Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#346 (Tar Road to Sligo)
about these two barsThese two bars were transcribed by me from how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording MC (disc 1, track 15) (details in the Discography below).
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double jig | 32 | AABB | D Major |
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Tar Road to Sligo, The / Tar Road to Sligo / The Coach Road to Sligo / The High Road to Sligo / An Bóthar Mór go Sligeach / Coleman's / Fasten the Leg in Her / Lambert's (2nd in set Jackson's on MC; 2nd in set Tobin's Fancy, also on MC) (compare 1st part with the 1st part of The Races at Carrick in O'Neill, included here)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1924 | 1.6#2 | [MC] Michael Coleman. Michael Coleman 1891-1945. Michael Coleman (fiddle). |
| 1934 | 1.15#2 | [MC] Michael Coleman. Michael Coleman 1891-1945. Michael Coleman (fiddle). |
| 1975 | 8#1 | [BB 1] The Bothy Band. 1975. The First Album. Paddy Keenan (pipes, whistle), Matt Molloy (flute, whistle), Tommy Peoples (fiddle), Donal Lunny (bouzouki, vocals), Tríona Ni Dhomhnaill (harpsichord, bodhrán, vocals), Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (guitar, vocals). For this tune: Tommy Peoples (fiddle), Matt Molloy (flute). |
| ~1993 | 2#3 | [JKn 2] James Keane. That's the Spirit. James Keane (accordion). |
| 1995 | 5#1 | [JDr 2] Joe Derrane. Return to Inis Mór. Joe Derrane (accordion). |
| 1995 | 7#2 | [JMd 2] Joanie Madden. Song of the Irish Whistle. Joanie Madden (whistle, flute, percussion). For this tune: starts (whistle), then with Jerry O'Sullivan (pipes). |
| ~1996 | 7#3 | [SBw] Folan and Davey. Skin and Bow. Declan Folan (fiddle), Junior Davey (bodhrán). |
| 1999 | 12#1 | [JWh 8] John Whelan. Celtic Roots. John Whelan (accordion). |
| ~1999 | 6#1 | [OMT] Billy McComiskey, Brendan Mulvihill, and Zan McLeod. One More Time. Billy McComiskey (accordion), Brendan Mulvihill (fiddle), and Zan McLeod (guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, bass). For this tune: Brendan. |
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 #836 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| As tune #99 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. |
| On page 37 of [RM] Randy Miller and Jack Perron. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. |
| As tune #33 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1. |
| On page 31 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| On page 8 of [TP] Tommy Peoples. Fifty Irish Fiddle Tunes. |
| As jig #41 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music. |
| As tune #91 in [DM 1] Dave Mallinson. 100 Essential Irish Session Tunes. |
| On page 110 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition. |
| On page 188 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium 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?
Year of the oldest source for this tune, considering the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1903