Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1274 (Merry Old Woman)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double jig | 32 | AABB | G Major |
about these two bars
These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording IDM 1 (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Merry Old Woman, The / Merry Old Woman / The Merry Old Woman Jig / The Mouse in the Cupboard / Repeal of the Union / The Walls of Enniscorthy / Ballaí Lios Chearbhaill / The Walls of Liscarroll / The Rakes of Newcastle West / Wollop the Potlid / Duignan's Odd Jig
Discography
Here are all recordings of this tune considering only the indexed recordings. I have discovered by careful listening that these sources are in fact musically the same tune, regardless of the tune titles they use, key changes, retuning, etc.
| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| 1932 | 17#2 | [IDM 1] various. Irish Dance Music. |
| 1951 | 1.20#2 | [MGm] Michael Gorman. The Sligo Champion. The Fiddle Music of County Sligo. Michael Gorman (fiddle, vocals). |
| ~1988 | 5#3 | [Boys 14] Boys of the Lough. Sweet Rural Shade. Aly Bain (fiddle), Cathall McConnell (flute, whistle, vocals), Dave Richardson (concertina, mandolin, cittern), Christy O'Leary (pipes, whistle, vocals), John Coakley (guitar, piano). |
| ~2002 | 1#2 | [Boh 3] Bohola. Bohola. Jimmy Keane (piano accordion), Sean Cleland (fiddle, viola, baritone fiddle), Pat Broaders (dordan, bouzouki, vocals). |
| ~2003 | 7#1 | [MMlvy] Mick Mulvey. Within a Mile o' Jamestown. Mick Mulvey (flute). |
Bibliography
Here are all transcriptions of this tune under any title whatsoever – considering only the indexed books – listed in chronological order. I have discovered by careful comparison that these are very similar to this tune as played on the recordings listed above.
| As tune #799 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #800 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #72 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #80 in volume 1 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| As tune #81 in volume 1 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| As tune #8 in [A] Hugh McDermott. Allan's "Irish Fiddler." |
| As tune #10 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1. |
| On page 24 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| As tune #10 in [Cr] Matt Cranitch. The Irish Fiddle Book. |
If you are considering using the above transcriptions to help you learn this tune, I invite you to check these practical Tips for Learning Irish Traditional Music. See also: So why do you bother indexing books and abc?
Year of the oldest source for this tune, considering the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1903