Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1988 (Union Reel)
about these two barsThese two bars were transcribed by me from how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording MB 1 (details in the Discography below).
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 16 | AB | A Mixolydian |
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Union Reel, The / The Union / Union / Turfman's Union / The Turf Man's Union / The Kilfenora Reel (2nd in set The Ritz on KCB 6) (also in G, with a 3rd part by Paddy O'Brien) (compare with 1st 2 parts of Moher Reel #5160)
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 10 seconds.
to hear the first 10 seconds.| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Performers (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1958 | 2#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). |
| ~1979 | 1#3 | [MB 1] Mary Bergin. Feadóga Stáin. Traditional Irish Music on the Tin Whistle. Mary Bergin (whistle). |
| ~2002 | 14#2 | [KCB 6] The Kilfenora Céilí Band. Live in Lisdoonvarna. Anne Rynne (fiddle), Conor McCarthy (accordion), Garry Shannon (flute), Tim Collins (concertina), Sheila Garry (fiddle), Fintan McMahon (piano), Anne Marie McCormack (fiddle), John Lynch (banjo), Sean Griffin (drums), Anthony Quigney (flute). |
| ~2002 | 2.3#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). |
| 2003 | 18#1 | [CSmth] Chris Smith with Roger Landes and Randal Bays. Coyotebanjo. Chris Smith (banjo, mandola, mandolin, field organ), Roger Landes (bouzouki), Randal Bays (fiddle). |
| ~2011 | 10#2 | [PO 4] Paddy O'Brien. Mixing the Punch. Paddy O'Brien (accordion). |
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 #37 in [P50] Brian and Eithne Vallely. Play 50 Reels. |
| As reel #218 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music. |
| In [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition. |
| On page 116 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition. |
| As reel #341 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #262 in [FT] Randy Miller. The Fiddler's Throne. |
| As reel #8 in [JKg 3] Josephine Keegan. A Drop in the Ocean. Traditional Irish Tunes Collected by Josephine Keegan. |
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): 1958