Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1677 (Tear the Calico)
about these two barsThese two bars were transcribed by me from how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording BB 3 (details in the Discography below).
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 24 | ABC | D Major |
Tear the Calico / Rip the Calico / Stróic an Ceaileacó / Strac an Eadaig / Strac an Cadas/ The Fair Wind / A Fair Wind / Fair Wind / The Blue Meadow / Burren Reel / The West Clare Reel / West Clare Reel / Tommy Glenny's Reel / Eddie Moloney's (3rd in set Kilfenora Reels on KCB 3; 2nd in set West Clare Reels on Chlr; mislabeled as I Have No Money on CTL 3; as untitled Reel on Dnu 1; 3rd in set Out on the Road on Drv 5; 2nd in set The Fair Wind on LzKnls 2) (also in G, also with parts doubled, also with 1st part last, also with 2nd part last, also without 1st part at all) (compare Tear the Calico #2106)
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.
Click 
to hear the first 12 seconds.
to hear the first 12 seconds.| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Performers (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1958 | 9#3 | [KCB 1] The Kilfenora Ceili Band. The Fabulous Kilfenora Ceili Band. P.J. Lynch (fiddle), Gus Tierney (fiddle), Jim McCormack (flute), Gerry Lynch (accordion), P. Mullins, T. Eustace, P. Madigan, Kitty Linnane (piano), G. O'Loughlin (drums). |
| 1974 | 6#3 | [CC] Bernard O'Sullivan and Tommy McMahon. Clare Concertinas. Bernard O'Sullivan (concertina), Tommy McMahon (concertina) except where solos noted. |
| 1974 | 10#1 | [RF] Miko, Pakie and Gussie Russell. The Russell Family of Doolin, County Clare. Miko Russell (whistle, flute, vocals), Gussie Russell (whistle), Pakie Russell (concertina). For this tune: Pakie (concertina), Miko (flute). |
| ~1974 | 1#3 | [KCB 3] [The Kilfenora Ceili Band]. [The Kilfenora Céilí Band]. |
| 1977 | 3#3 | [BB 3] The Bothy Band. Out of the Wind into the Sun. Paddy Keenan (pipes, whistle), Matt Molloy (flute, whistle), Kevin Burke (fiddle), Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (vocals, keyboards), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitar, bodhrán, synthesizer), Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (guitar). |
| 1977 | 10#3 | [BB 5] The Bothy Band. The Best of the Bothy Band. |
| 1978 | 16#3 | [BB 6] The Bothy Band. Live in Concert. Kevin Burke (fiddle), Matt Molloy (flute), Paddy Keenan (pipes, whistle), Peter Browne (pipes), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki), Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (vocals, clavinet), Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (vocals, guitar). |
| ~1978 | 3#2 | [LCTM] Liz Carroll & Tommy Maguire. Kiss Me Kate. Liz Carroll (fiddle), Tommy Maguire (accordion). |
| ~1978 | 9#2 | [SE 5] Seamus Ennis. The Fox Chase. Seamus Ennis (pipes). For this tune: (C# pipes). |
| ~1978 | 2.18#3 | [GL20] Green Linnet Records. The Twentieth Anniversary Collection. Bothy Band. |
| ~1992 | 12#3 | [CTL 3] Cherish the Ladies. The Back Door. Mary Coogan (guitar, banjo), Siobhan Egan (fiddle, bodhrán), Eileen Golden (feet), Winifred Horan (fiddle, feet), Maureen Doherty Macken [Mary Rafferty] (accordion, flute), Joanie Madden (flute, whistle), Cathie Ryan (vocals), Linnane Wick (feet). |
| ~1993 | 7#3 | [JKn 2] James Keane. That's the Spirit. James Keane (accordion). |
| ~1993 | 9#3 | [JMd 1] Joanie Madden. A Whistle on the Wind. Joanie Madden (flute, whistle). For this tune: (flute), with Joe Madden (accordion). |
| 1996 | 5#2 | [TCB 3] The Tulla Ceili Band. A Celebration of 50 Years. P. J. Hayes (fiddle), Martin Hayes (fiddle), Francis Donnellan (fiddle), Mark Donnellan (fiddle), J. J. Conway (flute), Jennifer Lenihan (flute), Sean Donnelly (accordion), Michael McKee (accordion), Jim Corry (piano), Michael Flanigan (drums). |
| 1996 | 8#2 | [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). |
| ~1996 | 1#2 | [ADB] Mighty Session! Donal Murphy (accordion), Matt Cranitch (fiddle). |
| ~1997 | 11#1 | [Shskn 10] Shaskeen. Music for Set Dancing and Listening. Tom Cussen (banjo, mandolin), Benny O'Connor (drums, bodhrán, bongos), Seán Conway (flute, whistle, guitar), Eamonn Cotter (flute), Mike Fahy (guitar), Charlie Harris (accordion), Geraldine Cotter (piano), Carl Hession (piano). |
| 1998 | 8#3 | [Chlr] Chulrua. Barefoot on the Altar. Paddy O'Brien (accordion), Tim Britton (pipes, flute, whistle), Pat Egan (guitar, vocals). |
| ~1999 | 13#3 | [Drv 5] Dervish. Midsummer's Night. Cathy Jordan (vocals, bodhrán, bones), Tom Morrow (fiddle, viola, vocals), Shane Mitchell (accordion), Liam Kelly (flute, whistle), Séamus O'Dowd (guitar, fiddle, harmonica, vocals), Michael Holmes (bouzouki), Brian McDonagh (mandola, mandolin, vocals). |
| ~2002 | 2.2#3 | [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). |
| ~2004 | 4#2 | [TTItself] Maeve Donnelly and Peadar O'Loughlin. The Thing Itself. Maeve Donnelly (fiddle), Peadar O'Loughlin (flute). |
| 2006 | 9#4 | [TCB 4] The Tulla Céilí Band. 60th Anniversary Celebration. Mark Donnellan (fiddle), Martin Hayes (fiddle), Jim Corry (piano), Sean Donnelly (accordion), Michael McKee (accordion), J.J. Conway (flute), Jennifer Lenihan (flute), Martin Glynn (flute), Mick Flanagan (drums). |
| ~2008 | 13#2 | [HiBs 1] The HiBs. 40 Acre Notch. Jode Dowling (fiddle), Kate Dowling (whistle, flute). For this tune: Kate (flute). |
| ~2010 | 10#2 | [LzKnls 2] Liz Knowles. Making Time. Liz Knowles (fiddle, strings). |
| 2011 | 20#1 | [IFMCK] Connie O'Connell. Irish Fiddle Music from Counties Cork and Kerry. Connie O'Connell (fiddle). |
| ~2011 | 1#1 | [Bua 3] Bua. Down the Green Fields. Devin Shepherd (fiddle), Sean Gavin (flute, pipes, whistle), Brían Ó hAirt (vocals, concertina, dance), Brian Miller (guitar, bouzouki). |
Bibliography
Here are all transcriptions of this tune 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 #1255 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #525 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #245 in [CRE 2] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2. |
| As tune #161 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| On page 64 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition. |
| On pages 108-109 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
| As reel #289 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| On page 128 of [IFMCK] Drew Beisswenger. Irish Fiddle Music from Counties Cork and Kerry. |
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