Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 1926 (Tom Ward's Downfall)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Reel32AABBG Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Tom Ward's Downfall
 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 BtB (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):
Tom Ward's Downfall / Tom Ward's / Bascadh Thomáis Mhic an Bháird / The Mourne Mountains / The Long Hills of Mourne / The Purty Girl / Peggy, Is Your Head Sick? (2nd in set Cam a' Lochaigh on ADB) (also 2nd part singled)
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
19396#2[BtB] Paddy Killoran, James Morrison. From Ballymote to Brooklyn. Paddy Killoran (fiddle), James Morrison (fiddle).View album details
~199312#1[JKn 2] James Keane. That's the Spirit. James Keane (accordion).View album details
~199313#2[WU] Martin Mulhaire, Séamus Connolly, Jack Coen. Warming Up. Martin Mulhaire (accordion), Séamus Connolly (fiddle), Jack Coen (flute).View album details
~199417#1[CmA 1] various. The Coleman Archive Vol. 1: The Living Tradition. View album details
~19967#2[JCt 2] John Carty. Last Night's Fun. John Carty (fiddle, banjo, flute).View album details
~19963#2[ADB] various. Mighty Session! View album details
~199813#1[KHe] Kevin Henry. One's Own Place - A Family Tradition. Kevin Henry (flute, whistle, pipes, vocals).View album details
~19992.7#1[WFO 2] various. Wooden Flute Obsession 2. View album details
~20002.17#2[WFO 1] various. Wooden Flute Obsession. View album details
~20035#3[MMlvy] Mick Mulvey. Within a Mile o' Jamestown. Mick Mulvey (flute).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 #1201 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #477 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
As tune #177 in volume 1 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. [available]
As tune #90 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1.
As tune #29 in volume 3 of [B&S] D[avid] Bulmer and N[eil] Sharpley. Music from Ireland. 4 vols.
As tune #239 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. [available]
On page 41 of [SK] Sean Keane. Fifty Fiddle Solos. [available]
As reel #335 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]
On page 108 of [RM] Randy Miller and Jack Perron. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. [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): 1903
Please cite your source when you use information from this document.
© 2000–2008 Alan Ng, agng@facstaff.wisc.edu. Questions? Comments? Please use the easy Feedback Form. Thank you!
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