Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1766 (Ships Are Sailing)
about these two barsThese two bars were transcribed by me from how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording JC (details in the Discography below).
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | AABB | E Dorian |
Ships Are Sailing, The / Ships Are Sailing / Ships A Sailing / Ships A-Sailing / The Ships A Sailing / Longa faoí Sheol / Take Her out and Air Her / The Boy in the Boat / The White-Haired Lass (4th in set Ships Are Sailing on EI 2) (also singled) (compare Jackson's Reel #915)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1924 | 2.10#2 | [PJConlon] Peter J. Conlon. The Genius of Peter Conlon. 78 RPM Recordings from 1917-1929. Peter J. Conlon (melodeon). For this tune: with Tom J. Morrison (flute), T. Higgins (fiddle). |
| 1930 | 24#1 | [FBros] The Flanagan Brothers. The Tunes We Like to Play on Paddy's Day. Joe Flanagan (accordion), Louis Flanagan (guitar, banjo), Mike Flanagan (banjo, vocals, mandolin). |
| ~1962 | 8#1 | [JC] Joe Cooley. Cooley. Joe Cooley (accordion). |
| 1972 | 1.18#1 | [MGm] Michael Gorman. The Sligo Champion. The Fiddle Music of County Sligo. Michael Gorman (fiddle, vocals). For this tune: Gerry Wimsey (whistle). |
| ~1975 | 2#2 | [PCt] Paddy Carty. Traditional Irish Music. Paddy Carty (flute). |
| 1986 | 12#2 | [TJC] Frankie Gavin and Paul Brock. Ómós do Joe Cooley. A Tribute to Joe Cooley. Frankie Gavin (fiddle), Paul Brock (accordion). |
| ~1991 | 19#3 | [MV] Maiden Voyage. Live Traditional Irish Music Session from Pepper's Bar, Feakle, Co. Clare. Tommy Peoples (fiddle), Siobhán Peoples (fiddle), Andrew McNamara (accordion), Kevin Crawford (flute), P.J. King (accordion), Páraic Mac Donnchadha (banjo), Pat Marsh (bouzouki), Joe Bane (whistle), John Maloney (bodhrán), Séan Mac Donnchadha (vocals). |
| 1995 | 6#4 | [EI 2] Eileen Ivers. Wild Blue. Eileen Ivers (fiddle), John Doyle (guitar), Tom 'T-Bone' Wolk (organ, accordion, guitar, bass), Ben Wittman (drums), Kimati Dinizulu (percussion). For this tune: with Séamus Egan (flute). |
| ~1997 | 2#2 | [NaCnn 1] Na Connerys. Celtic Sessions. Paddy Glackin (fiddle), Kevin Glackin (fiddle), Sean Og Potts (pipes, whistle), John Regan (accordion), John Wynne (flute), Tom McDonagh (bouzouki), Mark Kelly (guitar). For this tune: 1st time John Wynne (flute). |
| ~1997 | 1#2 | [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). |
| 1999 | 4#2 | [JWh 8] John Whelan. Celtic Roots. John Whelan (accordion). For this tune: John Whelan (accordion). |
| 1999 | 1#1 | [CrssCl] Seamus Glackin, Brendan Begley, Michael O'Brien, Mary Corcoran, Mick Gaynor. Crossroads Céilí. Seamus Glackin (fiddle), Brendan Begley (accordion), Michael O'Brien (flute), Mary Corcoran (piano), Mick Gaynor (drums). |
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 #1264 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #532 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| As tune #174 in volume 1 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| On page 108 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| On pages 36, 50, 64 of [TS] Tony DeMarco and Miles Krassen. A Trip to Sligo. A Comprehensive Guide to the Art of Irish Fiddling, Sligo-Style. |
| On page 255 of [FF] David Brody. The Fiddler's Fakebook. |
| As reel #10 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music. |
| As tune #328 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| As tune #66 in [DM 1] Dave Mallinson. 100 Essential Irish Session Tunes. |
| On page 57 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition. |
| On page 96 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
| As reel #310 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| In [LM] L[arry]. E. McCullough. ? |
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