Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1566 (Trip to Birmingham)
| 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 MM 1 (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Trip to Birmingham / An Turas go Birmingham / McDermot's / Josie McDermott's / McDermott's / McDermot's / The Pile of Bricks / Peg McGrath / Dinny O'Brien's / The Cornerhouse / The Priest's Leap (compare Teresa Halpin's #4083 and more distantly Corner House #396) (composed by Josie McDermott)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1974 | 12#1 | [KCB 3] [The Kilfenora Ceili Band]. [The Kilfenora Céilí Band]. |
| ~1976 | 7#1 | [MM 1] Matt Molloy accompanied by Dónal Lunny. Matt Molloy. Matt Molloy (flute). |
| ~2002 | 2.6#1 | [MSCB] Michael Sexton Ceili Band. Michael Sexton Ceili Band. Michael Sexton (accordion), Caroline Tubridy (fiddle), Pat Curtin (flute), Brian Morgan (flute), Ralph Morgan (banjo), George Byrt (piano), Martin Garrihy (drums). |
| ~2003 | 1#1 | [KitRec] Seán O'Driscoll and Larry Egan. The Kitchen Recordings. Seán O'Driscoll (banjo, bouzouki), Larry Egan (accordion). |
| ~2006 | 5#1 | [JasCt] James Carty. Upon My Soul. James Carty (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 #9 in volume 2 of [B&S] D[avid] Bulmer and N[eil] Sharpley. Music from Ireland. 4 vols. |
| As tune #26 in volume 2 of [LPTW] Eithne Vallely. Learn to Play the Tin Whistle. |
| As tune #315 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| As tune #41 in [DM 3] Dave Mallinson. 100 Evergreen Irish Session Tunes. |
| As reel #272 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
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): 1974