Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1450 (O'Keefe's Polka)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polka | 32 | AABB | B Dorian |
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 JOL 1 (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
O'Keefe's Polka / O'Keeffe's Polka / The Cobbler / Din Tarrant's / High Point Polka (1st in set Din Tarrant's on JOL 1; 1st in set Polkas on Dnu 1) (also in A)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 8#1 | [JOL 1] Johnny O'Leary. Music for the Set. Traditional Irish Music from Sliabh Luachra. Johnny O'Leary (accordion). |
| ~1980 | 6#2 | [DD 3] Dé Danann. Mist Covered Mountain. Frankie Gavin (fiddle, viola, whistle), Jackie Daly (accordion), Charlie Piggott (banjo, mandolin, steel guitar), Alec Finn (bouzouki, mandocello, steel guitar), Johnny 'Ringo' McDonagh (bodhrán, bones). |
| 1993 | 7#1 | [CTL 4] Cherish the Ladies. Out and About. Joanie Madden (flute, whistle, vocals), Mary Coogan (guitar, banjo, bouzouki), Maureen Doherty Macken (accordion, whistle), Winifred Horan (fiddle), Siobhan Egan (fiddle, bodhrán), Cathie Ryan (vocals). |
| 1995 | 5#2 | [JOL 3] Johnny O'Leary. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. Johnny O'Leary (accordion). |
| ~1995 | 13#1 | [Dnu 1] Danú. Danú. Daire Bracken (fiddle), Brendan McCarthy (accordion), Donnchadh Gough (pipes, bodhrán), Tom Doorley (flute), Eamonn Doorley (bouzouki, fiddle), Timmy Murray (guitar), Cárthach Mac Craith (vocals). |
| 1998 | 6#3 | [Chlr] Chulrua. Barefoot on the Altar. Paddy O'Brien (accordion), Tim Britton (pipes, flute, whistle), Pat Egan (guitar, vocals). |
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 #80 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| On page 128 of [RM] Randy Miller and Jack Perron. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. |
| As tune #18 in [IBPS] Pat Conway. Ireland's Best Polkas and Slides. |
| On page 236 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
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): 1977