Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 1829 (Star above the Garter)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Slide32AABBG Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Star above the Garter
 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 SatG (details in the Discography below).

Where do you get the tune titles?
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Star above the Garter, The / An Réalt os cionn an Ghairtéir (1st in set Lisheen Slides on JJK)
What do the "track#tune" codes mean?

cd 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). Album details
and contents
~196920#1[SatG] Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford. The Star above the Garter. Fiddle music from Kerry, played by Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford. Denis Murphy (fiddle), Julia Clifford (fiddle).View album details
~19731#1[JJK] John and James Kelly with Michael Crehan and Michael Gavin. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. James Kelly (fiddle), John Kelly (fiddle).View album details
~197312#3[Ch 4] The Chieftains. 4. Michael Tubridy (flute, concertina, whistle), Seán Potts (whistle), Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle), Martin Fay (fiddle), Seán Keane (fiddle), Peadar Mercier (bodhrán, bones).View album details
19977#2[CTL 6] Cherish the Ladies. Threads of Time. Joanie Madden (flute, whistle, vocals), Mary Coogan (guitar, banjo, mandolin), Mary Rafferty (accordion, whistle), Donna Long (piano, vocals, fiddle, keyboards), Siobhan Egan (fiddle, whistle, bodhrán), Aoife Clancy (vocals, bodhrán, guitar).View album details
~199713#2[CBt] various. Celtic Beat. Traditional Music from Ireland. Neil Martin (pipes, whistle), Davy Maguire (flute, whistle), Brian McAteer (fiddle), Breandan O'Hare (flute, whistle), Jason O'Rourke (concertina), John McSherry (pipes), Ray Gallen (bodhrán).View album details
199814#2[Chlr] Chulrua. Barefoot on the Altar. Paddy O'Brien (accordion), Tim Britton (pipes, flute, whistle), Pat Egan (guitar, vocals).View album details
20005#3[NR] Charlie Piggott and Gerry Harrington. The New Road. Charlie Piggott (accordion), Gerry Harrington (fiddle).View album details
~20022#2[SN 3] Sliabh Notes. Along Blackwater's Banks. Matt Cranitch (fiddle), Dónal Murphy (accordion), Tommy O'Sullivan (guitar, vocals).View album details
20033#1[CSmth] Chris Smith with Roger Landes and Randal Bays. Coyotebanjo. Chris Smith (banjo, mandola, mandolin, field organ), Roger Landes (bouzouki), Randal Bays (fiddle).View album details

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 #59 in volume 2 of [B&S] D[avid] Bulmer and N[eil] Sharpley. Music from Ireland. 4 vols.
On page 264 of [FF] David Brody. The Fiddler's Fakebook. [available]
As slide #7 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music.
As tune #71 in [DM 2] Dave Mallinson. 100 Enduring Irish Session Tunes. [available]
As tune #108 in [IBPS] Pat Conway. Ireland's Best Polkas and Slides. [available]
As slide #30 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]

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): 1969