Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 1279 (Michael Kennedy's Reel)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Reel16ABA Dorian
Transcription of first 2 bars of Michael Kennedy's Reel
 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 KB UC (details in the Discography below).

Where do you get the tune titles?
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Michael Kennedy's Reel / Michael Kennedy's (2nd in set The Walrus on Lu 5) (also in D)
What do the "track#tune" codes mean?

cd 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. They are listed in order of when they were recorded.

Year
Recorded
Track
#Tune
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). Album details
and contents
~19845#3[KB UC] Kevin Burke. Up Close. Kevin Burke (fiddle).View album details
~20001#2[LC 3] Liz Carroll. Lost in the Loop. Liz Carroll (fiddle).View album details
20015#3[PHCB] Public House Ceili Band. Go Figure. Dan Cobb (banjo), Dave Delgado (whistle), Alan Ng (fiddle), Bob Newton (octave mandolin).View album details
20039#2[Lu 5] Lúnasa. The Kinnitty Sessions. Kevin Crawford (flute, whistle, bodhran), Donogh Hennessy (guitar), Trevor Hutchinson (double bass), Sean Smyth (fiddle, whistle), Cillian Vallely (pipes, whistle).View album details

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.

In [L] Alan's private loose music.
On page 43 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition.
On page 70 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition.
As reel #215 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]

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): 1984