Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#2830 (Kerry Cow)
about these two barsThese two bars were transcribed by me from how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording MR 5 (details in the Discography below).
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polka | 32 | AABB | D Major |
Kerry Cow, The / I Wish I Had a Kerry Cow / An Bhó Chiarraíoch / Bó Chiarraí / Peata Beag do Mháthar / The Road to Galway / The Cat in the Corner / Dá bhFaighinn Mo Rogha (also parts reversed) (compare as single jig and as reel included here as An Bealach ar fad go Gaillimh / All the Ways to Galway / All the Way to Galway / The March of the Tribes to Galway / The Galway Girls / Slash away the Pressing Gang / Sarsfield March / The Road to Lisdoonvarna; compare 2nd part with 2nd part of Road to Lisdoonvarna #1683)
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 12 seconds.
to hear the first 12 seconds.| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Performers (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 15#2 | [RtHaMtD] Round the House and Mind the Dresser. Gene Kelly (accordion). |
| ~1989 | 12#3 | [SRn 1] Seán Ryan. Siúil Uait / Take the Air. Seán Ryan (whistle). |
| 1992 | 13#1 | [MR 5] Micho Russell. Ireland's Whistling Ambassador. Micho Russell (whistle, vocals). |
| ~1993 | 5#1 | [JCnly 1] Johnny Connolly. An tOileán Aerach. Johnny Connolly (melodeon). |
| ~1998 | 17#1 | [BG 5] Bobby Gardiner. The Clare Shout. Bobby Gardiner (melodeon, lilting). For this tune: (lilting, vocals), with Ann Gardiner (lilting), Lynda Gardiner (lilting, vocals). |
| ~2010 | 9#3 | [MoMad] Brendan Begley and Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh. A Moment of Madness. Brendan Begley (accordion), Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (fiddle, hardanger fiddle). |
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 #109 in volume 3 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. |
| As tune #282 in [CRE 2] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2. |
| As tune #116 in [CRE 2] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2. |
| On page 46 of [Cr] Matt Cranitch. The Irish Fiddle Book. |
| As tune #342 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. |
| As tune #4 in [IBPS] Pat Conway. Ireland's Best Polkas and Slides. |
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): 1927