| Rhythm | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 16 | AB | G Major |

These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording Plx 5 (details in the Discography below).
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1946 | 2#1 | [ICTM] various. Ireland. Irlande. |
| ~1976 | 1#5 | [Ch 6] The Chieftains. 6. Bonaparte's Retreat. Paddy Moloney [misspelled as:] Maloney (pipes, whistle, bodhrán), Seán Potts (whistle, bodhrán), Martin Fay (fiddle), Michael Tubridy (flute, concertina, whistle), Derek Bell (harp, oboe, tiompán), Seán Keane (fiddle). |
| ~1979 | 8#2 | [Plx 5] Planxty. After the Break. Christy Moore (vocals, guitar, harmonium, bodhrán), Donal Lunny (blarge, guitar), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, hurdy gurdy, bouzouki), Liam O'Flynn (pipes, whistle), Matt Molloy (flute, whistle). |
| ~1984 | 11#2 | [Crsl] Séamus McGuire, Manus McGuire, Dáithí Sproule. Carousel. Séamus McGuire (fiddle, viola), Manus McGuire (fiddle), Dáithí Sproule (guitars, vocals). |
| 1985 | 5#2 | [Kn] Noel Hill and Tony MacMahon. In Knocknagree. Noel Hill (concertina), Tony MacMahon (accordion). |
| 1991 | 1#5 | [Ch AIE] The Chieftains. An Irish Evening. Live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast. Martin Fay (fiddle), Seán Keane (fiddle), Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals), Matt Molloy (flute), Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle), Derek Bell (harp, tiompán, keyboards). |
| ~1995 | 16#1 | [MMR 1] Mike and Mary Rafferty. The Dangerous Reel. Mike Rafferty (flute, whistle, pipes), Mary Rafferty (accordion, flute, whistle). |
| 2000 | 13#2 | [CTL 8] Cherish the Ladies. The Girls Won't Leave the Boys Alone. Joanie Madden (whistle, flute, vocals), Mary Coogan (guitar, banjo, mandolin), Donna Long (piano, keyboards, vocals), Mary Rafferty (accordion, concertina, whistle), Deirdre Connolly (vocals, whistle, flute), Liz Knowles (fiddle). |
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 #77 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1. |
| On page 74 of [RM] Randy Miller and Jack Perron. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. |
| On page 29 of [T] Fintan Vallely. Timber. The Flute Tutor. 2nd Edition. |
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?