P. J. Kelly (1926 – March 25, 2006) named this tune âThe Rossmore Jettyâ after the pier on the river Shannon near his hometown of Woodford in East Galway. This tune is also called âFather Kellyâs #1.â […]
The Banshee (G)
The reel entitled “The Banshee” is a session favorite pretty much everywhere. It was composed by James McMahon (b. â1900 – Dec. 1980 RIP), a flute player originally from South Fermanagh, in Northern Ireland.  He married Rose Tally, eventually moved to Belfast, and became an influential flute player there in the 1960’s.  He composed several other […]
Maid Behind the Bar (D)
The reel “Maid Behind the Bar,” has a slightly different A part in OâNeillâs, Music of Ireland (1903) â a book commonly called âOâNeillâs 1850â because it has just over 1,850 tunes in it.  In that collection this tune (or a member of this tune family) is entitled âThe Green Mountainâ (pg. 227, #1205).  So, […]
Mountain Road (D)
“The Mountain Road” is a reel composed by Michael Gorman (1895-1970), an Irish fiddler from County Sligo.  When he was young, his foster parents sent him for fiddle lessons to James Gannon (who taught Michael Coleman). Willie Clancy used to tell a story about a nine year old Gorman: âGannon wrote out the tunes in his […]
The Bonnie Isle Oâ Whalsay (A)
The reel “The Bonnie Isle Oâ Whalsay” has sundry variations. This is (arguably) a Shetland reel, as Whalsay is a small island in the Shetlands.  Of course, a tune and its name can have very different origins, so tune names alone are a poor basis for determining tune ontogeny.  However, this tune does also have a certain Shetlandishness about it, […]