The Ships in Full Sail

Finbar Dwyer's Favorite

Box of Springs

A new tune I wrote today.

Mac's Fancy

Willie Coleman's

Thanks to my back-up singer!

The Sheep in the Boat

P.J. Crotty, Carol Cullinan & James Cullinan recorded this on their album, Happy to Meet. I expected it to be the same tune as A Goat in the Boat, but they're not even very similar. I think I'll play them in a set together.

A Goat in a Boat

I learned this tune from a concert by Louisa Bennion (concertina) and Loïc Bléjean (uilleann pipes) last week. It's fun to learn tunes from non-string players and pick out their variations, ornamentation, and phrasing! 

Andy de Jarlis, Ingonish, Mrs. McGhee

Here's a set of jigs I've probably listened to a million times on the Altan album. I recorded the entire set, not able to stop after the first jig. Love these tunes. The first is attributed to Andy de Jarlis, but it could also be traditional. Sorry about the dark screen. My camera was being moody today.

The Frieze Britches

Here's a long jig I learned off of Ronan Browne and Peter O'Loughin's album The South West Wind. They play a version with 6 parts, although there seems to be many different version floating around with 4, 5, or 7 parts as well.

Tatter Jack Walsh

Here's a great jig I heard the first time eons ago listening to Ashley MacIsaac's crazy fiddle/rock recording. I listened and learned a version from Liz and Yvonne Kane.

Winnie Hayes'

Here's a really simple jig in E dorian. I learned this particular version from a youtube video of Donal Lunny playing with Mary Custy.

Kitty's Rambles

Here's a jig I learned off of a Bobby Casey album. I've tuned my fiddle to Bobby's tuning, down a half-step.

Pat and Al's

I've been posting less frequently because I'm in the middle of preparing my master's thesis, and it's going to get worse before it gets better, so as per usual, in a stressful time I've learned a Liz Carroll tune. Here's a jig from her Lost in the Loop album.

Paddy Fahey's

Galway fiddler and composer Paddy Fahey doesn't name his tunes, so there are several dozen tunes floating around the world now, all dubbed Paddy Fahey's. Here's one of them, a jig I learned of Yvonne and Liz Kane's album Side by Side.

3 Deer and a Hare

I ordered Liz and Yvonne Kane's album Side by Side recently, and it arrived in the mail yesterday. So today I learned one of Liz's compositions from this album.

Rambling Pitchfork

Today I returned to an old favorite source of tunes - Caoimhìn Ò Raghallaigh and Mick O'Brien's album, Kitty Lie Over.  I've tuned my fiddle down to their tuning - down a major third from standard.

The Orphan

Today I learned a jig from Kevin Burke's album, "Up Close."  I love Kevin Burke's emotive, sweet playing and his wonderful lilt.  This is a slow jig and pretty simple to learn.

Sean Ryan's

Today a jig in A dorian!

Johnny McGreevy's (By Golly)

According to my sleuthing (mostly on thesession.org) this tune was recorded by Johnny McGreevy, who I guess says, "By Golly!" a lot, hence its other name.  He likely learned it from Jimmy Neary, a Chicago-fiddler who maybe wrote it (?) and brought it back to Ireland.

Seamus Cooley's

Here's a jig in G.  I learned it from Martin Hayes' album Under the Moon.  It also goes by "Cooley's Jig," "Bohola," and "Joe Cooley's Delight" and is often played in D instead of G.  (Just move the whole thing over a string.)