Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1471 (Old Woman of the House)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 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 AL (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Old Woman of the House, The / The Woman of the House / Lady of the House / Máistreás an Tí / The Mistress of the House / Pádraig O'Keeffe's 'Woman of the House' / O'Keeffe's 'Woman of the House' / Old Maids of Sligo / Old Leitrim / The Cows Are A-Milking / Walsh's (compare #2082)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1951 | 21#1 | [AL] various. World Library of Folk and Primitive Music: Ireland. |
| 1988 | 8#3 | [GFA] The Green Fields of America. Live in Concert. Mick Moloney (banjo, mandolin, guitar, tres, vocals), Robbie O'Connell (guitar, vocals), Jimmy Keane (piano accordion, synthesizers, vocals), Eileen Ivers (fiddle), Seamus Egan (pipes, flute, whistle, bodhrán, tres). |
| 1993 | 5#4 | [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). |
| ~1993 | 15#3 | [MB 2] Mary Bergin. Feadóga Stáin 2. Mary Bergin (whistle). |
| ~1993 | 2.2#4 | [GL20] various. Green Linnet Records. The Twentieth Anniversary Collection. |
| ~1994 | 15#1 | [CmA 1] various. The Coleman Archive Vol. 1: The Living Tradition. |
| 1995 | 13#2 | [JOL 3] Johnny O'Leary. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. Johnny O'Leary (accordion). |
| 1996 | 6#3 | [TF] Martin Dowling, Christine Dowling, Daithi Sproule. A Thousand Farewells. Martin Dowling (fiddle), Christine Dowling (flute, vocals), Daithi Sproule (guitar). |
| 1998 | 17#2 | [Chlr] Chulrua. Barefoot on the Altar. Paddy O'Brien (accordion), Tim Britton (pipes, flute, whistle), Pat Egan (guitar, vocals). |
| ~2002 | 9#1 | [Fns] Feenish. Rabharta. P.J. Hernon (accordion), Marcus Hernon (flute, whistle), Don Stiffe (vocals, guitar, whistle). |
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 #1300 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #565 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #71 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1. |
| As tune #210 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
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