Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#172 (Blackthorn Stick)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 16 | AB | D 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 MC (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Blackthorn Stick, The / The Real Blackthorn Stick / Blackthorne Stick / The Irishman's Blackthorn Stick / The Old Blackthorn / The Old Blackthorn Reel / The Auld Blackthorn Reel / The Blackthorn Reel / The Blackthorn / An Sean-draighneán / An Maide Draighin / An Bata Draighin / Jolly Clamdiggers / Jolly Clam-diggers / The Jolly Clamdiggers / Rising Sun / The Rising of the Sun / Strone Johnny / Clear the Road / The Inch of Garth / Jack McGuire (also doubled, also in Bb) (compare The Rising Sun #1678)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1924 | 2.7#1 | [MC] Michael Coleman. Michael Coleman 1891-1945. Michael Coleman (fiddle). |
| 1927 | 16#1 | [IDM 2] various. Past Masters of Irish Dance Music. |
| ~1964 | 7#1 | [CmA 1] various. The Coleman Archive Vol. 1: The Living Tradition. |
| 1972 | 2#1 | [JC] Joe Cooley. Cooley. Joe Cooley (accordion). |
| ~1997 | 14#2 | [PCny] Paddy Canny. Traditional Music from the Legendary East Clare Fiddler. Paddy Canny (fiddle). |
| 1999 | 2(11:17)#5 | [MH 4] Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill. Live in Seattle. Martin Hayes (fiddle), Dennis Cahill (guitar). |
| 1999 | 7#2 | [Dnu 2] Danú. Think before You Think. Tom Doorley (flute, whistle), Eamon Doorley (bouzouki, mandola), Brendan McCarthy (accordion), Jesse Smith (fiddle, viola), Noel Ryan (guitar), Donnchadh Gough (bodhrán, pipes), Ciarán Ó Gealbháin (vocals). |
| 2000 | 4#2 | [Ch W] The Chieftains. Water from the Well. Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle, accordion), Derek Bell (harp, harpsichord, piano, tiompán), Seán Keane (fiddle), Martin Fay (fiddle), Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals), Matt Molloy (flute). |
| ~2003 | 13#1 | [KitRec] Seán O'Driscoll and Larry Egan. The Kitchen Recordings. Seán O'Driscoll (banjo, bouzouki), Larry Egan (accordion). |
| ~2003 | 6#1 | [MatH] Brendan Bulger, Marty Fahey, Kathleen Gavin. Music at the House. Brendan Bulger (fiddle), Marty Fahey (accordion, piano), Kathleen Gavin (piano). |
| ~2003 | 2.19#3 | [WFO 2] various. Wooden Flute Obsession 2. |
| ~2007 | 9#2 | [PHGH 2] Peter Horan and Gerry Harrington. The Merry Love to Play. Peter Horan (flute), Gerry Harrington (fiddle). |
| ~2008 | 7#1 | [RossBr] Ben Lennon and Tony O'Connell. Rossinver Braes. Ben Lennon (fiddle), Tony O'Connell (concertina). |
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 #136 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1. |
| On page 106 of [RM] Randy Miller and Jack Perron. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. |
| As tune #155 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| As reel #210 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music. |
| As tune #1 in [DM 2] Dave Mallinson. 100 Enduring Irish Session Tunes. |
| As reel #157 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): 1924