Fort of the Jewels
Readers of the Silver
Apple News are already familiar with South Leitrim native
Brian McNamara, whose tasteful piping was heard on both
Leitrim's
Hidden Treasure
and his first solo project, A
Piper's Dream. For
his latest, Fort of the Jewels he is joined on a
couple of tracks by piper Benedict Koehler and on others by
harpist Grainne Hambley. His playing reaches new heights of
technique and expression, assuring his place as one of
Ireland's premier Uilleann Pipers.. Tune
listing. Notation
many as an ABC
file Sound
Clip Arra Mountains
(Paddy
O'Brien),
Slip Jig Connaught Heifers
- trad reel key D Do It
Fair Gladstone Bill -
Am /C reel Reel (played down a tone - C
pipes) Handsome Young
Maidens - key A jig by Charlie Lennon , from
Musical
Memories
book Humours of
Tullycrine - Am Hornpipe Paddy Fahey's Jig
- key D (played down a tone - C pipes) Thomas Reilly
Clerk of Fore - Am Single Jig abc
archive
containing the following tunes
Captain Locker | Gladstone
Bill | Paddy from Portlaw | Handsome Young Maidens | Top the
Candle | Do it Fair | Paddy Fahey's The selection of the
first two jigs here was motivated by their strong
Leitrim connections. I first learned Paddy from
Portlaw after hearing it from fellow Leitrim musician
Brian Rooney on his wonderful recording 'The
Godfather'. A transcription of the tune may be found
in Francis O'Neill's 1001 & 1850
collections. Maintaining the
Leitrim theme in this selection, this second tune
Handsome Young Maidens is a contemporary composition
of the renowned composer and musician Charlie Lennon
from Rossinver. My acquaintance with the music of the
Lennon family extends back to my formative musical
years when my brother Ray and I would often accompany
our father, Michael on expeditions to Kiltyclogher and
Rossinver to meet up with the Lennon family. I have
always been captivated by the charm of this tune
written in A-major and intrigued by the challenge it
offers. I learned to play it many years back with my
brothers and sister. It appears in Charlie's
publication, 'Musical Memories' Vol.1, 1993,
Worldmusic Pub. Originally written as part of
Charlie's 'Island Wedding' production, this tune
refers to the bridesmaids on a wedding day. I have heard
versions of this final tune I love you not and I care
not on a number of recordings including 'The Humours
of Lisheen' by John and Julia Clifford on the Topic
label in 1977, Fisherstreet's 'Out in the Night'(1991)
and more recently by Maeve Donnelly and Peter
O'Loughlin on Maeve's solo recording in 2002. I fell
in love with the beauty of this tune when I heard it
played by Maeve and Peter. A tune known by many
titles, it can be found in O'Neill's 'Waifs and
Strays' collection under the title 'I found my love in
the morning', and in Kerr's Melodies as 'I lost my
love'. A variant also appears in the Goodman
collection as 'The Humours of Tralee'. Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'D'), Gráinne
(Harp). 2. Hop Jigs: Top
the Candle / Do it Fair I learned these Hop
jigs from the playing of the late Pat and Frank Reilly
of Drumreilly, a neighbouring parish to my home parish
of Aughavas. The extended Reilly family were noted
fiddle players in the region and the custodians of a
great local repertoire. Pat, a fiddle player like his
bothers Michael and Hughie were sons of Terry and
cousins of Frank. Terry and his neighbour Alex
Sutherland became local fiddle masters having learned
from Peter Kennedy, another fiddle master in the
adjoining parish of Ballinamore. When listening to a
1963 reel-to-reel recording made by my father in the
Reilly's home I stumbled on these fascinating tunes.
The first of them is transcribed in O'Neill's 1001 and
1850 publications, where it is attributed to James
Kennedy. James was a son of Peter Kennedy and along
with his sister Ellen emigrated to the USA bringing
much of their father's repertoire with them to
Chicago. O'Neill's publications thus feature many
references to the Kennedys. The second tune Do
it Fair is introduced on the reel-to-reel recording by
Frank Reilly as "another one of Kennedy's". To date I
have not been able to find a transcription of this
tune in any of the major publications though it
appears in the local Sutherland manuscript and in the
personal collections of the Reilly family. Two tunes
in Canon James Goodman's collection bear some
resemblance, i.e. 'The Surround' where the second part
is strikingly similar, and the imaginatively named
tune 'The rogue is mad to be at her'. Other tunes
which would appear to be in the same 'family' include
'Hunting the Hare', in O'Neill's 1001 and 1850
publications which is the same tune as 'The
Whigsborough Hunt' in Levey's collection. A
Northumbrian tune entitled 'Little Fishie' also has a
very similar second part. Whatever the origin of the
version featured here, it certainly is a splendid
melody! Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'D'), Gráinne
(Harp). 3. Reels:
Captain Locker / Gladstone's Bill This first tune,
Captain Locker, is another of the tunes learned from
the playing of the Reilly family of Drumreilly. The
only known transcription of this tune appears to be in
the unpublished Grier Manuscript. Pat Reilly played
this tune in the Key of C and an attempt has been made
here to retain the 'mood' of the tune by playing it on
the 'flat' pipes pitched in the Key of C. Gladstone's Bill was
also taken in part from the above mentioned Grier
collection where it appears as a two part tune.
Another two-part version of this tune was found in the
unpublished and now seemingly lost manuscript of Larry
Smyth (Abbeylaragh, Co. Longford), which had a common
first part to that featured in Grier's manuscript but
with an alternative second part. Larry had inherited
the collection from his father Seán. The
rendition on this recording attempts to preserve both
versions by conflating the versions into a three part
version. The Grier version can also be found in the
local Sutherland collection. Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'C'). 4 Air:
Dún na Séad (Fort of the
Jewels) Dún na
Séad (Fort of the Jewels) is an air I learned
from the singing of Nollaig Casey who had in turn
learned it from her father Seán Ó
Cathasaigh. Nollaig recorded the song on 'Causeway' in
1995 with Arty McGlynn. Also know as 'Cois
abhainn na Séad' or 'By the River of Gems',
Dún na Séad is the original Irish name
for the beautiful village of Baltimore in West Cork.
Once the principal stronghold of the O'Driscolls, the
Lords of Corca Laighe, the song describes the beauty
of Dún na Séad and remembers with sorrow
a past love. A version of this air was also collected
and recorded by Séamus Ennis and it is regarded
as one of the great airs in the tradition. Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'C'). 5. Reels: Patsy
Touhey's Favourite / Fr. O'Grady's Visit to Bocca
(Josie McDermott) Collected by
O'Neill, this first tune is accredited to the
celebrated piper Patsy Touhey (1865-1923). It has been
printed in three of O'Neill's publications; 'Music of
Ireland 1850 Melodies', 'Dance Music of Ireland - 1001
tunes' and 'Waifs and Strays of Gaelic Melody'.
According to O'Neill, this later version was special
having been taken from Touhey's personal
transcription. Born in County Galway though reared in
the USA from a very early age, Touhey became one the
greatest exponents of his chosen instrument and one of
the most successful Irish-American musicians of his
generation. His career coincided with the birth of the
recording era which enabled him to leave behind a
number of recordings of his music. The second reel is a
composition of Josie McDermott. Josie was a flute
player, composer and singer from the Ballyfarnon area
of County Sligo. The title recalls the occasion of a
visit by a missionary priest to his home townland of
Bocca, near Ballydreen, Co. Roscommon during which he
presented Josie with a flute to compose this tune for
him. Josie subsequently included the tune on his
recording 'Darby's Farewell' first issued in 1977.
Josie's compositions very much 'fit' the musical style
of my home area and this is no exception. I was very
fortunate to have had a number of opportunities to
share time and music with Josie before his death in
1992. He was a wonderful man and musician and his
compositions bear testimony to this fact. A
transcription of this tune can be found in the
Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
publication Treoir, 1992. It is noted that a
transcription of the tune under the title 'Tuesday
Morning' has also been found in 'Music of Ireland',
Ed. David J. Taylor; Dave Mallinson Publications,
1997. Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'D'). 6. Single
Jigs: Hug the Bundle / Maloney's / Thomas Reilly Clerk
of Fore The first two jigs
here were associated with the Co. Westmeath piper Joe
Kilmurray who lived in Ballallen, Ballinacarrigy. I am
grateful to Fr. John Quinn for notating these gems and
ensuring their survival. Though Kilmurray was a noted
piper, the first tune Hug the Bundle was transcribed
from a recording of his whistle playing made in his
home in 1966 when he was too old to play the pipes. No
other reference has as yet been found for this tune in
the published collections. The second tune,
Maloney's, was notated from the lilting of Joe's
brother Jim, a man who never played a musical
instrument. The tune was recorded in the home of
Pierce Butler at Abbeyshaule, Co. Westmeath in
November 1973. This tune was also included by Stephen
Grier in his 1883 collection under the same
title. Thomas Reilly Clerk
of Fore was also taken from the Grier manuscript. It
appears to be associated with at least one song or
maybe even two. According to research communications
belonging to Fr. Quinn, a song was composed to
commemorate the hanging of a Hugh Reilly, Clerk of
Fore for alleged sheep stealing in 1814. In 1862 three
men, Mumford, Gilligan and Ford were hanged at
Glaxtown (County Westmeath), about four miles from
Fore for alleged membership of a secret society.
Subsequently in 1882 the 'Barbaville Murder'
(barbaville is a few miles from Fore) appears to have
provoked the composition of another song incorporating
all three events. One verse is as follows: Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'D'), Gráinne
(Harp). These are two tunes
I learned from the playing of my great friend and duet
partner here Benedict Koehler. I fell in love with
these tunes when I first heard Benedict and his wife,
harper and accordion player, Hilari Farrington, play
this selection in North Hero, Vermont at 'The Piper's
Gathering' in 2002. They associate these lovely tunes
with concertina player and piper Gearoid O'
hAllmhurain, and Parisian born fiddler Patrick
Ourceau. Gearoid informs me that the tune has all the
characteristics of single-row concertina tune &endash;
played totally on the C row of the old style German
made concertina and that he acquired it indirectly
from Mrs. Crotty having learned it from Dublin fiddler
Mary McElvaney. Brian & Benedict
(Uilleann Pipes pitched in 'D'), Gráinne
(Harp). 8. Air / Reel: A
Stór mo Chroí / Biddy from
Muckross This version of A
stór mo Chroí (Darling of my Heart) was
learned from the singing of Mairéad and Nollaig
Casey of Bandon, West Cork. They learned their West
Cork version from their mother Úna ,who hails
from Allihies, who in turned learned it from her
mother. It is a song of emigration with the words of
the song having been written by Brian O'Higgins of
Kilscyre, Co. Meath (1882 -1949). Brian, a brother of
the late fiddler Frank O'Higgins wrote much poetry and
song and was known better by his pseudonym 'Brian na
Banban' (Banban being a poetic name for Ireland). The
words of the song were initially published in 'Voice
of Banba'. O'Higgins suggested that the words be sung
to the air of 'Bruach na Carraige Báine'. This
air would thus appear to be one of the many versions
of Bruach na Carraige Báine. The 1922
publication by An tAthair Pádraig Breathnach ,
'Songs of the Irish Gael 1' includes a setting
attributed to Annie O'Reilly, who is described as
Professor of Irish Traditional Singing at Ballingeary
Irish College, Co. Cork. Numerous version of the air
have been featured in the collections of Petrie,
O'Neill and Roche. I learned the reel
Biddy from Muckross from the recording of Mike
Rafferty and his daughter Mary, 'The Road to
Ballinakill', 2001. Mike has been a dear friend and
musical hero to me ever since my first visit to
Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey in 1989 when on a tour
of North America with Comhaltas
Ceoltóirí Éireann I was so
fortunate to be hosted by Mike and his wife Teresa.
The tune itself is associated with the Kilcar region
of Donegal and the Biddy in question was a musical
lady and lilter from the headland of Muckross near
Kilcar. Her performances included lilting at dances in
the area when no fiddlers were available. There are a
number of intriguing stories of how Biddy acquired the
tune featured here including a version described in
Caoimhín MacAoidh's publication 'Between the
Jigs and the Reels'. Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'C'). Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'D'). 10. Jigs:
Paddy Fahey's (Paddy Fahey) / The King of
the Pipers As we know, Paddy
Fahey has never named any of his wonderful
compositions, however his tunes are easily
identifiable and have a trade mark style all of their
own. Though suited predominantly to the fiddle some of
his compositions work very well on the pipes. This is
one I have enjoyed playing for years since first
hearing it on the 'The Cliffs of Mohir' recording
featuring Sean and Kathleen Ryan with Pat
Lyons. The second jig is
one of a number of versions of the tune The King of
the Pipers and this four-part version would appear to
be associated with Donegal noting its transcription in
the 'Northern Fiddler' attributed to the playing of
Francie and Mickie Byrne where it is also known as
'The Kilrone jig'. Though there have been a number of
recordings of different versions of this tune, my
interest in the melody was reawakened on hearing it
played by Peter and Angelina Carberry on their
beautiful 2001recording 'Memories from the
Holla'. Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'C'). 11. Reels: The
Spike Island Lasses / Dr. Taylor's Favourite / The
Green Garters One of the great
tunes in the piping repertoire, this first tune would
seem like so may others to have started out life as a
two-part tune and mutated into this now more commonly
known four-part version. The two part version is
associated with concertina playing and Mrs. Crotty in
particular. The tune appears in O'Neill's 'Waifs and
Strays of Gaelic Melody' as 'Reidy's Reel', named
after a North Kerry fiddler from whom Patrick Stack
learned it and passed it on to O'Neill. Brendán
Breathnach also featured the tune in his publication
'Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1'. I remember learning
this second tune Dr. Taylor's Favourite from Peter
Maguire who always felt that it embodied the character
of Leitrim music and suited the South Leitrim style of
playing. O'Neill includes it in his 1001 and 1850
collections as Dr. Taylor's favourite where he
identifies his source as John McFadden. Mc Fadden was
a Mayo born fiddler who was noted for his duet playing
with Aughavas pipers' James 'Old Man' Quinn and
Sergeant James Early in the second half of the 19th
century in Chicago. It can also be found under the
alternative title 'The Bloom of Youth' in both of
O'Neill's 1001 and 1850 collections attributed to
Robert Lawson. This is the piper Lawson whom O'Neill
in his 'Irish Minstrels and Musicians' publication
describes as having inherited a beautiful set of Egan
pipes from Aughavas born piper, Sergeant James Early
which had originally belonged to Kerry man 'Dan'
O'Keeffe (1821-1899) only to have them stolen from him
in a New York 'Bowery' bar-room after he had been fed
some "knock-out drops"! It is under this alternative
title that Leitrim flute player John McKenna recorded
it in 1934 on the Decca label. Paddy Kiloran recorded
it under the title 'Tansey's Favourite' and this is
one of the names by which it is featured in
Breathnach's 'Ceol Rince na hÉireann 3'.
Alternative titles include 'The Downshire Reel' in
Seamus Gordon's (1826-96) collection in Trinity
College Dublin and 'Gardiner's Favourite' in Pat
McNulty's collection 'The Dance music of Ireland',
1975. It would however appear to have an even older
name and to have a Scottish origin considering its
inclusion in Aloys Felischmann's collection 'Sources
of Irish Traditional Music c.1600-1855' under the
titles 'Countess of Sutherland Reel' and 'Glasgow
Ladies Reel'. The third and final
tune in this selection was sourced by O'Neill from
James Kennedy, son of Leitrim fiddle master Peter
Kennedy of Ballinamore. It can be found in his 1001and
1850 collections. According to Breathnach in his 'Ceol
Rince na hÉireann 1' publication, 'The
Blacksmith's Daughter' is a version of The Green
Garters. An alternative version in the key of G is to
be found in a number of collections including the
Grier manuscript. Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'D'). 12. Slip Jigs:
Hardiman the Fiddler / The Arra Mountains (Paddy
O'Brien)/ Redican's Mother As
invited guest tutors to the 2003 U.S. West Coast
Piper's tionol in San Francisco, Benedict and I were
asked to play together in the Saturday night concert
and set about identifying tunes in common. These three
formed part of our selection that night and I liked
them so much that I decided that we should feature
them on this recording. Hardiman the Fiddler as it has
become known can be found in 'The Dance Music of
Willie Clancy' and in O'Neill's 1001 and 1850
collections where it is entitled 'Hardy Man the
fiddler'. The Arra Mountians
is a composition of the late Paddy O'Brien
(1922-1991), Newtown, Co. Tipperary and featured on
his recording 'The Banks of the Shannon' (1973) with
Seamus Connolly and Charlie Lennon. The mountains are
on the Eastern shore of Lough Derg, Co. Tipperary. I
was attracted to the tune on hearing it played by
Gráinne Hambly on her 2003 recording 'Golden
Lights and Green Shadows'. It thus seemed appropriate
that Gráinne should join us on this
track. The final tune was
proposed by Benedict and we associate it with the
playing of Jack and Fr. Charlie Coen, natives of
Woodford, Co. Galway who have lived most of their
lives in New York. In the sleeve notes of their
recording 'The Branch Line' (1977) they noted that
this tune came from Larry Redican who originally
learned it from his mother, hence the title. The first
part of the 'Barony Jig' in the Roche collection has
much in common with this tune. Brian & Benedict
(Uilleann Pipes pitched in 'D'), Gráinne
(Harp). 13. Reels:
Hobble the Boutches / Sandy over the
Lea Yet another tune
learned from the Reilly clan, Hobble the Boutches
could almost be regarded as Pat's signature tune,
considering the regularity with which he played it on
visits to our home in Aughavas or in his own home in
Drumreilly. Like 'Captain Locker' it was played in the
Key of C and is thus played on the 'flat' pipes here.
A transcription may be found in Ryan's Mammoth
collection. The second tune was
learned from the unpublished manuscript
[1844-1846] of Thomas 'Blind' Kiernan from
Drumlish, Co. Longford. Kiernan was a fiddle master
and reputedly the teacher of the aforementioned Peter
Kennedy of Ballinamore who in turn instructed the
Reilly families in fiddle playing. A transcription of
the tune featured here is to be found in Aloys
Felischmann's collection. Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'C'). 14. Air:
Táimse im'chodladh This is a patriotic
or political piece composed in eighteenth century
Munster, of the Aisling or 'vision' tradition, in
which a beautiful lady (personifying Ireland) appears
to the poet in a vision, to encourage resistance and
hold out hope of victory against the invading forces.
Numerous versions of the melody exist including three
different transcriptions in the Petrie-Stanford
collection, and another in the Bunting collection. The
version played here may be found in 'Ceol ár
Sínsear' published in 1913. The songs in this
collection were in the main collected from singers in
Cork and featured Munster versions of the words and
airs. No author is given for Táimse im'
Chodladh (I am asleep). It is also included in the
more contemporary publication 'Cuisle an Cheoil'
published by the Department of Education in Ireland.
The Roche collection,Vol.1 also features this version
of the melody. This is also another of the great airs
associated with the Uilleann pipes. Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'D'). I actually learned
the first tune, Ormond Sound, from Benedict at a
session in New Hampshire in 2001 after I played a
concert hosted by our mutual friends Mary and Charlie
of OssianUSA. It is another composition of the great
composer Paddy O'Brien, Newtown, Co. Tipperary and can
be found in the 1992 publication 'The compositions of
Paddy O'Brien'. A transcription of
the second reel can be found in Brendán
Beathnach's 'Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1',and also
in 'The Dance music of Willie Clancy' (Ed. Pat
Mitchell). A version also appears in the
Petrie-Stanford publication under the title 'The
Silver Mines'. Brian & Benedict
(Uilleann Pipes pitched in 'D') 16. Hornpipes:
Kilcooley Wood (Sean Ryan) / The not so Bashful
Bachelor The compositions of
the late Seán Ryan, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary (died
1985) have always been amongst my favourite tunes and
this first hornpipe is one of his gems. Seán
was a tremendous fiddle player as well as a wonderful
composer and recorded with his wife Kathleen and their
friend the late Pat Lyons a recording entitled 'The
Cliffs of Mohir' on the Outlet label. Kilcooley Wood
refers to a wood-land close to Seán's native
homestead. I learned this tune from Seán's son
Brian, a flute player and pianist. I finish with
another tune from the collection of Stephen Grier.
Grier who lived much of his life in Gortletteragh
where he compiled his noteworthy collection of almost
1000 tunes dated 1883 was a piper and an integral part
of the rich and vibrant piping tradition of South
Leitrim during the 19th century. Over twenty of the
tunes featured in his collection have been recorded on
the1998 family recording Leitrim's Hidden Treasure and
another seven on the 2000 solo recording A Piper's
Dream which also featured a detailed description of
the piping tradition in the area. The first part of
this tune which is played here in the key of D
corresponds with The Wily Old Bachelor as transcribed
in O'Neill's 1001 collection and as The Bashful
Bachelor in Breathnach's (Ceol Rince na
hÉireann 3). In both these publications the
tune is transcribed in the key of G. The second part
however would appear to have been married off to a
different bachelor as it is completely different to
that transcribed by O'Neill and Breathnach! Brian (Uilleann
Pipes pitched in 'D'), Gráinne
(Harp). Other
Recordings |
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Notation and abc samples
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Although they suffered sore,
Like Murphy, Ford and Gilligan,
And Reilly, Clerk of Fore".7.
Hornpipes: Mrs. Crotty's / The Humours of
Tullycrine
9. Piece:
The Humours of Glynn
15. Reels:
Ormond Sound (Paddy O'Brien) / The Connaught
Heifers
