Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 2245 (Red-Haired Lass)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Reel16ABG Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Red-Haired Lass
 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):
Red-Haired Lass, The / The Red Haired Lass / The Redhaired Lass / An Cailín Rua / Peter Kennedy's Fancy / The Crusheen / Swing Swang / Jim Seerys / Clare Reel (1st in set Cam a' Lochaigh on ADB; 2nd in set Pat Molloy on MR 2; 2nd in set The New Hall on KCB 6) (also 1st part doubled, also in A) (this tune is only slightly different from Shearing the Sheep #517)
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
192621#2[WW 2] various. The Wheels of the World. Early Irish-American Music. Classic Recordings from the 1920s and 1930s. Vol. 2. View album details
19292#2[WW 2] various. The Wheels of the World. Early Irish-American Music. Classic Recordings from the 1920s and 1930s. Vol. 2. View album details
192916#2[BtB] Paddy Killoran, James Morrison. From Ballymote to Brooklyn. Paddy Killoran (fiddle), James Morrison (fiddle).View album details
~19878#1[FT] John Whelan, Eileen Ivers. Fresh Takes. John Whelan (accordion), Eileen Ivers (fiddle).View album details
~199311#2[MR 2] Micho Russell. The Limestone Rock. Micho Russell (whistle).View album details
~19963#3[ADB] various. Mighty Session! View album details
~199816#4[MvC 2] Moving Cloud. Foxglove. Paul Brock (accordion), Maeve Donnelly (fiddle), Manus McGuire (fiddle), Kevin Crawford (flute, whistle, bodhrán), Carl Hession (piano).View album details
~199926#2[MtRd] various. The Mountain Road. A Compilation of Tunes Popular in South Sligo. View album details
200016#3[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).View album details
~20022#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).View album details
~200310#3[MMlvy] Mick Mulvey. Within a Mile o' Jamestown. Mick Mulvey (flute).View album details
200511#1[BLch 2] Brendan P. Lynch. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music from the Heart of Fingal. Brendan P. Lynch (fiddle).View album details
~20051.17#2[WFO 3] various. Wooden Flute Obsession 3. View album details
20072#2[PotW] John Wynne and John McEvoy. Pride of the West. John Wynne (flute), John McEvoy (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 #1275 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #543 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
As tune #14 in volume 2 of [B&S] D[avid] Bulmer and N[eil] Sharpley. Music from Ireland. 4 vols.
On page 110 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
As reel #233 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music.
On page 112 of [Cr] Matt Cranitch. The Irish Fiddle Book. [available]
On page 113 of [Cr] Matt Cranitch. The Irish Fiddle Book. [available]
As tune #314 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. [available]
On page 13 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition.
On page 88 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition.
As reel #283 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]
As reel #234 in [JKg 3] Josephine Keegan. A Drop in the Ocean. Traditional Irish Tunes Collected by Josephine Keegan. [available]
As reel #235 in [JKg 3] Josephine Keegan. A Drop in the Ocean. Traditional Irish Tunes Collected by Josephine Keegan. [available]
As reel #42 in [Ng] Alan Ng. Alan Ng's Transcriptions. [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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