Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 277 (Captain Kelly)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Reel16ABG Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Captain Kelly
 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):
Captain Kelly / Captain Kelly's / Captain Kelly's Reel (misidentified on FG 6 as The New Road) (also in D or C)
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
193921#2[BtB] Paddy Killoran, James Morrison. From Ballymote to Brooklyn. Paddy Killoran (fiddle), James Morrison (fiddle).View album details
~19854#2[CW] Matt Molloy and Sean Keane. Contentment Is Wealth. Matt Molloy (flute), Sean Keane (fiddle).View album details
~19864#1[HMSP] Joe Burke, Michael Cooney, Terry Corcoran. Happy to Meet and Sorry to Part. Joe Burke (accordion), Michael Cooney (pipes, whistle), Terry Corcoran (guitar, vocals).View album details
199016#1[COG] Conal O Gráda. The Top of Coom. Conal Ó Gráda (flute).View album details
~19947#2[JCt 1] John Carty and Brian McGrath. The Cat that Ate the Candle. John Carty (banjo, fiddle), Brian McGrath (piano, banjo).View album details
~200113#1[FG 6] Frankie Gavin. Fierce Traditional. Frankie Gavin (fiddle, flute).View album details
~20022.1#3[WFO 2] various. Wooden Flute Obsession 2. 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 #1330 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #588 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
As tune #72 in [A] Hugh McDermott. Allan's "Irish Fiddler." [available]
On page 120 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
As tune #12 in [DM 3] Dave Mallinson. 100 Evergreen Irish Session Tunes. [available]
As reel #363 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): 1903